V: Rage Against Complacency

Plenty of people talk about themes of anarchy and rebellion and revolution in v for vendetta. But V for vendetta is very similar to a Russian matryoshka doll. Anarchy, rebellion, and revolution are the outer doll, the most notable part.

What do you see on the page where V blows up Parliament? It clearly seems like an act of anarchy and rebellion. But what if I was to make the claim that the main theme of the graphic novel was not anarchy, rebellion, and revolution? What if the theme of V for vendetta is actually a call to action aimed at the audience? Now you might be thinking “what kind of call to action?”. Well let me assure you it's probably not the one you’re thinking of, probably not. But rather, it is a call to action against complacency.

It takes the quote “the only thing needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing” very seriously. It rages against the idea of simply accepting your circumstances and being a cog in a machine you have no faith in. It is complacency that the novel truly rebels against. V is a wonderful array of subject to subject and action to action panels the dynamically move it in the way this suggests constant movement, action and progression. It's style and pace is made in a way the translates that disdain for complacency into a visual media.

The dark and dreary atmosphere of the backgrounds clearly illustrate the reflections of the people who live in the city. The panels are gutters are like the layout of a city itself. As you move through the panels you see V's mask contrast the face of all the people in the novel. The people who have become complacent with their place in the world. And the people watching events on television screens or through windows are waiting for someone else to move to action. No one else wants to stand up first lest the axe behead them.

While V does not outright chastise people's complacency, he does it in every action he takes. It's a statement that if one once change they must do it themselves while at the same time showing but the people are looking for a figure to rally behind. But anyone can be behind V's masks.

That's all I have for now thank you for reading.

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