Last night JK and I went to see V for Vendetta. I really liked it. But I’m still sorting out just what I think about it. I’m tempted to sit down and write a long post that ties it all together and is the end-all be-all when it comes to movie analysis, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to pull it off. Instead, I think I will opt for the multi-part scattershot approach. So here’s Part 1:
Hidden Ichthys
I don’t recall what scene this first struck me in, but once I noticed it, I couldn’t get it out of my mind that V’s mask was virtually crawling with hidden ichthys symbols, or components of it. Check out this little graphic modification I made to make some of them more apparent:
The most obvious one is formed by the lines around his eyes, highlighted above in red. Of course, I recognize this is just me projecting my own symbol system onto it. But once you have that icthys, it’s easy to find others by doubling up and flipping over his eyebrows and mustache. If you wanted to push it even farther, you might be able to draw some around the lines in his cheeks, and so on…
What does it mean? Anything? Coded communications from Secret Gray Robed Christians in high places (assuming there is such a thing) to trigger anamnesis and prepare us for the Second Coming? Simple coincidence? Over-active imagination?
What are we to make also of other symbols within the movie, especially since this is a movie about symbols? What of the modified Cross of Lorraine used to symbolize the ruling fascist party, with the motto “Strength Through Unity, Unity Through Faith”? It’s probably unrelated, but during WWII, a variation of this symbol was used by the French Resistance, as a symbol to stand against the Nazi swastika. The swastika itself appears briefly in the movie in Dietrich’s basement on the poster where it’s superimposed against the Union Jack and Old Glory.
Did anyone spot any other significant symbolism in this movie? What did you make of this aspect of it? More discussion points to follow…
- END -
ASSOCIATED CONTENT @TMBCHR (Auto-Generated)
- V for Vendetta, Part 3
- V for Vendetta, Part 4
- Some good old-fashioned link piracy
- V for Vendetta, Part 5
- Notes: Chariots and Horses of Israel
10 Comments
Couple other trails to follow:
- V for Vendetta Analysis: Who is V?
I don’t actually know that this even correlates to our letter “V”, but there’s a Hebrew letter I often see mentioned in occult circles: vav
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vav
http://www.inner.org/hebleter/vav.htm
It seems to me that most symbolic movies & books tend to place all the symbols in the right places - where your description puts the symbols associated with both good or evil on both sides… Especially the extensive scattering of christian mythology.
While I didn’t see the movie thinking in that way, it seems to me like its less symbolic christianity and more subliminal christianity - flooding us with half-noticed christian symbolism, in order to later provoke thought and concideration of the religion, or at least get it into our minds in some way - and the fact that we’re talking about it says that it worked.
Which of course creates the question of *who* is instilling secret subliminal Christian symbolism in this movie and for what ends?
Another item in the symbolism chain you could follow would be the other films and roles of the people involved. The most obvious of course is that the Wachowski brothers made this movie and also the Matrix, whose underlying theme is ostensibly similar. “V” is played by Hugo Weaving who not only played Agent Smith in the Matrix movies, but also Elrond in the Lord of the Rings movies. And Natalie Portman was Queen Amidala, the mother of Luke Skywalker, who essentially brings down the Empire. It’s a pretty tight little web of connections…
…I’m not sure that the actors can be held accountable for the sybolism they are hired to portray.
The director, or producer, or the various art directors, or whatever the movie equivalent of that job would be, would be the ones to look it about the high quantity of symbolism. That, and the creator of the comic book story. That story is packed with so much ambiguity, allusion, and symbolism that some of it has to be christian in nature, simply by probability - there are only so many symbols in the world, and christianity can claim almost all of them in some way or another.
The wikipedia article on the books does a decent jop of covering the symbolism in the books, though I’m sure they’ve missed many - wikipedia is only so reliable, especially in non-mainstream materials. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_For_Vendetta
Well of course. I meant to say that the people creating the movie would be the ones consciously pulling together these threads.
Another good example would be that Keanu Reeves has had this stream of counter-culture hero movies, The Matrix, then Constantine, and coming up with the adaptation of A Scanner Darkly. Somebody is very intentionally maneuvering him into these positions, or at least playing off his cultural cache…
The heroin is named Eve (Evie, but it’s close).
I don’t know, man, but the mask is based on Guy Fawkes, right? Who in actuality was a pretty radical Catholic.
Who is inserting Christian symbolism in the movie? The director, who is taking his cue from Alan Moore, who helped create the original graphic novel.
Of course you know about Moore and what a total freak he is. And I can’t wait to see this movie. I’d heard many many years ago that Terry Gilliam was going to adapt The Watchmen but it never came to pass. If this movie does well, let’s hope that it eventually The Watchmen does get made.
V is for VALIS?