“1984 and V for Vendetta” a la Shmoop.
As we’ve seen, it’s hard to tell the difference
between a utopia and a dystopia.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
One woman’s six-inch stiletto is another
woman’s… hammertoes.
But in 1984, there’s quite a lot of bad
and… not much else.
George Orwell paints the world of 1984 in
broad, black-and-white strokes.
The only grays in this world are the drab,
ill-fitting uniforms everyone has to trudge
around in.
The world of 1984 is also filled with ninety-hour
work weeks...
Constant surveillance by the mysterious Big
Brother...
Bizarre attitudes toward sex and gender...
Varicose veins...
Mandatory exercise videos...
And rats…big ol’ nasty rats.
But not everyone is the victim of the oppressive
totalitarian government.
After all, someone has to do the oppressing,
right?
Things are pretty good from where Big Brother
is sitting.
He always gets his way.
He’s practically infallible.
And everyone does whatever he wants.
All he has to do is lean back and watch all
the miserable people, as if their lives are
his own private episode of America’s Funniest
Home Videos.
Oh, and crack down on the occasional person
who shows an ounce of independent spirit.
Luckily for us, Big Brother didn’t actually
rear his control-freak head in our world by
the time the year 1984 came around.
Although a lot of highly questionable dance
music did have society in a death-grip…
The fact that Big Brother never put in an
appearance didn’t stop dystopian literature
from finding its way to new mediums, however.
Enter V for Vendetta, a comic book series
that originally ran from 1982 to 1989, before
exploding onto the scene as a popular film
in 2006.
And yeah, the comic series owes a lot to Orwell.
Like 1984, V for Vendetta features a dark,
war-ravaged world in which the government
has taken absolute control.
The people live in fear of even thinking about
protesting the way they’re being treated.
We’re sure Big Brother would give the world
of V for Vendetta two thumbs up.
However, 1984 and V definitely have their
differences.
Where 1984 pits Soviet-era Communism against
Socialism, V for Vendetta watches as Fascism
and Anarchy square off… with explosive results.
Unlike the defeated, gray-uniformed denizens
of 1984, the citizens of V for Vendetta have
a champion determined to take down the oppressive
regime.
And unlike the doomed Winston… the mysterious
V might just succeed.
Though the original comic book is definitely
a cult classic, the film, helmed by the Matrix’s
Wachowski > brothers, is responsible
for making V a household name.
It’s also responsible for briefly stealing
Natalie Portman’s hair.
In this chapter, we’ll look at the book
that started it all, and one of the most popular
dystopian works on film.
Don’t worry.
No one’s watching you…
Or if they are, they’re hiding REALLY, really
well….
