Vengeance is Mine?


I know that I'm a bit late in posting on the film "V for Vendetta," but I just watched it last night on DVD. Since I'm not a big graphic novel kind of guy, I'm not as familiar with this movie or the book on which it's based, but I did find it intriguing, if also overly violent.

The movie definitely raises the question of vengeance. This is an issue that simply won't go away and in some ways dominates our news, and has done so for the past five years. But it always seems that this tit-for-tat nature of vengeance creates cycles of violence that never end. There is a strong theme running through the movie about the power of vengeance. It's a theme that also runs through the Batman Movies.

There is another theme that runs through the movie, in fact, in the end it's the driving force of the film. That theme is fear, and the ability of authoritarian governments to rule through fear. The Bush administration has effectively dominated the political scene since 9-11 by exploiting our fears of terrorism. But the current administration isn't alone in this effort. The immigration issue is also dominated by those who exploit our fears, including fears of terrorism, but also xenophobia.

In this movie, an authoritarian ruler comes to power, by exploiting a bio-terrorism attack (the country is England), to create a one-party fascist-like state. Reminiscent of Orwell's 1984, every aspect of life is monitored and controlled and anyone deemed deviant is liable to disappear. Homosexuals and Muslims seem to primary targets. All of this is enabled by a government able to exploit fear -- as a sidebar, the United States in this futuristic drama is experiencing long term civil war. V, the hero, takes as his model, Guy Fawkes, the Catholic rebel who was caught just prior to trying to blow up Parliament when the King was to be in the House of Lords on Nov. 5, 1605. Fawkes is seen here as a voice of the people -- whether that's the truth is of course not pertinent here. In the end V will die, but the people are empowered and the authoritarian rulers are overthrown (and Parliament is blown up with great fanfare).

So, what is the point? I guess my point in bringing this up is to underline the danger of living in fear. If we live in fear we put ourselves in a position of giving authority over our lives to others, others with designs on control and manipulation. But perfect love, cast out all fear -- not a personal vendetta!

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