Transcript Animal Farm and V for Vendetta

Making Connections
‘ANIMAL
FARM’ AND ‘V
FOR
VENDETTA’
Why choose these texts?
O Ideal preparation for the HSC Module A
Advanced Course: Comparative Study of Texts
and Context
O Preliminary Course Module A: Utopia and
Dystopia
O Both texts are relevant to the students’ world in
that they contain clear relevance to modern
political and cultural contexts, as well as each
other.
O Both texts contain the dystopian nightmares of
Frankenstein and Blade Runner.
Making Connections
Students
World
O Rebellious
O Post 9/11 world
O Distrust authority
O Terrorism
O More media and tech
O Gay Marriage?
savvy
O Visually influenced
O Strong sense of justice
O Awareness of Media
Distortions/Cropping
O Global Revolutions
O 24/7 News Cycle
What are we seeing today that
matches the texts?
Dictatorships and Democracy
Oppression and war crimes – Sri-Lanka, Libya, Syria
Fear of other- asylum seekers, migrants
Revolution- Egypt, Tunisia, Libya
Removal of liberties in a post 9/11 climate- terrorism
Surveillance culture – monitoring 24/7
The distrust and critique of authority- Wikileaks
The threat of restriction- food resources, high inflation
Satire – reflects our cynical world and the world view of teens
Censorship – China using internet blocks to maintain control of
information
O Media as an ambiguous tool of power- perpetuating
blindness/ignorance, propaganda, distortions OR promoting
truth?
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Satire is ‘Sexy’
O Students respond to satire
because it mocks ‘authority’.
It looks at the hypocrisy of
traditional institutions in a
post-modern world.
O Satire is the text adults and
children share with regards to
humour- speaks to both
audiences
O The Chaser, Chris Lilley,
Zoolander, spoofs, etc.
O Both texts draw on satire
because they are critiques of
governments and society
The Importance of Context
and Form in Module A
O MODULE A: Comparative Study of Texts and Context states:
“This module requires students to compare texts in order to
explore them in relation to their contexts. It develops
students’ understanding of the effects of context and
questions of value.... Connections may be established
through the use of language forms and features.”
George Orwell: Context
Source: McGraw Hill
O Outsider
O Spent early years in India as a
O
O
O
O
lonely boy
Took a job in Burma with the
Indian Imperial police
He became at odds with
British colonial rule
He viewed socialists, fascists
and communists as
repressive and self-serving
Remained skeptical of
governments and their
willingness to forsake ideals
in favour of power
Inspiration for Novella
Orwell says he once saw
a little boy whipping a
horse:
‘It struck me that if only
such animals became
aware of their strength
we should have no power
over them, and that men
exploit animals in much
the same way as the rich
exploit the (worker).’
Orwell: John Atkins
“ Animal Farm is written on many levels. It is
already a children’s story in its own right…(It)
is also a lament for the fate of revolutions and
the hopes contained in them.
It is a moving comment on man’s constant
compromise with the truth.”
Orwell’s Historical Context
Source: McGraw-Hill
O
O
O
O
O
Russian Revolution
Orwell attacked the myth of Soviet
socialism
Power struggles between Joseph
Stalin and Leon Trotsky for control
of the Soviet Union after the
Czar’s government was
overthrown
Once in power, Stalin engaged in
despotic rule and moved the
Soviet Union into the Industrial
Age
His government controlled the
flow of information to the public
and he rigged trials and
executions
Characters- Russian
Revolution Allegory
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Old Major
Napoleon
Squealer
Snowball
Moses
Farmer Jones
Pilkington and Fredrick
Mollie
Boxer
Puppies
Karl Marx
Joseph Stalin
Media/Propaganda
Leon Trotsky
The Church
Czar Nicholas
Great Britain and
Germany
O Bourgeoisie
O Proletariat
O Military/Secret Force
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Form of ‘Animal Farm’
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
1945 Novella- brief but rich in
thematic concerns
Fable – a narration intended to
enforce a truth- political
strategy?
Satire – anthropomorphism is
used as a satiric device
Initially considered children’s
fable and shelved that way
Allegorical- Russian Revolution
Hypocrisy weaved into
characterisation rather than
direct authorial intrusion.
Apathy is the true villain.
Unpleasant ending – sense of
realism
Anthropomorphism
O Animals function as
O
O
O
O
the satiric device to
point out the follies of
humankind. Orwell
capitalises on the
typical traits of
animals:
Sheep- followers, the
public
Dog – loyal, ruthless
Pigs – greedy
Horses – workers
V for Vendetta: Context
O Post 9/11
O Directed by James
McTeigue
O Set in England but
mirrored American
politics – Bush
O Based on Alan Moore’s
comic- comment on
Thatcherism and her
regimented approach to
the populace
O Moore unhappy with the
film
Alan Moore- Comic Creator
O Comics Brittania on YouTube
V for Vendetta- Form
O Film – symbolism is visual and auditory
O Post-modern flawed superhero- moral
O
O
O
O
O
authority is ambiguous
Post-modern pastiche
Science Fiction
Dystopian
Allegorical
Loaded with intertextual references
O
O
O
O
O
Guy Fawkes
Catholics had to pay recusancy fines
and Protestants feared them
Catholics started to radicalise as a result
of their rights and freedoms being taken
away
As a result, a group of Catholics
plotted treason against King James
(Protestant). The group wanted to blow
up the King, the nobility and the
Bishops but their plans were
discovered.
Guy Fawkes was tortured – King James
changed the law to allow Fawkes to be
tortured in the hope that he would
reveal other conspirators
Terrorist or freedom fighter? Had
Catholics become radicalised and used
violence in reaction to the abuse of their
rights?
Amin Malak
‘Dystopia’s deal
with power. They
show power
functioning
efficiently and
mercilessly to the
point of
totalitarianism.’
Paralleling thematic concerns
in Animal Farm and V and
linking it to a modern context:
O Dictatorship/Tyranny
O Lack of Freedom
O Oppression through fear/violence
O Repressing Individuality
O Propaganda and Exploitation
O Disunity and Rebellion
Dictatorship/Tyranny
‘Animal Farm’
O Socialism is the opening form of ‘government’ but the
O
O
O
O
O
O
farm soon assumes a tyrannical leader
Economic system- capitalism – regains favour because
it ensures wealth in the hands of a few- the pigs
Napoleon assumes the role of dictator once he removes
Snowball from the farm through duplicitous means
Napoleon maintains control of the resources- milk, extra
apples
Distances himself from the rest of the animals in a bid
to raise himself to a god-like, authoritative position
Creation of the Ode to Napoleon
Epithets are used to lionise and glorify Napoleon
Tyranny – ‘Animal Farm’
O Positioning of pigs shows hierarchy – pigs are on a
raised platform, the dogs are in a semi-circle around
them and the rest of the animals sit facing the pigs.
O Napoleon: ‘Frequently he did not even appear…but
issued orders through one of the other pigs…’
O Tyranny is cyclical as seen in Napoleon’s control of
the dogs (military police)- ‘It was noticed that they
wagged their tails to him in the same way as the
other dogs had been used to do with Mr Jones.’
O Benjamin (donkey) believes all leaders are the same:
‘…he said, life would go on as it had always gone onthat is, badly.’
Dictatorship occurs when:
O People do not think
Boxer and Clover had great difficulty in thinking anything
out for themselves…’ and ‘Benjamin could read as well as
any pig , but never exercised his faculty.’
O There is a lack of transparency
‘The pigs now revealed that during the past three months
they had taught themselves to read and write.’
O People are content with basic comforts/repetition or
simple messages /mottos
“Four legs good; two legs bad” and ‘I will work harder”
O People do not challenge assumptions
‘The pigs were so clever…with their superior knowledge it
was natural that they should assume leadership.’
Dictatorship/Tyranny in ‘V’
O Adam Sutler – surname rhymes with ‘Hitler’
O Frequent extreme close ups of the screen face of Sutler – he is
O
O
O
O
O
juxtaposed against the five smaller men all representing
branches of the government.
Sutler always uses a menacing or mocking tone when
speaking to others
He organised for the removal of all political opposition
He is hiding underground – suggests distancing from the
public
Controls the resources and uses them for his own personal
needs – V steals butter that was supposed to be heading to
Sutler
Sutler has links to the pharmaceutical company which made
corrupt leaders rich and ultimately led to the deaths of
hundreds of citizens
Modern Dictators
O Kim Jong-Il
O He claims that North
Korea is a paradise,
where nobody ever
experienced poverty,
and where everybody
leads a happy life. In
real life, people are
regularly tortured, and
nearly all of them work
in collective farms.
Rupert Murdoch
Absolute Ruler?
Who is more powerful - Murdoch
or Parliament? Robert Peston
‘He does not see why he should
abandon his dream of owning all
of the UK's largest broadcaster,
unless and until the Competition
Commission and the Culture
secretary Jeremy Hunt rule that
the deal represents an
irremediable attack on the
healthy plurality or diversity of
British media - or unless and
until News Corp is found by
Ofcom, the media regulator, to
be not fit and proper owners of
BSkyB.’
Corporate Power
AARON BERNSTEIN
‘Yet amid the good times, Americans
feel uneasy. BUSINESS WEEK's poll
shows that nearly three-quarters of
Americans think business has gained
too much power over too many
aspects of their lives. In a response
that surprised the pundits, the public
seemed to rally around the sentiment
expressed at the Democratic
convention, when Al Gore declared
that Americans must ''stand up and
say no'' to ''Big Tobacco, Big Oil, the
big polluters, the pharmaceutical
companies, the HMOs.'' Gore sensed
the frustration of many voters and
their desire to blunt some of the
power of business, crafting a new
campaign strategy that so far is
working.’
Lack of Freedom- ‘AF’
The Cost of Silence/Apathy
O The removal of Snowball ends all opposition to
Napoleon and it is from here that Napoleon ends
any form of debate; essentially, he is paving the
way for his dictatorship.
O The animals notice/sense that the pigs’
behaviour is not entirely right but are unable to
vocalise their instincts. By remaining silent and
by conforming to the farm’s apparent sense of
order, they remain impotent and their situation
worsens.
O Is settling for an artificial sense of order
enough?
Lack of Freedom:
‘Animal Farm’
O Irony of poem which idolises Napoleon: ‘Thou
watchest over all…’- safety versus surveillance?
‘BEIJING is considering plans to launch a mobile phone tracking system
that will put the day-to-day movements of 17 million residents of the
Chinese capital under 24-hour, 'Big Brother' surveillance.’
‘Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Justice Department has asked for, and
largely received, additional powers that allow it to perform an
unprecedented amount of surveillance of American citizens and visitors.’
(Bruce Schneier)
O
Read more: http://news.cnet.com/2010-10285150325.html#ixzz1S2KiJ4I3
Benjamin Franklin
"Those who would give
up essential liberty for
temporary safety deserve
neither liberty nor safety."
O Read more:
http://news.cnet.com/
2010-10285150325.html#ixzz1S
2KH2Dk0
Lack of Freedom – ‘V’
O Audio sweepers monitor the community and look out
for subversive elements
O V’s speech to the populace: ‘You now have censors
and surveillance coercing your conformity and
soliciting submission. How did this happen? Who is to
blame? If you’re looking for the guilty…you need only
look into a mirror.’
O Removal of any form of religious opposition – Gordon
keeps a version of the Koran (which is banned) in his
home- he relishes it for its beauty and difference
O Gordon’s homosexuality must be repressed and he
must act ‘normal’ in order to avoid disorder to his life
Lack of Freedom- ‘V’
O The news is censored and fabricated in some
instances ;even the bastions of credibility- media
organisations – have let the people down. The
spin and propaganda is used to further restrict
the masses and keep them ignorant.
O The public is characterised as apathetic and
silenced- their lives appear hopeless and
conformist. This is similar to the animals in
Orwell’s novella.
O Both texts connect the idea that apathy is also a
choice!
Lack of Freedom: ‘V’
O The community has a curfew- robotic woman’s
voice projects- ‘A yellow-coded curfew is now in
effect…This is for your protection.’
O Black bagging is used to silence any opposition
to the leader.
O Satirical portrayals which ridicule the leader are
met with a swift retribution. Traditionally, the
ability to be satirical suggests the notion of being
a free country.
O Inspector Finch: ‘I just want the chance to talk to
her before she disappears into one of Creedy’s
black bags.’
Modern Images of Loss of
Freedom
Australia- Nanny State?
Ben Groundwater- Backpacker Blog
Australia is a nanny state. You only
realise how much of a nanny state it
is, however, when you go overseas
and find that not everyone lives with
the same amount of rules as we do.
That's when you see the irony of our
various wars in the name of
"freedom". Can you really call yourself
free in a country that will fine you for
walking across the road incorrectly?
Or that has a proud democratic
process that it forces you to take part
in?
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/blogs/thebackpacker/australia-the-great-nanny-state-201105031e6hf.html#ixzz1S2FEiZJx
And yet we Australians go along
our merry way here, not taking to
the streets to protest these
injustices, not blocking off traffic
to make ourselves heard, happy
for the most part to live in our
nanny state with all of its rules.
Why? Because, to quote my
mate Nick again: "In Australia,
everything works." The
advantage of being in a country
with so many rules, and so many
people who obey those rules, is
that it's relatively safe, and
things generally run the way they
are supposed to.
Oppression
Oppression Through Fear/Violence:
‘Animal Farm’
Napoleon and Squealer work to propose that
anybody that shows opposition must be siding
with Snowball and is immediately designated a
threat and executed without a proper trial.
Squealer repeatedly warns that, should the
animals challenge any proposals, Mr Jones will
return as leader. The animals, having cast off
a ruthless master, become fearful that their
lives will worsen. Ironically, they are worse off
under Napoleon.
Fear – ‘Animal Farm’
O Squealer characterises leadership as a burden and
plays on the public’s insecurity: ‘You might make the
wrong decisions, Comrades, and then where would
we be?”
O To silence opposition and end debate, Napoleon uses
his personal ‘military’: ‘…enormous dogs…wearing
brass studded collars…dashed straight for Snowball.’
O Farmers tried to stop revolutions on their own farms
by upping propagandist messages. They were anxious
to ‘prevent their own animals from learning too much
about it’ so they spread the belief that ‘the animals
there practised cannibalism, tortured one
another…and had their females in common.’
Oppression Through Fear/Violence:
‘V for Vendetta’
O The emotive language/demonic labelling- ‘terrorist’-
is used to portray V as a threat to society despite
Norsefire being the real terrorist.
O English news reports point to America being in a civil
war because it did not have the same conservative,
religious base that Sutler created for this community
O The Secret Police (Creedy) and the Fingermenruthless divisions of the government and represent
the physical power of the government.
O The implementation of curfews suggests the need to
limit the potential for rebellion- the government plays
on the belief that only deviant people will be out on
the streets.
Evey in ‘V’
O Parents were activists
O Keeps a low profile- representative of public
O Moves from a state of fear to a state of
liberation after having been ‘tortured’ and
accepts that integrity is more important than
physicality
O First woman to accept personal power – Eve
O Her name is linked to ‘V’ in sound and
purpose- freedom
Oppression Through
Fear/Violence
O Evey’s mock interrogation scene – suggests that
it is fear that incapacitates us and, once the
individual removes that fear, freedom and a
conviction in one’s beliefs will empower them.
O V’s message to the populace: ‘I know why you
did it..Fear got the best of you…And in your
panic, you turned to…Sutler. ..He promised you
order. He promised you peace…and all he
demanded in return was your silent, obedient
consent.’
Amin malak
‘Dystopia’s dramatise
the conflict between
individual choice and
social necessity.
Much of the tension
revolves
around…uniform
decisions made by an
impersonal
bureaucratic
machinery.’
Repressing Individuality?
Or Ensuring Equality?
O George Orwell was censored by the government
and publishers because of England’s
relationship with the Soviet Union at the time –
political pressure.
O Initially, even the rats, commonly represented as
outsiders, are considered equal on this farm. Is
this a good thing? Removal of hierarchy?
O The hens, who refuse to give up their eggs as a
form of trade for farm profits, are treated as
enemies and starved.
Repressing Individuality- AF
O Irony – ‘All animals are equal but some animals are
more equal than others’
O Mollie is forced to conform to the rest of the farm’s
ideals; allegorically, she represents the materialistic
bourgeoisie of the Russian Revolution. Mollie is not
allowed to wear ribbons and is reprimanded when
she is lured by these ‘capitalist’ symbols. Her desire
to be an individual lends a divisive tone to the farm’s
‘community’.
O Mollie is not allowed to speak to the other farmers:
‘He was talking to you and you were allowing him to
stroke your nose.’
Repressing Individuality- ‘V’
O Everything is regimented and conformist in
architecture- there are no elaborate styles. All
prominent artwork has been removed by the Ministry
of Objectionable Materials, serving to disempower
individuals and the community. Art is commonly used
to inspire, provoke thought, provoke rebellion and
reflect diversity but this is restricted in this society.
O Norsefire wants a homogenised society where there
are no homosexuals and migrants are rejected- this is
a fundamentally religious society that breeds
xenophobic and extremist views. Lewis Prothero:
Immigrants, Muslims, homosexuals, terrorists,
disease-ridden degenerates. They had to go.’
Repressing Individuality
O Removal of artistic individuality – V’s shadow
gallery is an accumulation of past literary work
that had previously inspired or challenged
people . Gordon has his own gallery with the
poster of the ‘Coalition of the Willing (Bush Era);
this is placed next to a satirical representation of
Sutler’s face superimposed on the face of the
queen. POV shot of Evey looking at Gordon’s
pictures of naked men. Gordon explains his
homosexual identity: ‘You wear a mask for so
long, you forget who you were beneath it.’
Repressing Individuality- V
O Vignette on Valerie reflects the repression of individuals
who are different. The favourable characterisation of
these individuals suggests that Sutler’s government is
corrupt, inhumane and ultra-conservative.
O The sequence of frames which show the emaciated
bodies of subjects being tossed into a mass grave are
reminiscent of the Holocaust. This highlights the
consequences of discriminating against people due to
differences in beliefs, ethnicity or sexual preference.
O The director is promoting his own ideology- pluralistic
communities are more realistic and compassionate than
insular, discriminatory ones.
Modern images of repressing
individuality- Iran
O ‘A man paints over
campaign slogans near
the headquarters of
presidential candidate
Mir Hossein Mousavi in
Tehran on June 13,
2009. Mousavi's name is
written in green while
Ahmadinejad's name is
written on top of it (left)
in black. (OLIVIER LABANMATTEI/AFP/Getty
Images) #’
Propaganda and Exploitation
Animal Farm
O The pigs are crafty and manipulative and manage to subdue
the animals – the underclasses- through fabrication and
appealing visual rhetoric. The use of ‘animalism’ and the
tokenistic symbols such as the flag, the rituals and the
patriotic songs promote the image of unity and a common
purpose but the reader is fully aware of the dramatic irony –
the powerlessness of the animals.
O Squealer’s persuasive speeches convince the animals that the
pigs need to be well fed because they make important
decisions that dictate the farm’s future. (Political rhetoric). The
use of exaggerated statistics lends belief to the idea that the
farm is producing more and more and that the animals have
never been better off. The deliberate propaganda is clear to
the reader who is aware of the historical context that frames
this work.
Propaganda in AF
O ‘The others said Squealer could turn black
into white…’ – ability to distort reality
O Orwellian voice throughout: ‘The animals
believed every word of it.”
O False sense of unity: ‘There were more
songs, more speeches, more processions…’
O At the end, all of the propagandist symbols
of the initial revolution are removed- skull of
Old Major, horn and hoof – to supress any
future rebellion.
Propaganda and Exploitation
‘V for Vendetta’
O V slashes his initial through the government poster-
Strength through Unity/Unity through Faith. V
subverts the government propaganda in order to
force people to question faith in the government and
redirect that faith/strength to him/the people.
O Gordon’s satirical sketch reflects how he desired to
break through the illusion of propaganda that Sutler
sold to the public. Gordon emphasises the
ambiguous terms ‘freedom fighter’ and ‘terrorist’ and
shows how they are used subjectively and
interchangeably by people wanting to assume power.
The twin images of Sutler as V and as the Chancellor
suggests how Sutler’s elevation to leader and his
judgment of V as a terrorist is hypocritical.
Propaganda and Exploitation
V for Vendetta
O Sutler encourages incessant news reporting of
the world (outside England) which is falling
apart. He wants his society to believe that
England, because of its controlled and
regimented nature, is singularly progressive. This
false reporting is intended to placate and delude
the masses.
O When V blows up the Old Bailey, the
media/government feign culpability for the
destruction and enter into spin mode: ‘We are
calling it an emergency demolition’.
Propaganda in ‘V’
O This text is appealing to an external audience
that is becoming increasingly critical of the
media as a bastion of credibility; in addition,
religion has become tarnished by the actions of
deviant individuals who have transgressed
against community expectation . The
demolishing of these grand narratives are
applicable to our modern world, suggesting that
our modern society has dystopian elements that
need to be assessed.
Modern Propaganda
Iraq/Afghanistan
O Claims that the major
news corporations
swallowed the
‘weapons of mass
destruction’ story
without critiquing the
intelligence.
O Doco – ‘The War You
Don’t See’
Rebellion in ‘Animal Farm’
O The animals feel oppressed by Farmer Jones
and envision a utopian society where ‘Almost
overnight we could become rich and free.’
Images of liberation are weaved through the
Beasts of England song; these images instigate
rebellion, ‘Rings shall vanish from our
noses/Cruel whips no more shall crack…’. The
animals rebel only when their basic necessitieslike food- are removed, but they seem content to
give up their ‘humanity’.
Disunity and Rebellion
Animal Farm
O Beasts of England- the song is symbolic of unity and
the overthrowing of the capitalist system which is to
be replaced by socialism. When the pigs assume
control, they replace the song because they are
fearful that it may trigger a rebellion. They are aware
of how ritualistic or tokenistic elements can
contribute to rebellion.
O Also, the pigs seek the return of Moses, symbolic of
the Church, to sedate the masses. Moses promises
the animals hope of life after death in the form of
‘Sugarcandy Mountain’. The claim here is that
religion has often been used to reinforce apathy,
ignorance and oppression.
Disunity/Rebellion
‘V for Vendetta’
O Although the masses are unified in their apathy, V urges the
masses to conform and rebel against their morally corrupt
leaders – Church, Government and the Media- in order to
reorder society and achieve justice. The allusion to Guy Fawkes
represents a rebellion against a rigid authority, an authority
that seeks to repress individuality and choice. The masks are
symbols of this rebellion.
O The sequence of frames that show the dominoes falling
metaphorically represents the domino effect that V has had on
society when he starts to utilise the tools of propaganda to
‘awaken’ the populace. He makes the criticism that people are
just as culpable as governments. People must take
accountability for being duped and take action to recover their
freedom. His leadership is inspiring rather than demoralising.
O No real rebellious leader in ‘Animal Farm’- community stays
oppressed.
Rebellion: Music
O Music is often seen as a form of rebellion. V
plays the 1812 Overture as he blows up the Old
Bailey (law courts), the act symbolising an
overthrowing of tyranny. The people marvel at
the sounds because the Norsefire party has
prohibited anything that can fire up the emotions
of the masses. The one emotion the party instils
is fear. Sutler: ‘I want it blacklisted.’
O Historical context of overture- a piece written to
commemorate Russia’s defence of Moscow
against Napoleon’s army in 1812.
Rebellion in ‘V’
O Sutler aims to quell rebellion through
instilling fear: ‘The security of this nation
depends on complete and total compliance.’
O When V is asked, ‘Why won’t you die?’ he
replies: ‘Beneath this mask there is an idea
and ideas are bullet proof.’ This points to
how V’s mission/ the people’s mission is a
reflection of the need to not only overthrow
people/dictators but ideologies as well.
Modern Images of Rebellion
Violence
O V has become representative of an idea so,
when he murders various government and
church leaders, is the audience meant to see
their deaths as a metaphorical destruction of
traditional narratives/traditional ideas?
O Both texts show how violence is necessary for
revolution but not all violence results in the
revolution we want. In many ways, it is what
happens after the revolution that is the measure
of liberty.
In Conclusion
Animal Farm is a reflective text having been after the event which
inspired it. It is cynical in its view of humanity and acts as a critique of
the Russian revolution and thus a warning against the pursuit of
revolutionary utopian ideals. It offers a clear morality.
O V for Vendetta, via its “Hollywood” medium, is a far more hopeful and
immediate text having been written at the time of the event which
inspired it. It offers an optimistic view of humanity and it’s pursuit of a
utopian vision. It is a post 9/11 text suggesting the dangers of
surrendering our democratic values in exchange for “safety” ;
advocates revolution as a vital vehicle to achieving a ‘utopian’ society. It
offers a more ambiguous morality.
O In contrasting these texts, audiences reflect on alternative pathways to
revolution as they assess the pros and cons of action and inaction.
O Both texts are embedded firmly in their context through their medium
and message. The novella, through its traditional fable structure ,
offers a clear message of good and evil whilst ‘V for Vendetta’, with its
pastiche of genres, offers a more postmodern and fragmented view of
good and evil.
O
Questions Raised By The Texts
O What is life? If we have to repress who we are and what we
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
enjoy, are we dead anyway?
Do we actually possess the power to move governments?
Can one person make a difference?
Do we actually have choice? Are we merely cogs in a machine?
Do we need to use violence to achieve a revolution?
Who are the real terrorists?
Are we deliberately ignorant because it is harder to be active?
Do we deserve the governments we have?
How dangerous/powerful is the community? Can it actually
affect change or does it reinforce powerlessness?
Why aren’t revolutions always successful?
Is humanity too idealistic?