After reading “V for vendetta”, I started to
question myself if chaos and anarchy are the only alternative “to fix” society
and to empower it. Months ago, I read “Batman: The Dark Knight”, which for me
would be the polar opposite of “V for vendetta”.
The question is: to protect or not the system?
On the one hand, we have “V”. He defends a
purpose, an idea of anarchy and chaos. V wants to destroy the established order
in society. V is radical. On the other hand, Batman does not attack the system
itself. He confronts the criminals but he does not mess with politics or
religion, for example. He believes that Gotham can be saved.
Batman has a code: he does not kill criminals,
he believes in justice even when he knows that the system is full of
corruption, he works side by side with the police. He defends the system.
V follow is idea/purpose until the end; V dies
and kills for its idea. He blows up the parliament, kills cops and a priest. V
wants to break down the system.
 |
| Batman saving the Mad hatter and doing "the right thing" |
 |
| "V" embracing anarchy |
There background stories are very different: V
belongs to a lower class. As far as we know, V is not rich or comes from a
wealthy family. He is a supporter of the working class, which liberty should prevail
over all. Batman is completely different. He is multimillionaire and has had
all the privilege possible; however, he lowers himself to the levels of
criminals.
Nevertheless, both share a powerful message: V and Batman are symbols. In “V for vendetta” we never saw V’s face. It clothes are neutral; they can be used by a man or a woman. The mask goes beyond sex because it represents an ideal: chaos and anarchy. Batman’s symbol is the bat. Even though he is Bruce Wayne and he can be recognized as a man, the bat is also neutral. It represents fear. It represents that there is something in the dark that is watching the criminals and protecting the good.
 |
| Batman is fear |
 |
| "V" is anarchy |
So, what do you think is the answer? Cleaning
the system or destroying it?
References
Batman: The Dark knight (DC Comics)
V for Vendetta (DC comics) Dropbox version
I have also related V for Vendetta with Bathman, lucky us that I change the topic of my entry xd.
ResponderEliminarTo answer your question, I strongly believe that V and Bathman are different in the sense that V is shown as an "anti-hero" and Bathman as a "hero". Therefore, to my mind it does not matter which is the best option, since altough destroy and cleaning are convey different meanings, the outcome is the same. Moreover, how can we tell which option is the best? They both, V and Bathman use violence to change the world, the only difference is how far the go with violence.
I really enjoy reading your entr, not just because you had in mind the same that I had xd but because we can se both sides of the coin and at the same time, we understand that a "hero" is not that different from an "anti-hero".
It called my attention that you used the terms "chaos" and "anarchy" interchangeably. My thoughts on V's ideals is that he wants anarchy, but not chaos. These are different terms. There is a qoute that exemplifies this point: (Context: Evey asking V about the riots) "This is only the land of take-what-you-want. Anarchy means "without leaders", not "without order". With anarchy comes an age of ordnung, of true order, which is to say voluntary order... this age of ordung will begin when the mad and incoherent cycle of verwirrung that these bulletins reveal has run its course... This is not anarchy, Eve. This is chaos."
ResponderEliminarOn the other hand, I really liked the comparison between these two characters.
The link with the image: http://alexpeak.com/twr/vfv/excerpts/chaos.jpg
ResponderEliminar