The Visceral Politics of V for Vendetta: On Politica Affect in Cinema

    Film and literature are two media forms that are so closely related, that we often forget there is a distinction between them. We often just view the movie as an extension of the book because most movies are based on novels or short stories. Because we are accustomed to this sequence of production, first the novel, then the motion picture, we often find ourselves making value judgments about a movie, based upon our feelings on the novel. It is this overlapping of the creative processes that prevents us from seeing movies as distinct and separate art forms from the novels they are based on.

Movies have the ability to transport people to different times and places and distract them from ordinary everyday reality. They allow for a range of emotions to be experienced. At their core, movies examine the human condition. There are plenty of deeper truths woven into screenplays and plenty of lessons to be learned, even when an individual is solely seeking entertainment.

Although the best reasons for “going to the movies” are to be entertained and eat popcorn, understanding a film is actually quite complex. Movies are not only a reflection of life, they also have the capability of shaping our norms, values, attitudes, and perception of life. Through the media of film, one can find stories of practically anything imaginable and some things unimaginable. Movie-makers use their art to entertain, to promote political agendas, to educate, and to present life as it is, was, or could be. They can present truth, truth as they interpret it, or simply ignore truth altogether. A movie can be a work of fiction, non-fiction, or anything in-between. A film is an artist’s interpretation. What one takes away from a film depends upon how one interprets what has been seen and heard. Understanding film is indeed difficult.

The BBFC has commissioned me to undertake research as part of a project to ascertain to what degree films can be regarded as powerful within contemporary society. In this assignment, I will comprehensively explain the relationship between audiences and films with well explained examples. I refer to the different sectors relating to the topic that include the following:

In “A Century of Cinema”, Susan Sontag explains how cinema was cherished by those who enjoyed what cinema offered. Cinema was unlike anything else, it was entertainment that had the audience feeling apart of the film. However, as the years went by, the special feeling regarding cinema went away as those who admired cinema wanted to help expand the experience.

Leaving the Movie Theater examines semiotics (the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior; the analysis of systems of communication, as language, gestures, or clothing. dictionary.com) in popular culture and how it affects individuals in society. Barthes uses denotations, connotations, rhetorical questions, repetition, and alliteration to unveil hidden messages surrounding us in everyday life. In the essay, the rhetorical question “What does the “darkness” of the cinema mean?”, emerges as Barthes investigates the elements surrounding movie theater. Rather than seeking an actual answer, rhetorical questions are used to make points. In this case, he questions what the “Darkness” represents. The denotation of “darkness:

To support this idea, Bordwell illustrates how art cinema motivates its narratives differently, through two principles: realism and authorial expressivity. Firstly he proposes the notion that art films reflect realism in their characters, space, and time. Psychologically complex characters are present in real worlds dealing with true-to-life situations. Art cinema is concerned with the characters ‘reaction’ to these situations, rather than their ‘action’. Thus it bares an element of psychological subjectivity as the characters survey the world they are in, which aids the realisation of the distress of

My initial reaction to the film was of utter shock at the brutally raw reality of the film. Upon reflection and commentary from other sources, the film’s simple yet vastly effective filmmaking techniques of developing the explicit and implicit meaning of the film. The explicit meaning, as

In Jean-Louis Comolli and Jean Narboni’s essay “Cinema/Ideology/Criticism,” they put forward the central argument that film is a commercial product in the capitalist system and therefore also the unconscious instrument of the dominant ideology which produces it. In opposition to the classic film theory that applauds camera as an impartial device to reproduce reality, they argue that what the camera reproduces is merely a refraction of the prevailing ideology. Therefore, the primary and political task for filmmakers is to disrupt this replication of the world as self-evident and the function of film criticism is to identify and evaluate that politics. Comolli and Narboni then suggest seven categories of films confronting ideology in different ways, among which the second category resists the prevailing ideology on two levels. Films of this group not only overtly deal with political contents in order to “attack their ideological assimilation” (Comolli and Narboni 483), but also achieve their goal through breaking down the conventional way of depicting reality.

History is a widely sought-after subject for movies, and historical films are enjoyed by audiences of all kinds. Being extremely popular as they are, historical films have the ability to be very diverse in the way that history is recreated or used in the adaptation. These films often face criticism, however, of the fact that historical accuracy often gives way to anachronisms in the name of entertainment. Zack Snyder 's adaptation of the graphic novel 300, and James McTeigue 's adaptation of V for Vendetta are no exceptions to criticisms of historical accuracy. However, while Zack Snyder 's 300 is an attempt to recreate history, and does so in a dramatic, stylized, exaggerated, and biased fashion, V for Vendetta echoes history and uses it as a way to enhance the story.

In his essay “E Unibus Pluram” David Foster Wallace critiques the fast-cutting tropes of contemporary cinema and television as meretriciously catering to our desire to transcend our average daily lives. These hysterical collages are, in his words, “unsubtle in their whispers that, somewhere, life is quicker, denser, more interesting… more lively.” We leave these films dazzled, punching the air, ready to do combat with a gang of bad guys or lose a pursuer in a car chase, but enjoy none of the edifying potential that Leo Tolstoy and other early theorizers of cinema’s potential saw in the fledgling art form. Contemporary independent cinema often works in stubborn self-conscious contrast to the transcendence aesthetic, but too

Movies are constantly created by producers and writers to convey a particular meaning to their audience they are reaching out too. The meaning can be interpreted in several ways. For example, one can understand the meaning that was intended by the creators, or it could be an individual’s own understanding of a storyline in the movie. As a movie can be viewed through different perspectives, a dominant male named Louis Althusser created the theory of Interpellation and the Role of ISAs and RSAs to help further understand movies. Althusser’s theory explains that people in power will remain in power and others will be controlled by those in power (Hartt-Fournier, Lecture 2). Furthermore, the role of ISA, known as the Ideological State

According to film theorist Thomas Schatz, “a genre approach (to film) provides the most effective means for understanding, analyzing, and appreciating the Hollywood cinema (Schatz vii).” His approach to film is strongly supported by theorist Edward Branigan’s and the narrative representation of character interaction (Branigan), and André Bazin’s arguments that the objective reality pressed against audience interpretation.

Cinema has a power to depict politics not only at its face value but to explore its dark corners. It has a chance to reveal, criticize, and satirize the national politics and social attitudes of the time. Watching and discussing politics reflected in a number of American films from the 60’s and one from the early 70’s, opened up a window for me to observe tones and attitudes of these filmmakers towards the American politics. In addition, these movies give an honest inside look into the branches of the American government and political campaigning.

V for Vendetta is a movie that immediately grasps the viewers attention. It has a tendency to seem twisted and dark. However, after examining the film more closely the themes began to emerge and started to make sense. V for Vendetta seems to align with Plato’s ideals making V’s actions seems less terroristic and begin to shape up to be that of a vigilante.