Vendetta for Change

Vendetta for Change

In the year 1605 Guy Fawkes became known as London’s conspirator in a plot to blow up Parliament. During this time period Fawkes’s “Gunpowder Plot” was the response to England’s official Protestant religion. Fawkes’s and companions were passionate Catholics who thought that by overthrowing the government they would be able to bring in a new era of Catholicism. Guy Fawkes lost his life in the process of trying to carry out his plan; fortunately for the movie, his idea lived on through the actions of V. As citizens of the United States we do not always agree with the decisions our government enforces. Yet, we have learned to be content with our system because of its long-lived history and our insecurities in other forms of government. However, it is intriguing to visualize a masked man taking matters into his own hands. To watch this mysterious vigilante dismantling a corrupt government in hopes of a new beginning for the people. V’s action illustrates the history of Guy Fawkes’s bulletproof idea, an idea that contributes to the good of the people. V for Vendetta is an excellent movie for confronting these themes of self government and freedom. By watching viewers will better understand the need to question and change the injustices of this world just as V did.

To start it is important to know and define exactly what a terrorist is. More important is what international and individual nations believe terrorism is. As far as one universal definition or law goes there is not one. The international community has no legal or criminal definition for terrorism or those who commit it. It seems it is up to each individual nation, as the fictional Great Britain in V for Vendetta is, to come up with a definition on it’s own. This may not always coincide with the popular opinion of what a terrorist is. We see this with V, as a government attempts to stop him while it’s citizens fully embrace him. To give context U.S. codes attempt to label what they believe terrorism to be. On the Federal Bureau of Investigation website it is separated into domestic and international threats that are nearly identical in nature. Any act that is dangerous to human life as well as attempts to coerce, intimidate, or influence policy, citizens, or government conduct is an act of terrorism. This includes destruction, assassination and kidnapping ("Definitions of Terrorism in the U.S. Code"). It is not difficult to notice how vague this was intended to be. Attempts to coerce or influence the government do not always have to be as severe as what we see in the movie. Everything is circumstantial for the United States and criminals could be placed within these definitions without a second thought. If one wanted to be simple they could even say V becomes a terrorist for the simple fact that he assassinates many government officials throughout the film. As anyone who has seen the movie

...