JohnA lifeBlog

First, an apology. I apologize for not blogging for such a long time. I’ve been swamped with work, and during the last two weeks, any blog entry would have basically consisted of “I went to work today, came home, ate dinner, and went to bed.” While informative, it was far too predictable to actually write a blog about.Anyhoo, on with the show. Two of my best and super-coolest friends have already recommended that you see V for Vendetta, so I won’t try to convince you to see it. However, I will share my thoughts on the film.

Yesterday, I went to the 7:00pm show of the movie, which ended at around 9:25. I then went outside, bought a ticket to the 9:30pm show of the movie, got a refill on my Diet Pepsi, and watched the movie a second time. Why? Because I wanted to see what allegory I missed during the first viewing.

For those familiar with the writings of Philip K. Dick, you probably remember his comment that today’s science fiction writers will be looked upon in the future as the pre-cogs of the past.

When I look at such movies / writings as Minority Report, I am reminded that the only thing that separates us from complete tyranny is the idealist ability for free men to embrace ideas and hope.

The $1,000,000 question is: “Do I view this movie as an allegory for what our country is facing today?” In the strictest sense, no. But, definitely view it as a possible future our generation faces. As Americans, we have become far too complacent in our success. As a whole, we are ignorant of foreign affairs, and rely on one or two major television networks to provide us with the “news” of the world. As Americans, we are more concerned with who was voted off American Idol than we are about who won a major foreign election. At one point in the film, the party member responsible for propaganda makes the comment “Why wouldn’t they trust us? Our job is to report the news, not fabricate it. That’s the government’s job.”

I don’t claim to be intelligent enough to offer a film professor’s level of analysis, but I will say this. It is imperative that we, as citizens, choose to seek the truth through a variety of channels and means. If we don’t, then we’re all destined to a future we’ve seen in this week’s #1 movie.

Looking for a nice escape? Check out this movie. Looking for something deeper? Check out this movie more than once.

Oh, and as a P.S., I totally disagree with the people who have been posting on the IMDb forums. The reason you see key characters from the past in the climax has to do with what V specifically said about the power of ideas. If you want more info, send me an e-mail. I’m being deliberately vague because I don’t want to spoil the film for those who’ve not seen it.

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