Sunday, March 19, 2006

V for Vendetta

I went to see a film the other day, and it got me thinking....

It's set in about 30 years' time, in the aftermath of the collapse of the USA stemming from their present war and bioterrorism. Britain (or the London area at any rate - that's where the film is all set) is ruled by a Nazi-style religious dictatorship. And yes, I know the Nazis were more Norse Pagan than Christian. This lot are never explicitly identified as Christian, but it's pretty obvious. Crimes punishable by death include homosexuality, owning a Qur'an, etc. The regime is of course hugely hypocritical - bishops who like small girls go completely unpunished and the police routinely rape women on the streets.

A masked "terrorist", known only as V, who has some pretty useful Matrix-esque skills, tries to overthrow the regime. He is variously helped by people including Natalie Portman, while the police inspector trying to catch them gradually uncovers more and more of the story behind the regime.

Hugo Weaving (Elrond, Agent Smith) does a great job of playing V, especially since he can't use his face to express himself. The film is generally good fun and well made, as well as being thought provoking. Here are a few questions to get you thinking if you've seen it:

  • Where should a Christian be in such a society?
  • Would you have joined the march on Parliament at the end?
  • How does the negative portrayal of Christianity latch on to popular misconceptions?
  • What can we be doing to deal with those misconceptions?
  • To what extent is V's reinterpretation Guy Fawkes legitimate?

IMDB page for the film

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