“A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having” (V from the film V for Vendetta). Since the first communist leader tried to over take a country, there has been another leader planning for a revolution. And Orwell was one to speak of how he sees the battle to be. Orwell has written several novels on the idea of revolutions against a superior government; one example would be Animal Farm and 1984. He has inspired others to write there ideas on the thought of the future revolution from a dictatorship of extreme power. The film V for Vendetta is one example of an Orwell inspired story.

In both Orwell’s novel 1984 and the film V for Vendetta the protagonists Winston Smith and V live in similar difficult lives with extreme and controlling governments where they try to fight against there governments for the greater cause of freedom. Both ideas are dystopias which mean a fictional society that is usually seen as the antithesis of a utopia. (2) The film V for Vendetta steps off of the novel 1984. They actually have several references to history specifically our world wars. And usually they reference history during the same time period and in some cases the two are the same.

What most people do not know is that 1984 was written in 1948 and published in 1949, which means that Orwell wrote his book right after World War II. (2) Now here is my point that I want to show, during that time there was a lot of influence from different places, mainly the media that left the people worried. The book came out around the time that TVs were invented which was bugging everyone (I speak for the good people of America) during WWII. Orwell pretty much wrote what everyone was scared to think, the Government is watching us and the wars will never end.

I speak of all wars ideological, cultural and mainly military which no one wanted. Orwell titled the book using his own Doublethink, the reverse so the year 1948 became 1984. During that time Rutherford’s “Brutal cartoons” which “inflamed popular opinion before and during the revolution” were also causing the people to be afraid of the future. It then seemed like the revolutionaries would win ? ”or so its seems. ‘ WWII where Orwell hoped that Britain would have a mild revolution more similar to the way it was in 1917 in Russia.

The novel 1984 has the story of what WWIII would have been like in the 1950’s. That was Orwell’s immediate Future a revolution in Britain. But it says that now he sees it as a nightmare not hope. “Orwell conceives of the three as sincere revolutionaries moved by outrage at the injustice of capitalism. “(4) The world described in 1984 contains deliberate parallels with the Stalinist Soviet Union and Hilters Nazi Germany. There are also thematic similarities like the betrayed revolution, where Orwell famously dealt in Animal Farm. The subornative individuals to the “Party”.

Also the rigorousness of the distinction between the inner party, the outer party and everyone else. Don’t forget the direct parallels of the actives that go on in the book within the society, such as leader worship whether Big Brother or Hitler or Stalin. These are the controlling leaders. The joycamps, concentration camps or gulags which are three different places from three different times and places that the above leaders take there rebels and troubles that are trying to stop them or those poor people are just part of there sick plan to be eliminate.

For examples the Jews in the concentration camps and the leader was Hitler. (In a sick way it is almost like a game of Clue. ) Then there’s the Thought Police which is similar to the Gestapo or the NKVD and these are the ones that work for the dictators and care out the plans. Plus the daily exercises in the novel 1984 are a reminiscent of the Nazi propaganda movies. This is sort of like the movie Winston’s writes about in his journal about the Jewish women and boy being shot and killed and the theater goes into an up roar of laughter.

Also the Youth League to Hitler’s Youth League or Octobrists and Pioneers. All these things are connectors between the novel and really life history. (4) It is readily apparent that both tales reference back to history. In the film V for Vendetta, some even to the United States, such as the black bags worn by the prisoners in lark hill go back to the black bags worn by prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. (1) which is a relation to our world we live in and the film. Connection.

Also in the film there are pubic loudspeakers announcing the yellow-coded curfew alert. This is similar to the US Government’s color coded Homeland Security Advisory System and as well as Nazi Germany with the loud speakers that announce different news. The media is portrayed as being highly subservient to the government’s propaganda, which evokes common left wing criticism about the American Media. Mainly that it is too eager to support the government’s line to regarding threats and other issues.

(1)In “the culture of fear” montage of news video clips shown after Sutler orders his council to “remind the public why they need us”, the BTN refers to avian flu as a pandemic. (The film itself) But then of course the film references to history and has cultural and symbolic references, like Valerie, who is played by Natasha Wightman, was sent to a detention center foe being a lesbian and was then tortured and had medical experiments performed on her.

This is similar to when Nazi Germany was in power and there treatment upon the gays during the Holocaust, where homosexual men were sent to concentration camps and experimented on by Nazi doctors to see if any biological means to eradicate homosexuality. “V” and the tile of the movie area associated with the World War II slogan “V for Victory”. Now the film V for Vendetta actually began on a British comic strip published between 1982 and 1985in a comic anthology Warrior and takes off from 1984.

One symbolic reference is the Hitler-like Sulter primarily appears on larger video screens in the film, reminiscent of Big Brother in 1984. The states extensive use of mass surveillance on its citizens which include closed circuit television is also reminiscent of the film. This is particularly noteworthy as London currently has the world’s highest concentration of CCTV. One more symbol is if you notice the only time that you see Vs face is in a flashback to a fire and his face is shown as a featureless mass of burned tissue and described as being without eyes.

This so fits V identity as a symbolic representation of the people-without a face of his own- and a representation of an idea, in this case Justice, traditionally portrayed as being blind. There are always two sides to everything. In politics, history and everyday life. The ideas write and shown in 1984 and V for Vendetta are on the same side. My quick overview of the two is no one is ever happy with the way things are, that includes governments. Some will always try to push the limits and as there is sanity in the world, there will be someone to push back.

So then you will find those that will stand up and try to change the way things are so that “they” can be happy. That does not mean it is for the greater good. That person that stands up could be to over running leader that goes extreme with power. Or it can be the revolutionists that are there for the greater good. The people. My goal for this paper was to identify the major points in two ideas that are similar and turn them against each other but I must say that I feel I have done the opposite and brought them together and I am not upset by the out come but actually curious by it.

1984 and V for Vendetta although written by two different people have the same voice that is trying to warn us of the possibilities. So honestly I feel that the two could present solutions to problems in the world. By show governments where the line is that there can not cross or it will become kayos. But I now the world I live in and I now how thick headed it can be and I must agree that to the people and governments these ideas, films and novels will stay merely dystopias, for now at least.

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