V For Vendetta Open Response

2. Explain how the media reinforces racism and makes it part of government policy.

In the comic book, V For Vendetta, the media plays an instrumental role in reinforcing racism and making it part of government policy. For example, racism towards African Americans is addressed on a television show when they are referred to as, “Black cannibal filth” (Moore 108), as they are hunted down. The media does an excellent job of portraying African Americans as animals, thus molding the public’s opinion of them to match. Furthermore, the act of hunting the African Americans further portrays them as animals, instead of equally entitled human beings. In addition, there is a considerable amount of prejudice concerning women’s roles such as when a woman on another television show says, “Oh dear, Mr. Glover!! Now my melons are falling out” (Moore 111). Women are continuously depicted as sex symbols, with numerous references to their limited role within a household. Furthermore, they seem not only content but also rather complacent to fulfill this demeaning role. The media is more than efficient in establishing extremely brutish stereotypes for many minorities, consistently depicting them in a negative context.

4. Why does V subject Evey to mental and physical torment? Do you agree wit his methods? Explain.

In the comic book, V For Vendetta, V subjects Evey to a variety of mental and physical torments for a very personal reason. V puts Evey through an almost identical process to the one he experienced at Larkhill, his main reason to set her free, and give her the opportunity to escape from the prison she was born into. The prison V references is happiness, meaning the tendency of many people to complacently accept the rules and corruptness of government without any qualms. By freeing Evey, V has essentially allowed her to look at the world with a new perspective, untainted by the overbearing censorship of the leader and his men. For example, just before V takes Evey to the roof he says to her, “No, Evey. No more blindfolds” (Moore 171), addressing her rebirth. Although V’s methods were harsh and dramatic, he did what he saw necessary to allow Evey to achieve a perspective similar to his own, which was instrumental in his vendetta. Furthermore, V was confident in his actions, pushing Evey to her breaking point while always knowing she possessed the inner strength, willpower, and integrity to prevail through her hardships.