V for Vendetta

V has complicated character depth (motivation etc.) which is a form of subversion against the Classic Hollywood convention of characters and "Heroes" ideas (no black and white heroes, warning for real life) - Makes us think

(GOOD VS BAD)

CoM has simple conventional main characters. Everyone has bad motives amongst characters (rebels, Luke, Syd, army etc). The true enemy is the bleak future

(EVERYONE FOR THEMSELVES, ENEMY IS DISTOPIA)

V ADDRESSES NATION TO SHOW SIMPLICITY OF PEOPLE AND HOW SHEEPLIKE THEY ARE, AS WELL AS MEDIA INFLUENCE

Essay Layout

Intro:
THESIS (analysis of the comparison)

--
Equilibrium - Oppression by Government VS Everyone Infertile
Disruption - The Old Bailey revenge VS Kee is pregnant
Resolution - Sacrifice for freedom VS Sacrifice for future (both for mankind)

Theo's motivation = Redemption after loss of Julian and his child

--
Sim:
⚫Births (Rain Scene VS Kee - Mothers VS Infertility)
⚫Father figure (Jasper to Theo VS Dietrich to Evey)

Diff:
⚫Spiritual/Metaphorical VS Actual birth
⚫Terrorist - (V - Hero? Or Terrorist? (sacrifice for revenge) VS Theo - Hero? (sacrifice for humanity)
⚫V is traditional hero VS Theo is a drunk, realistic hero
⚫V = Warning message VS CoM = Hope (COULD BE THESIS)

CoM - WHY?
Realism through style (long takes and realistic themes)
To get idea of hope across

Style of Blue Colours = Depression because of Infertility

CoM Director has a style of POV shots and long takes

V follows CHN but subverts these from the inside, narrative reflects message

CoM does it less, because it's independent and does this to make us think

1.2.1

1) Themes in clip
Peace, love, innocence, rebirth, unity
2) Gender representation
Men have feminine trait of maternal care,
3) Style
Long take - tracking, handheld, gritty, wartorn

Independent films challenge us, makes us think about an idea

Juxtaposition helps us draw attention to the differences

If you take women and their fertility away, they become redundant and men (and some women) become hypermasculine

Julian lost child, she becomes leader of terrorist group, gun toting and hyper masculine

Best way to juxtapose is to split it down the middle  and make a list

Audiences of Hollywood films are different to those of Indie films, they oppose

Children of Men deliberately refuses to get applied to a genre, by not fitting conventions of set genres, but spans across several instead

Cinema verité (documentary) gives realism

Director is Mexican, biased toward immigration, fascist view of immigrants

1.2.1 - Conclusion

In Children of Men, War is seen as a hinderance and as a bad thing, rather than in V for Vendetta, where it is seen to be the trigger of events for the ending.

Children of Men shows how happy, peaceful and united everyone is during the scene with Kee carrying the baby downstairs, compared to how grief stricken and traumatised everyone is when the war is ongoing in the refugee camp. The war is between

How does V for Vendetta represent typical gender roles to communicate messages?

V for Vendetta has many ideas and messages underlying within the story. One of these messages is the idea of gender roles, represented by hypermasculinity, phallic, yonic and orgasmic imagery, the stereotyping of mothers and fathers and the oedipus complex

One of the ways that gender roles are represented to be stereotypical is in the scene called "God is in the rain", in which Evey emerges to the outside world in the rain after her torture, juxtaposed by the similar emerging of V from the fires of the camp after he burned it down. The scene can be found below: 

The textual elements in this scene help reinforce the gender roles found in hyper masculinity as the editing compares the scene of V rising from the fire, screaming with pain to Evey's reuniting with the outside world. Pain and destruction are both manly things, but to survive a fire and walk out casually makes us think that he has some kind of superpowers, which is a very masculine trait. On the other hand, this could just show that V has a high pain tolerance, which either way, is still masculine. The hole in the wall in which he arises from can be seen as yonic, as it is the birthing of his vengeance - This, when linked, can show that vengeance is a burning desire that V has. This is then compared to Evey as she similarly emerges from torture to the outside world, birthing her freedom. This is compared directly through an image match of both characters raising their arms, enforced by the acting of Natalie portman as her facial expressions almost mimic those of an orgasm. This can also show the idea of procreation in gender roles, in which this scene subverts as V births a new, freer Evey

Another way that gender roles are represented in V for Vendetta is through the birthing of a free country, portrayed by the destruction of parliament and the movement of the people and the images that this brings. The scene below shows this:

There are very many objects in this scene that are considered phallic, and give a good display of the power relationships between people. For example, the guns used by the army are supposed to show power, however, when they are told to stand down, the soldiers put their guns down, symbolising erectile incompetence, and thus a loss of power and masculinity. The same happens for the detective. I believe that another, more substantial phallic object in the scene is the lever in which Evey pulls down to activate the train and arm the bombs. The lever is phallic, arming bombs which is a threat (a masculine trait), the train then leaves the tunnel, showing the birth of an upcoming revolution. The train then penetrates the walls of the houses of parliament, which is also masculine. It then explodes, representing the orgasm of it all. Orgasms are often tied into birth (cause and effect), which can represent the birth of the revolution

Children of Men Opposition and Conflict

FISH vs Government - FISH want independence and freedom, to be a "democratic"party (turn more hostile toward the end as they want to use Kee's baby as political weapon)

Theo, Kee & Mirriam vs FISH - FISH want to use baby as political weapon, Theo overhears this and smuggles Kee and Mirriam out of there into immigration camp

Syd vs Theo and Kee - Syd wants to use the baby in an unorthodox method

Propp's Character Types

Villains

• Sutler - Shown through MICRO (Black clothes, Hitler resemblance, large face on screen)
• Luke/Fish & Government - Salvation/Punishment (Realistic themes), linking to style, characters here are narrative devices

Hero

• V + Evey - Superhuman feats achieved against Villain, sacrifice, reward of redemption at the end
• Theo - Good intentions, sacrifice, reward of freedom at the end

Children of Men/V for Vendetta comparitive intro

Children of Men and V for Vendetta's narratives differ very much from eachother. This is shown through the use of or lack of the Classic Hollywood Narrative. For example, Children of Men's narrative does not follow the Classic Hollywood Narrative at all, unlike V for Vendetta, which does subversively.

Children of Men does this through the complete lack of devices such as Equilibrium, Disruption and Resolution. This is shown through the lack of Resolution as Children of Men finishes Open-Endedly, not giving us the situation in which it finishes (Do Kee and the baby survive? What happens after that?) - It does this to make us think about what the potential ending could be, which is a common occurrence in Independent films like Children of Men, leaving a profound emotional effect on the viewer. Another Classic Hollywood Narrative criteria that Children of Men does not follow is the cause and effect. During the film, everyone in the world is suddenly infertile, excluding Kee. This would be an example of an effect, the cause, however, is not given, also leaving the viewer to think about the cause. This is unlike V for Vendetta, which shows it's true Hollywood elements through the following of the Classic Hollywood Narrative, but by subverting them to help give across the themes of individuality.

Genre, Styles & Theme in Children of Men