"I was in London, 24 years ago today, on Guy Fawkes Night. The cutest little kid, with the cutest little accent, was asking for pennies outside one of the Tube stations. I was 19. Fawkes will always remind me, now, of the movie "V for Vendetta," which increasingly creeps me out, and moves me, every time I watch it, as it has an awful lot to do with the world and country(ies) we live in today.
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,I've watched V at least a dozen times and I'm with John on this one-- the more you watch the weirder you get. (If Dexter works the same way, my mental health will soon be suspect.) Critics said the movie was a modern morality play and that it was more about the US and Bush than about the Brits and Blair. I agree with both views, but there is another V.
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up King and Parliament.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the ..."
The miniseries was about an alien invasion and was pretty darn good. It used the premise of alien invasion to demonstrate how a facist regime can take over a civilization, using methods pioneered by everyone's favorite villains-- the Nazis. (As the industry is prone to do, a series was spun-off and it jumped the shark early on with interspecial breeding-- they're always wanting to cross an aardvark with a kangaroo in Hollywood.) The two V's used different methods to achieve the authoritarian wet-dream of a High Ruler, but the result is always the same-- eventual chaos and destruction and revolution. Budding fascists might do well to consult with another V-- a Vulcan. The Bushpires will not long endure.
*If you have trouble following the V for Vendetta plot, turn on the close captioning. Does wonders for actors (or more probably, directors and sound technicians who under-mic a scene) and clarifies those pesky accents.
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