Saturday, August 12, 2006

Where Was That?

I just saw the movie V for Vendetta. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting something a bit more like The Matrix. I was hoping for more action and the cool special effects. It is not that those make a great movie but they are elements of a great action movie. This was sold as an action movie. I was expecting an action movie. I did not get one.

Beyond the action - what little of it there was - the movie was still a disappointment. All of the actors were deadpan throughout the film, save for John Hurt's character who was overacting. His part was like a wet sponge in a very dry desert. That may be a British thing though.

"I'll be late for supper, dear. The parlament building is being blown up."

"That's terrible. Pick up some bread on the way home, please."

For a good example of how fear tactics are really being used by governments and other "leading institutions", just look at how global warming is sold. For a good yarn on that, read Crichton's State of Fear.

That is not the main point of this post though.

This is: Many of those making the movie are pointing to various Western governments and drawing parallels. Most notably, the governments of the United States and Great Britain are compared. (Just watch the extras.)

The movie suggests a past where Muslims and homosexuals were rounded up and exterminated. It portrays a country where having a Koran is a crime. This sounds all too familiar. There are places like this that exist today. There are countries whose governments have religious police, who persecute minority religions and homosexuals for that matter. Now where exactly are these countries?

I will give you a hint: Start with the above description by swapping Muslims with Christians or Jews and replace the Koran with any other holy book.

Of course Saudi Arabia probably does not have any historical bad guys as colorful as Guy Fawkes. Natalie Portman might look a little out of place in Sudan. And crowds would not line up to see the same movie were it set in Yemen.

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