Dystopia

V for Vendetta is a dystopic novel. I like novels with dystopias in them, for some strange reason. Perhaps it is because dystopia is what I fear will happen to our government. Or perhaps it's because dystopic novels necessarily feature an underdog protagonist that is attempting to somehow subvert an overbearing Big Brother.


In any case, with Moore's graphic novels it always seems like I dislike his endings. I just want the comic to continue because the story is that engaging:P....though I suppose V runs out of prominent targets eventually. Though my reason for disliking the ending this time is more facetious: I want to know who V is! Those first two panels showing the men Evey imagines V to be are rather ambiguous and I can't make out who they are; I'm guessing one of them is her lover. But who is the other? I suppose knowing who V is does detract from his mystique, though....



Anyways, I can't decide whether I like V for Vendetta or Watchmen better, but I will focus on a favorable aspect in the former: the complexity of the antagonists. I love how Moore and Lloyd create "bad guys" that aren't flat characters--you can see into their twisted minds and even sympathize with those who are mistreated themselves. V for Vendetta really raises the question--who really is the "bad guy"?

Take the character of Finch, for example. He is working for the totalitarian government of the Leader as the "Nose" *and he kills V!:-(* However, in order to accomplish this feat, Finch has to get into the mindset of V, and he does this by tracing V's history to its origin: Larkhill, the English version of Auschwitz. With the aid of some LSD, Finch undergoes catharsis and realizes that he must follow his own path separate from the rule of the Leader as the past and current atrocities of the government cannot be condoned. It is ironic that he is ultimately on the same side as V, but condemns the latter for committing murder to achieve the same ends.



The Leader is a more difficult case study to prove for ambiguity. Simply put, he is delusional, psychotic, and sexually repressed. His concept of reality is completely skewed--he deifies a computer named Fate and puts his own little mental drama above the welfare of his precious state. Nevertheless, one (or at least I) cannot hesitate to feel sorry for him as he realizes that his lover has long ago betrayed him for V. I feel sad feeling sad for an antagonist in love with a computer. I guess it's his human treatment of fate that evokes the sympathy, but still.


An antagonist easier to sympathize with is Conrad Heyer, the "Eye" of the government. Although he is the official Peeping Tom for the government and thus a major enabler of the administration(knowledge and lack of privacy= power), he is also cuckolded by his bitch of a wife, Helen. My sympathy for Conrad stems more from antipathy towards her--she is my least favorite character in the novel. She is a scheming, manipulating, power-hungry slut with no respect for herself or anyone else. To her, anyone is a usable tool if it furthers her objectives--gang leaders, beggars, you name it. Anyways, back to Conrad. He does get his vengeance/justice in the end by killing his wife's lover, but does he really have the potential to be the next V? He doesn't have any catharsis like Finch does about the heinousness of the government--he is just too wrapped up in the injustices of his personal life.


Evil or good? Where is the line drawn--the box made--the boundaries overstepped?