ShmoopTube

00:01

“1984 and V for Vendetta” a la Shmoop. As we’ve seen, it’s hard to tell the difference

00:11

between a utopia and a dystopia. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

00:18

One woman’s six-inch stiletto is another woman’s… hammertoes.

00:22

But in 1984, there’s quite a lot of bad and… not much else.

00:29

George Orwell paints the world of 1984 in broad, black-and-white strokes.

00:33

The only grays in this world are the drab, ill-fitting uniforms everyone has to trudge

00:34

around in.

00:34

The world of 1984 is also filled with ninety-hour work weeks...

00:40

Constant surveillance by the mysterious Big Brother...

00:45

Bizarre attitudes toward sex and gender...

00:48

Varicose veins...

00:50

Mandatory exercise videos...

00:52

And rats…big ol’ nasty rats.

00:56

But not everyone is the victim of the oppressive totalitarian government. After all, someone

01:01

has to do the oppressing, right?

01:03

Things are pretty good from where Big Brother is sitting.

01:07

He always gets his way. He’s practically infallible. And everyone does whatever he

01:09

wants.

01:09

All he has to do is lean back and watch all the miserable people, as if their lives are

01:12

his own private episode of America’s Funniest Home Videos.

01:16

Oh, and crack down on the occasional person who shows an ounce of independent spirit.

01:25

Luckily for us, Big Brother didn’t actually rear his control-freak head in our world by

01:29

the time the year 1984 came around.

01:30

Although a lot of highly questionable dance music did have society in a death-grip…

01:33

The fact that Big Brother never put in an appearance didn’t stop dystopian literature

01:36

from finding its way to new mediums, however.

01:38

Enter V for Vendetta, a comic book series that originally ran from 1982 to 1989, before

01:45

exploding onto the scene as a popular film in 2006.

01:48

And yeah, the comic series owes a lot to Orwell.

01:54

Like 1984, V for Vendetta features a dark, war-ravaged world in which the government

01:59

has taken absolute control.

02:01

The people live in fear of even thinking about protesting the way they’re being treated.

02:07

We’re sure Big Brother would give the world of V for Vendetta two thumbs up.

02:14

However, 1984 and V definitely have their differences.

02:18

Where 1984 pits Soviet-era Communism against Socialism, V for Vendetta watches as Fascism

02:24

and Anarchy square off… with explosive results.

02:27

Unlike the defeated, gray-uniformed denizens of 1984, the citizens of V for Vendetta have

02:33

a champion determined to take down the oppressive regime.

02:38

And unlike the doomed Winston… the mysterious V might just succeed.

02:42

Though the original comic book is definitely a cult classic, the film, helmed by the Matrix’s

02:48

Wachowski <<wuh-COW-skee>> brothers, is responsible for making V a household name.

02:53

It’s also responsible for briefly stealing Natalie Portman’s hair.

02:59

In this chapter, we’ll look at the book that started it all, and one of the most popular

03:02

dystopian works on film.

03:04

Don’t worry. No one’s watching you…

03:09

Or if they are, they’re hiding REALLY, really well….

Full Transcript