Being a dystopian literature buff (Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 remain two of my favorite books—my desert island picks, if you will), I ended up really enjoying this flick. I thought it would be corny but it turned out to be very sleek, with the storyline being quite probable. What made me grin (besides seeing Stephen Fry again [I didn’t realize he’d be in the movie] and seeing John Hurt cast as the Big Brotherian chancellor Sutler [oddly appropriate since he starred as Winston Smith in the screen adaptation of 1984]) were the pointed jabs the movie threw in the US government’s general direction. Hmm. People so immobilized by terror that they allow themselves to become mute, complacent putty in the government’s hands, while civil liberties-crushing laws are spun around them? Sounds vaguely familiar.
Two quotes, both said by Hugo Weaving’s character V, promptly made it into my quotes collection:
“People should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people.”That’s good eats!
“...while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the annunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance, and depression. And where once you had the freedom to object, think, and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well, certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.”
In other news, I was dropping off some items in the lobby’s mail basket this morning and saw a woman standing at the front door, peering in. She was a new employee who didn’t yet have a keycard, so I let her in. But she vaguely looked like a zombie or vampire, and since they say that vampires need to be invited into a building before they can strike, I thought it’d be funny if that turned out to be the case. Like the only thing standing between protective peace and gore raining down upon us was me and my power to open the door, and there I was, all, “Lalala, sure, I’ll open the door for you!” I’m sure I’d be singing a different tune when the bodies started piling up in the lunchroom, though.
song heard most recently before posting: Walk Away—Franz Ferdinand
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