V for Vendetta directed by James McTeigue.

In the film V for Vendetta is a 2005 dystopian political thriller film, that is directed by James McTeigue. In the text below, there is a variety of cinematography techniques used in the film, that includes the examples of, the Symbolisms, costumes,  flashbacks, dialogues and sound effect of the music that James McTeigue uses in this film. This emphasises the idea that everybody has the right to be individuality and have the right of the duty to resist the conformism from the government. James McTeigue uses symbolism in the film V for Vendetta to juxtapose the idea of individuality and the resistance of forced conformity. In one of the starting main scenes in the film, that includes the fighting scene and the Domino scene. Most of the world’s population have become the victims of the perpetual war. This associate to this as well as the omnipresent government surveillance and public manipulation. These Parties doesn’t actually involve the killing to the people, but in fact, they arrest them. This simply puts them through enough indoctrination and torture that they are in essence transformed into different people, and then they get released back into society. Based on the historical significance of Guy Fawkes, as he was one of the members in a small group of the Catholics from the gun plot. Their plan was to burn down the Parliament and put the action in place to kill King James. As the building inside made laws against the Roman Catholics and was treated unfairly. This event took place on the fifth of November, the quote that V used in the start of the film “Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason, and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever forget”.

In V for Vendetta, the techniques at the beginning of the domino scene, uses an example of costume changes in the characters and symbols that is used throughout the film, include the buildings “parliament”, the mask and the letter V. In this dialogue, “A building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. Alone, a symbol is meaningless, but with enough people, blowing up a building can change the world” – V. A symbol of the parliament means the act of destroying it completely as it must come to the end somehow. In the modern society now, as according to the history, this mask has become a symbol of the anarchism, the revolution, and civil disobedience. An example of a use of the mask meaning is that it demonstrators in Egypt and at the Occupy Wall Street in New York City when they wore the iconic mask to show that they disapproval of their government. The mask is a powerful symbol that can communicate the wearer’s allegiance to the spirit of Guy Fawkes, the poor man who tried and failed to blow up the Houses of Parliament in the 16th century and his opposition to the Norsefire government that controls England and end up dying himself. One importance of the masks was power, as it is a symbol that is anonymity and is that anyone can wear this mask and be embody the spirit of rebellion. Guy Fawkes mask represents the symbol at their most powerful: they can transform individual, flawed people into something more powerful and create movements. This symbol is shown in all of the scenes V appears in the film and again… In this scene, we see thousands of citizens gather wearing the masks and remove them. Masks often symbolise a character hiding their identity. Through V’s quote, “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people”. We should never be afraid of the governments as we have the right of our own, therefore. In this quote, we learned that identity inside the mask as people who can live without the control of the governments and that they are set for the justice of freedom. Eg being homosexual like Valerie. That she shouldn’t have to be punished and be killed as this is what she wants in her life. The governments should go against it. Through the change of the ‘new world’, this has become more than a political change.  The mask associate in spirits, and have been carried in the hearts and minds of those who really do stand there. It’s also notable that this is the only scene in the film apart from the flashbacks where any black people are seen and people who are perspectives as seen for the homosexual pairs. The mask is a symbol and a costume that lead to a hacktivist group and.features that is stylish and portrayal of a face with an oversized smile that makes everyone aware not to be afraid of the government as the governments should be afraid of their people. The mask adds the red cheeks with a wide mustache upturned at both of the ends, and a thin vertical pointed beard, that was designed by the illustrator, David Lloyd. This is to represent the broader protest after it was used as a major plot and costume in the film on V for Vendetta, and it was published in 1982. Another example of the costumes was when in the beginning, Evey dresses to blend in with the crowds, the way she dresses was wearing light colours like “innocent”, as nothing stands out from her associated by the society. However, towards the end of the film, V helps Evey to lose her fear and discover who she really is. The society is living beneath the government’s “laws”. After when V shaves her head and after this point, Evey then begins to wear darker coloured items of clothing, such as black and grey, and she wears her new bold hairstyle with pride. As she doesn’t cover it with any wigs or hats to hide her bold head style. This will be similar to the costume changes, shown in the film with the Matrix, which James McTeigue helped to direct to us and take the advantage to have an in-depth understanding of the film. After Evey’s change, everyone seems to be scared of her and making her feel “out of place”, even the little girl as she sees saw her, she ran away as if she saw a ghost or a terrifying person. While in the Matrix, the characters wear darker clothes, these colour show a change in the attitude of the characters’ desires to resist being controlled and forced into the conformity by the Machines. This change in costume is similar to V for Vendetta, which shows Evey’s new-found in the confidence in her identity, and her willingness to resist of conforming to the totalitarian society where she lives in. By doing this, the director urges us as viewers, and try to find their own individuality and to resist the conformism in their own lives. The ‘new world’ is not shown but is more than a political change. In the film, when V saves Evey from the secret police, Every discovered herself and V’s name was linked together, E-V. This means that V is “everyone” in the society. Everyone is living in between the hands of the governments and the controlling of them. In the quote, “He was Edmond Dantés… and he was my father. And my mother… my brother… my friend. He was you… and me. He was all of us.” The name V is not just a symbol nor a name, everyone is linked together and are part of one society. This emphasises how the ideas of freedom and justices that contribute into an individual person that lead to their power, and the change continues on even after V’s death from the support of society. In the film, McTeigue uses this film to warn his viewers that dangers of not resisting forced conformism, through the lack of change in the costume of the characters and uses symbolism.

In the fight scene near to the end, through the use of dialogue between Mr. Creedy and V talking, “Die! Die! Why won’t you die?”. Through this text, he is properly wondering why won’t V die after so many gunshots, and if he was a human then he would have died in one shot. But through V’s dialogue, he says, “Beneath this mask, there is more than flesh Mr. Creedy. Beneath this mask, there is an idea. And ideas are bulletproof”. This refers when wearing the mask, it can mean more than just a face with a smile, it means our identity and that everything is linked together and even the people. Through the use of the costume and the symbol technique, we have learned that everyone has the advantage to have the ability to have freedom, not to do bad things, but in fact good things. When V refers to the ideas, he says it is bulletproof because, they won’t die and won’t be forgotten, as it can’t be destroyed as it is referred to the word of bulletproof. Another technique that was used in the fight-ending scene, that McTeigue uses was sound effects in the music when the soldiers are surrounding V and after many shots of the gun from the soldiers, V then said it’s time for him to kill them. V then pulls his knives out and he kills them,  this use of the effect in the music shows how this has come to an end and that it should have ended earlier, the music is within the beat time with the knives when V swings his knives and kill the soldiers. We hear the strong winds moving in a slow motion of the directions with the knives flying across the other end and kill the soldiers… and there one by one, the soldiers fall to the ground. This idea of the sound effect of the music in the background so it makes it even more exciting for us and it can determine that something is about to happen in the end. Back in the days when V lived, those laws shouldn’t have existed and the idea that everybody has the right to be individuality and have their right to the duty to resist the conformism from the governments. A quote used in the film was, “A building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. Alone, a symbol is meaningless, but with enough people, blowing up a building can change the world”. – V.  The building is a symbol and it means the matter of destroying it completely. After the fight scene when V killed them all, through Evey’s quote, “We are told to remember the idea, not the man because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world”. V is the hero of us all…

In “V for Vendetta”, directed by James McTeigue and the writer of, The Wachowski Brothers. They use cinematography techniques in the film, that includes the examples of, the Symbolism, costumes,  flashbacks, dialogues and sound effect of the music. In reality to this, Fifth of November is a public holiday that was set in the history that they would celebrate the death of Guy Fawkes. Then, November 5 was later declared and has become a national holiday and till then, people began to burn the effigies of Fawkes. After the setting on the fireworks, this is to represent the gunpowder. In this case, it is “V”, who has succeeded in burning the parliament and has killed all those people associated with the parliament revenge them back. He died in the end after the last fight and the fair has come to an end he was our hero that they the society will never forget the night fifth of November. In the end, V may have been killed like of what Guy Fawkes did, but however the ideas of freedom and justice can endure and emphasise the idea in power, and the change continues even on after V’s death and the support from the society after they knew the truth. The ideas that the directors’ intention was about the power of control, and the power of ideas that emphasises the justice and freedom in each individual and finding their identity through others. The effect on u as the viewer is that we are often trapped in the society of the government’s hands…