1984 and V for Vendetta

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

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around in.

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

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Constant surveillance by the mysterious Big Brother...

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Bizarre attitudes toward sex and gender...

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Varicose veins...

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Mandatory exercise videos...

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And rats…big ol’ nasty rats.

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

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has to do the oppressing, right?

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Things are pretty good from where Big Brother is sitting.

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

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wants.

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

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

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

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

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the time the year 1984 came around.

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

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

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from finding its way to new mediums, however.

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

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exploding onto the scene as a popular film in 2006.

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

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

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has taken absolute control.

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

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

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However, 1984 and V definitely have their differences.

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

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and Anarchy square off… with explosive results.

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

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a champion determined to take down the oppressive regime.

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

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

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

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

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

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dystopian works on film.

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Don’t worry. No one’s watching you…

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