Comparative analysis of “V for Vendetta” and “Children of
Men”-Film Studies.
Both “V for Vendetta” and “Children of Men” are dystopian
movies were a form of extreme prejudice has taken over England due to chaos
arising around the world. “V for
Vendettas” main protagonist, V is seen as a terrorist by the public of London
due to the “demolition” of one of the governments buildings, “The Old Baily”
and is then on sought after by the executives and leader of a, supposed “God
fearing” government, to bring the political activist to grinding halt, all the
while V seeks revenge on those who turned him into what he has become.
“Children of Mens” main protagonist is a, relatively normal man named Theo
living in a world where the entire population of earth has become
infertile. Theo is found by an old
political activist he once protested alongside called Julian, who has now
become the leader of an association known as the “Fish”. She gives Theo the
task of safely transporting a girl named Key (who literally carries the answer
to solving the world’s problem) to an association known as “The Human Project”.
A comparison can already be made about the dystopian worlds
which the protagonists live in. Both dystopian worlds are based on England
being the only surviving country on earth after a form of crisis happens, in
these cases, “V for Vendettas” dystopian world came to be due to war and
disease, and then Britain quarantining its self. “Children of Mens” dystopian
world is created by the world’s population becoming infertile, making each
country fall into chaos, apart from England. England decides to cast out any
refugees to make sure that the only people receiving any help or benefit of the
situation is a true British citizen.
Another comparison which can be drawn from the two movies is
that the protagonists are seen by the antagonists or other groups in the films,
as terrorists. V is believed to be a terrorist by the leader of “The Party”,
Adam Sutler. It is believable as to why he thinks this as V destroyed a
building at the start of the movie. Theo is also sought after for being a
supposed terrorist, as he worked with a political activists group, “The Fish”,
who are also believed by the government to be terrorists.
One last small comparison between the characters and narrative
of the two movies is that both male main protagonists have a female companion,
of which a relationship is built up around throughout the film. When Eevee
meets V, he saves her life from a group of thugs from “The Party” known as
“Fingerman”. She then on only knows him
to be some strange man dressed in black wearing a Guy Fawkes mask who saved her
life. Their relationship builds over the course of the movie, as V teaches
Eevee his way of life and how to live without fear, which soon leads to them falling
in love with each other. Theo has two female companions over the course of the
movie, Julian and Key. But the character which a relationship is built up
around is key’s. Theo first meets Key when he is tasked with the job of
delivering her to a group called the “Human Project”, as she is the first
person in 18 years that has been pregnant and successfully had a baby, which
the group she is a part of, “The Fish”, believe can solve the worlds
infertility problem. The relationship between Theo and Key builds up closer to
the end of the movie, as all the people who traveled with Theo ends up boiling
down to just Key and himself. It’s at this point in the movie were their
relationship becomes larger as Theo has to help Key through child birth and get
her safely out of Bexhill refugee centre which at the time was going through an
uprising
A comparison between the themes of the two movies is that
there are forms of extreme prejudice against other ethnicity, religions or
even sexual preferences. In “V for Vendetta” there are forms of extreme
prejudice against other religions, race and sexual preferences. This is due to
the government being “God fearing”, so anything that is anti-Christian will be,
as they say in the film, “Black bagged” meaning that people or objects that go
against the Christian faith will be taken away or the person will be arrested.
In “Children of Men”, the prejudice falls upon refuges. Any illegal immigrants
found within Britain are taken away to a sort of refugee shanty town called
“Bexhill”. Any refugees found are extremely miss- treated by the soldiers who
handle them.
A final comparison that can be made between the two films is
that after a great crisis occurring in the world, the government in both films
completely breaks down without question. In both dystopian worlds the British
government changes entirely, thinking that anyone who is not entirely on their
side is their enemy and should be either punished or executed. This is an odd
thing to do at a time of crisis because surly making the situation worse with
all the prejudice, fear and controversy is just going to make everything worse.
Concluding the comparisons of “V for Vendetta” and “Children
of Men”, both protagonists are misconstrued by their government as terrorists,
only meaning harm on their country with no good ulterior motive. Who by the end
of the movie either make the situation better or completely solve the main
problem of the film.
-Adam Lee
