RoR: Forum

Something struck me when reading this quote; I can't really put my finger on what it is.

It might be the modal "should"...

"Should" a government be afraid of it's own people, or should an ideal society create an attitude where the government and people live in mutual admiration?

I certainly think it's desirable, but realistic? The power lies somewhere, nothing is going to change that.

I look foward to seeing the film, however.

Andy.

Post 1

Thursday, March 16, 2006 - 7:00pm

If it follows the graphic novel, it'll be a hard-hitting movie, for sure....

Post 2

Saturday, March 18, 2006 - 2:43pm

Oooh, this movie immediately went to my top ten list. I saw it last night with a friend, then afterwards we went to the beach and saw herds of crabs scuttling on the sand, under the moonlight. I'm currently in love with V, with his rooms of books and art, his martial skill, his command, his thought, his personal power, his lack of fear. Yes, I know he is fiction, but it is the idea I love.

�Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. There is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.�

�It does not do to rely too much on silent majorities, Evey, for silence is a fragile thing...one loud noise, and it�s gone... Noise is relative to the silence preceding it - the more absolute the hush, the more shocking the thunderclap. Our masters have not heard the people�s voice for generations�and it is much much louder than they care to remember.�

V, V is for Vendetta

Post 3

Saturday, March 18, 2006 - 2:48pm

Yes - got more into it than thought it would have..... did the book justice

Post 4

Sunday, March 19, 2006 - 10:49pm

Gooood movie!

Paraphrase:
"You have conquered fear, you are now free."

Ed

Post 5

Monday, March 20, 2006 - 5:03pm

You have conquered fear, you are now free.

I cried at the part where she was standing in the rain after her imprisonment. I can't remember a time when I've cried like that at a movie.

Post 6

Monday, March 20, 2006 - 5:26pm

Well, er, uh, normally a tough guy like me doesn't like to admit this (in front of thousands of potential onlookers) -- but I cried like a baby from the toilet paper readings all through to the rain scene.

I also got a little teary-eyed at the end, too.

Ed
[and I like admitting that]

Post 7

Monday, March 20, 2006 - 6:16pm

It was deliberate, too, using the 1812 Overture - a terrific piece of ironicness...
As for his place, it sure reminded me of where I live now, save for the difference in size - a library, books all around me, art works abound here and there, and the best in serious music.......[now, where did I put that mask......? ;-)) ]

Post 8

Monday, March 20, 2006 - 6:42pm

I loved this movie and it is definately in my top ten all time list. Very rarely is a movie intelligent, so emotionally engaging, and have powerfull important philosophical undertones. Here were some other great quotes that caught my attention:

�inside that cell you found something that mattered more to you than life�

�our integrity sells for so little, but it is the most precious thing we have�

�My body is dying, every inch of it but one, and that inch is me.�

�Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. There is an idea�and ideas are bulletproof�

�Beneath this mask is a face, but that face is no more me than the muscles beneath it or the bones beneath them�

Post 9

Monday, March 20, 2006 - 6:45pm

Ed,
I held it off until the rain scene. And I didn't cry at the end. I guess my heart consists more of stone (hm, marble, perhaps?) than yours... *smile*

Post 10

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 11:23pm

The story of my life ...

;-)

Ed
[some relevant f-f-t: Gender differences in the relationship between empathy and forgiveness. J Soc Psychol. 2005 Dec;145(6):673-85. Empathy was associated with forgiveness in men--but not in women.]

Post 11

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 11:34pm

Gender differences: For me, the jury's still out on the empathy-gender differences thing... I've seen articles on both sides of the issue. Howevever, if we ever see a movie that's prone to make one weepy, I'll make sure to bring some Kleenex... for both pairs of eyes! ;)

Post 12

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 7:37am

That makes me want to cry.

;-)

Ed

Post 13

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 11:12am

I watched it with enjoyment, and emotion. But...I was left thinking "ok...now what?" at the end. I also wondered about that line about ideas being bulletproof. Exactly what ideas was he talking about? But otherwise, sweet movie, one I would watch again.

Post 14

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 8:57pm

John,

=============
I also wondered about that line about ideas being bulletproof. Exactly what ideas was he talking about?
=============

The idea of freedom. Think Magna Carta. Think William Wallace ("They can take our lives, but they can't take our ... "). Think Thomas Jefferson -- and you will see that nothing, and I mean nothing, can stop an idea whose time has come.

It's a liberty-or-death thing, a live-free-or-die phenomenon. In these particular instances, death only creates martyrs -- often those that have a stronger influence in death, than they did in life! Again, ideas rule -- there's nothing and no one who is more important than right ideas, applied to men on Earth.

Without ideas, we're dead in the water -- doomed before we start. It's a homo sapien thing -- and folks should take note.

Ed

Post 15

Friday, March 24, 2006 - 5:34am

Yes Ed I know all that. But the film didnt make it clear enough which ideas would lead to flourishing and liberty. True enough it was against tyranny and totalitarianism. I suppose that is enough...

Post 16

Friday, March 24, 2006 - 9:32am

John,

You're right, the movie was too vague. My conservative friend said it was also left-Liberal -- because of being anti-far-Right. She said that it would fuel left-Liberals.

I wish I had a clear argument against her claim. I blame the movie for this insufficiency.

Ed

Post 17

Friday, March 24, 2006 - 1:56pm

Alan Moore, the writer of the comic book series this movie was based on, is an anarchist and he has said of Objectivism that he finds it "laughable."

Of course, you can't just be fighting against something, you must also be fighting for something. The vagueness of what V is fighting for is what's missing from the story.

If you're interested in what Moore has had to say about Objectivism, Steve Ditko and more, try this site.

Post 18

Friday, March 24, 2006 - 2:14pm

Thanks for clearing that up, Bob!

Ed

Post 19

Friday, March 24, 2006 - 2:18pm