America Misrepresented

There are many reasons why V for Vendetta would be seen with controversy by Americans in our present day and age. However, I find it far more interesting and enlightening to examine the controversy the book created at its original time of release. In order to do so, it is necessary to take a quick look at the time period and at some of the events that had recently occurred.

The book began being conceived in the year 1981 and was released in 1988. During this time period, America’s President was Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher was elected as Britain’s Prime Minister in 1983. These two leaders generated a healthy friendship between their two free countries as they resisted the totalitarian advancements of much of the rest of the world. The two governments worked to prevent the very thing that the book portrayed happening to their countries. It is easy to see how the book could create dissension in the U.S., because the book implies that the U.S. has turned on Britain.

Another reason that the book created an abundance of controversy was because of some of its central ideas and themes. The main character, “V,” is a terrorist, yet he is glorified and justified. He acts out through violence, illegal acts, and manipulation, yet the author works to persuade the reader to take his side because they sympathize with his cause. He rebels against authority, yet at the end of the book the reader finds himself being satisfied with V’s success and justifying his acts because of the results that ensue. It is easy to see why U.S. citizens could become angry with the storyline and central ideas of the book. Everything that America stood for was contradicted and then justified.