V for Vendetta, A for Anarchy, T for Terrorist

I feel that this movie is quite thought provoking. It talks about the life under authoritarian government that suppresses freedom and restricts the people’s rights for the sake of social order. CCTV and corrupt secret police force are used to monitor every movement of the people. Freedom of expression is suppressed. The state controlled the media, which offered biased views and serves more of a propaganda tool rather than news service. Striving for a change, “V” appears and launches a series of strike against the officials and government installations. “V” creates the mass movement that finally topples the regime.

In the movie, “V” is portrayed as the hero that led people towards the freedom. Anyone who feels that there is a need for radical change may claim that he received the calling from the Supreme Being to lead the masses against any institution. Similarly, Imam Samudra and Osama bin Laden felt that they were answering the call from their God to fight against the enemy. They were heroes before their followers’ eyes, but a terrorist in the masses’ perspective. And the question is whether anyone has the justification to wage a war, whether for freedom or religious goals, in which the innocents become the victims? As the saying goes, one mans’ freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.

There are many nice quotations in the movie. The best one is “the people should not be afraid of their governments, and the governments should be afraid of the people.” This is the ideal situation in the democratic countries. Ironically, there are many governments who are democratically elected push for many bills that take the rights away from the people and preserve their power.

Anti Sedition bill, Anti Terrorism Act, Internal Security Act, State of Civil Emergency and many others are used more as a tool to curtail the civil liberty. In Indonesia and Singapore, the meeting of more than 10 people can be considered as unlawful assembly and liable to imprisonment. In the USA, the American has to contend with the fact that their phone lines are tapped and to hell with privacy.

However, it is imperative to note that civil blood makes civil hands unclean. “V” may be the heroes that fight for the civil liberties for the people. But once people like him manage to get into power, things will be different. That person will tend to sway away from the ideal and get corrupted. Personal ego will replace the initial goal of delivering a better environment for the oppressed and exploited.

Alberto Fujimori, the ex president of Peru is one of the example. During his first election campaign, he offered the people a better governance and promise to lead them to a better future. He did. Once he became the President, he initiated a series of reforms that turn many poor Peruvian into the middle class people. However, during his second term, he ruined himself by engaging in massive corruption acts.

President Sukarno of Indonesia is another example. The hero who led Indonesia to its independence was more concern about his personal position in the global politics. His ego of a glamorous Jakarta so that he could be proud of himself before the presence of foreign dignitaries plunged the countries into financial mess. He talked about national pride, building expensive monuments and magnificent hotels when the people need food to feed their empty stomach.