I am Kyle's self-indulgence

V for Vendetta is to be released in theaters this week, and already I have read many reviews that either attack or praise the writers' and filmmakers' political ideologies. Some attempt to paint the story as a leftist attack on conservative politics. Others accuse it of glorifying terrorist violence. Even the work's defenders claim that V for Vendetta is a daring story that features a terrorist in the role of the hero or "good guy." While I have not yet seen the Wachowskis' film, I can say with great confidence that such narrowly defined, black-and-white morality does not exist in Alan Moore's book.

V for Vendetta is about one man working to overthrow an oppressive government. It is about the power an individual has against authoritative rule. It is about anarchy vs. fascism. It is not about liberal or conservative politics. Such terms do not apply to V's world. Fascism refers to a government's attempts to control the public and private lives of its citizens, an act that can be, and often has been, performed by liberal and conservative politicians alike (under the American understanding of those terms). If a criticism of an imaginary fascist British state is taken as an attack on American political conservatism, I'd suggest that is more a reflection on the direction American conservatism has taken than on any specific message intended by Alan Moore.

Even when understood as the conflict between anarchy and fascism, V for Vendetta still lacks the clear black-and-white morality many people attribute to it. I have never thought of V as being a true hero, in the traditional good vs. evil sense. His character is morally ambiguous at best, and I believe Moore goes to great lengths to keep him so. Throughout the graphic novel V hides his face behind a ceramic mask. He reveals no thoughts and no emotions, but rather carries out his attacks with cold, determined purpose. As readers, we are uninformed about his identity and background. We have no way to connect with the character; at times he seems barely human.

As a literary character, V is a black canvas onto which we paint our own biases and prejudices. Like the cliche that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, the morality of V's actions is completely in the eye of the beholder. While Alan Moore has stated in interviews his own preference for anarchy as an ideology, I doubt that even he would advocate the meastures V takes in his cause. He rebels against a cruel and murderous regime, but in the process he engages in his own share of cruelty and murder, and not just against those who may deserve it. In a pivotal scene V tortures (and, depending on your biases, brainwashes) an innocent person. From a neutral perspective, one could make the case that V is every bit the fascist that the government is, albeit on a smaller scale.

It's important to keep these things in mind when considering the story of V for Vendetta. I believe it is a fascinating piece of work that raises important questions about fascism and rebellion. The moral ambiguity of it provides a great opportunity for discussion. I only hope that the Wachowskis' film preserves this ambiguity in such a way that intelligent viewers will recognize it and appreciate the story for what it is.