Comparative Essay - V for Vendetta and Children of Men

A summer task I was given for film studies was to watch "Children of Men" and "V for Vendetta" and write a comparative essay on them. I'd never watched either of them before so writing this essay was a slightly difficult but in the end this is what I managed to create.

Children of Men and V for Vendetta comparative essay

Priscilla Nash, Year 12, DV7

In Children of Men, the colours that were used in each scene were very neutral. Everything seemed like a mixture of blue, grey dullness to visually narrate how the bleak the world had become. Dark and subtle lighting was used to emphasize the banal and depressing atmosphere. The main locations in this film are the city, secluded parts of the countryside, run-down refugee sites and a long-forgotten town that’s in ruins. The costumes used in this film were very carefully selected. Social superiority and cultural division played a significant part in this film and is clearly shown by each character and how the act, speak and dress. Costumes of people in the city are well dressed, everyday clothes (sometimes smart clothing), people living in harsh conditions were wearing raged and worn out clothes. I think this film is unique because it shows how lost the world would be without children and it also highlights the consequences of having none present.

In a way, the story of V for Vendetta is told through the deaths of characters. Each victim that V killed played a significant part in his life and contributed to his dis-figuration and hatred for the current society in which he lives. In V for Vendetta, there are no bright or vibrant colours for the majority of the film, apart from the fireworks which symbolises V’s idea of a new beginning. The location of this film is in central London and V’s lair which he calls “The Shadow Gallery”. The only apparent lighting in the Shadow Gallery was from lamps on the walls and tables, creating an atmosphere of both tranquillity and suspense. The characters in V for Vendetta are wearing normal, everyday clothes except for V, the members of government and the prisoners at Larkhill. V wears a Guy Fawkes mask and is clothed in all black like some sort of a masked villain. The members of government are always in suits and the prisoners at Larkhill wear nothing but a medium-length piece of material. I think V for Vendetta is unique because it shows how the government can manipulate people and take away their human rights and freedom in most extreme ways.

Theo and Julian are a former married couple and have been distant from each other for a while (both emotionally and physically). Miriam is a retired midwife who is assigned to be Kee’s carer. Kee, the pregnant girl who needs to be transported in secret, learns to trust Theo and they build an unusual friendship throughout their journey. At one point or another, all characters confront rivalry, conspiracies and uprisings. Theo goes on his journey for the cash reward and brief (possibly sexual) re-conciliation with his wife. The film ends with Theo and Kee in a rowing boat, finally safe from the conflict, violence and people who were after her baby.

V meets Evey when he saves her from getting raped by the secret police called “Finger men”. After he saves her and she does the same for him the next day, he takes her to his lair and over the space of a year they form an un-usual friendship. The characters that V kills and leaves a rose on their chest are people who experimented on him and instigated his hatred and revenge. V and Evey confront the dilemmas of having people looking for them to be captured and killed. V goes on his journey to seek revenge for what was done to him, to destroy the ruling of a fascist government and to give the people back their freedom. The film ends with V dead and inside the tube that blows up parliament and all the people of London wearing capes and Guy Fawkes masks.

Dystopia, terrorism, conflict and infertility are the main themes that are explored in Children of Men. The dystopia aspects of this film are the noticeable signs of oppression and human despair that are created by infertility issues. Acts of terror that are in this film are made apparent in the first scene where there is an explosion and in the characters who call themselves “Fishes” who want to use the newborn baby for their revolt. The theme of conflict is explored widely throughout the film; displaying social and cultural superiority, disagreements on political views and copious amounts of wars.

The dominant themes in V for Vendetta are dystopia, terrorism and fascism. The dystopian and fascist aspects of V for Vendetta are demonstrated by the government who control the nation’s every move and anyone who opposes would be detained. The film is based around government conspiracy which links in with the theme of terrorism. Blowing up the Old Bailey and Parliament was V’s way of sending a strong message to the people who controlled society.

The ideas that are explored in Children of Men are the consequences of infertility and how the world would react. It also explores how the birth of a new child can cause both peace and chaos between sets of people. I think the film tells us that without human reproduction, the world would be a banal place to live in and people would turn to extreme jobs and priorities to fill their time.

The ideas that are explored in V for Vendetta are reclaiming back freedom and not to conform to fascists who have every inch of control. In V for Vendetta, Evey learns how to live without fear and V learns how the trait of love and compassion.

I noticed there are quite a few similarities between Children of Men and V for Vendetta. Both films start off with a news report that set the tone and back-story of what’s happening. They both cling to the theme that Britain/England is the only stable country even though the world is in ruins. Dystopia is a primary factor in both films which is demonstrated by government conspiracies and living in a fixed, commercialized society. In Children of Men and V for Vendetta, both films target certain groups of people: terrorists, immigrants and homosexuals. V for Vendetta illustrates how homosexuals would be detained and Children of Men shows hoe immigrants would be put in cages, harsh conditions and refugee camps.  In both films the main characters die at the end of their journey, doing what they think is right for themselves, the female they’re looking after and their society.