V’s Vendetta on politics engulfs protesters all over the world

It is not the first time that movie costumes have become an insignia for a cult or a group of activist but the Guy Fawkes mask has become a new sensation for the protesters in the worldwide campaign against capitalism and politics.

Activists all around the world have been seen wearing Fawkes masks, registering their hatred toward the contemporary political and economical system that has led countless corporate layoffs and financial meltdown.

However, the law enforcement agencies look helpless in controlling this developing emblem as there seems to be no ground on which it can be stopped.

David Lloyd who created the original mask for Alan Moore’s graphic novel said it is like dressing in a shirt with a picture of Dearth Wader or Che Guevara, no one can arrest you for wearing them.

“The Guy Fawkes mask has now become a common brand and a convenient placard to use in protest against tyranny – and I’m happy with people using it, it seems quite unique, an icon of popular culture being used this way,” he said.

The mask with a curved moustache and a point beard was first incorporated by James McTeigue in the Wachowski Brothers movie, V for Vendetta (2006), in which the lead character named V (played by Hugo Weaving) avenged the reigning political party for the wrong doings on him in a concentration camp.

V was the lone survivor of a catastrophic event at the camp. The fascist political party drew his feud after a series of unfortunate events.

The last scene of the film, where the citizens of a modern London—unarmed and wearing the Guy Fawkes masks—bring down the government, became an inspiration for the protesters all around the world.

However, it is not the first time that the famed Fawkes mask has become a coat of arms for the activists. In 2008 a hacker-activist group Anonymous took the same disguise to register their disapproval of the religious cult, Scientology. The economical system has become its newest victim.

Capitalism had been a sweet child of the American people in the last century but the true face of the system started to show its vitals in 2008 when the recession that started at infamous Wall Street devoured the global economy.

The recent protests against politicians, banks and other financial institutions, which ironically started in the US, went viral all around the world engulfing the masses from New York to London to Sydney.

The western economy that took a huge leap of faith by investing in investment banking and realty business went berserk in third quarter of 2008 leading to the destitution of Bear Stearns which was then sold to JP Morgan for $2 a share. Main Street giants Lehman Brothers closely followed and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 26, 2008.

The second alarm of a big slump in the stock exchanges all around the world in fiscal year 2011 brought together the favourers of a more socialist economy.

Posted by Usman Khalid on Oct 20 2011. Filed under Business, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry