Alan Moore / V for Vandetta

"Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici "(By the power of Truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe)


Here's something that crossed my mind since it being election fever and i thought i will highlight one of my favourite authors.

Alan Moore is one of my favourite english writers, actually its his medium of writing that attracted me ie.Graphic Novels/Comics. Amongst the the countless are "Watchmen, From Hell, Swamp Thing, The League of Extrodinary Gentlemen and V for Vandetta, which was adapted to the big screen and believe it or not Moore refused payment from it!!

I enjoyed the movie because i don't expect much from movies. However i found the dialog very bold eventhough it varied from the book. But we must remember that whats good in a book may not necessarily be translated to the big screen. The movie proposes some really disturbing ideas and gets you to thinking. I feel we need this thought provoking process in order to break the cycle of perpetual media brain washing.

Below is a transcript to V's television broadcast transcribed from the book. Read it till the end and think about it.


Here we go:

"Good evening London,

I thought it time we had a little talk.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Then I’ll begin…

I supposed you are wondering why I called you here this
evening. Well, you see, I’m not entirely satisfied with your performance
lately.. I am afraid your work’s been slipping, and… and well, I am afraid we’ve
been thinking about letting you go.

Oh, I know, I know. You’ve been with the company a long time
now. Almost.. let me see. Almost ten Thousand years! My word, doesn’t time fly?
It seems like only yesterday..

I remember the day you commenced your employment, swinging
down from trees, fresh-faced and nervous, a bone clasped in your bristling fist…”Where
do I start, sir?’ You asked , plaintively.

I recall my exact words: “There is a pile of dinosaur eggs
over there, youngster,” I said, smiling paternally the while. “Get sucking.”

Well, we’ve certainly come a long way since then, haven’t we?
And yes, yes, you’re right, in all that time you haven’t missed a Day. Well
done thou good and faithful servant.

Also, please don’t think I’ve forgotten about your
outstanding service record or about the invaluable contribution that you’ve
made to the company ( Picture of man landing on the moon in the background).
Fire, the wheel, agriculture…It’s an impressive list, old-timer. A Jolly
impressive list. Don’t get me wrong. But…well, to be frank, we’ve had our
problems, too. There is no getting away from it. Do you know what I think a lot
of it stems from? I’ll tell you..

It’s your basic unwillingness to GET ON within the company.
You don’t seem to want to face up to any real responsibility, or to be your own
boss. Lord knows you’ve been given plenty of opportunities. We’ve offered you
promotion time and time again, and each time you’ve turned us down.” I couldn’t
handle the work, Guv’ner,” you wheedled. “I know my place!"

To be frank, you’re not even trying, are you?

You see, you’ve been standing still for far too long and it’s
starting to show in your work. And, I might add, in your general standard
behavior.

The constant bickering on the factory floor has not escaped
my attention, nor the recent bouts of rowdiness in the Staff Canteen. Then of
course there’s.. Hmmm. Well, I don’t really want to have to bring this up, but…
Well, you see. I’ve been hearing some disturbing rumors about your personal
life. No, never mind who told me. No names, no pack drill…

I understand that you
are unable to get on with your spouse. I hear that you argue. I am told that
you shout. Violence has been mentioned. I am reliably informed that you always
hurt the one you love… The one you shouldn’t hurt at all.

And what about the children? It’s always the children who
suffer, as you’re well aware. Poor little Mites. What are they to make of it?
What are they to make of your bullying, your despair, your cowardice and all of
your fondly nurtured bigotries?

Really, it’s not good enough is it?

And it’s no good blaming the drop in work standards upon bad
management either, though, to be sure the management is VERY BAD.

In fact, let us not mince words… The Management is TERRIBLE!

We’ve had a string of embezzlers, frauds, Liars, and lunatics
making a string of catastrophic decisions ( Pictures of Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini
in the back ground). This is plain fact.

But who elected them?

It was YOU! You who appointed these people! You gave them
the power to make your decisions for you!

While I’ll admit that anyone can make a mistake once, to go
on making the same lethal errors century after century seems to me nothing
short of deliberate.

You have encouraged those malicious incompetents, who have
made your working Life a shambles. You have accepted without question their senseless
orders. You have allowed them to fill your workspace with dangerous and unproven
machines (Picture of a nuclear explosion in the background).

You could’ve stopped them. All you had to say was “NO”.

You have no spine. You have no pride. You are no longer an
asset to the company.

I will, however, be generous. You will be granted two years
to show me some improvement in your work. If at the end of that time you are
still unwilling to make a go of it… You’re Fired!

That will be all.. You may return to your labors now!"