Daily Dialogue — September 9, 2014
Dominic: I came when they opened it. It gave me the collywobbles. Still does.
V: [Disguised as William Rookwood] That’s close enough Inspector.
Finch: We’re not wired.
V: I’m sorry, but a man in my position survives by taking every precaution.
Finch: You’ve information for us.
V: No, you already have the information. All the names and dates are inside your head. What you want, what you really need, is a story.
Finch: A story can be true or false.
V: I leave such judgments to you, Inspector.
Our story begins, as these stories often do, with a young up-and-coming politician. He’s a deeply religious man and a member of the Conservative Party. He’s completely single-minded and has no regard for the political process. The more power he attains, the more obvious his zealotry, the more aggressive his supporters become. Eventually, his party launches a special project in the name of “national security.” At first, it’s believed to be a search for biological weapons and it’s pursued without regard to its cost. However, the true goal of this project is power, complete and total hegemonic domination. The project, however, ends violently, but the efforts of those involved are not in vain, for a new ability to wage war is born from the blood of one of their victims. Imagine a virus–the most terrifying virus you can–and then imagine that you, and you alone, have the cure. But if your ultimate goal is power, how best to use such a weapon? Well, it’s at this point in our story that along comes a spider. He is a man seemingly without a conscience; for whom the ends always justify the means, and it is he who suggests that their target should not be an enemy of the country, but rather the country itself. Three targets are chosen to maximize the effect of the attack: a school, a tube station, and a water-treatment plant. Several hundred die within the first few weeks.
Female Reporter: …that Three Waters has, in fact, been contaminated…
Male News Anchor: …authorities are attempting to control it’s deadly spread…
Male Reporter: …sent a wave of destruction throughout the underground.
V: Fueled by the media, fear and panic spread quickly, fracturing and dividing the country until at last the true goal comes into view. Before the St. Mary’s crisis, no one would have predicted the results of the election that year. No one. But then not long after the election, lo and behold, a miracle. Some believed it was the work of God himself, but it was a pharmaceutical company controlled by certain party members that made them all obscenely rich. A year later, several extremists are tried, found guilty, and executed, while a memorial is built to canonize their victims.
But the end result, the true genius of the plan was the fear. Fear became the ultimate tool of this government. And through it our politician was ultimately appointed to the newly-created position of High Chancellor. The rest, as they say, is history.
Finch: Can you prove any of this?
V: Why do you think I’m still alive?
Finch: All right. We’d like to take you into protective custody, Mr. Rookwood.
V: Oh, I’m sure you would. But if you want that recording, you’ll do what I tell you to do. Put Creedy under 24-hour surveillance. When I feel safe that he can’t pick his nose without you knowing, I’ll contact you again. Until then, cheerio.
Finch: Rookwood, why didn’t you come forward before? What were you waiting for?
V: Well, for you, Inspector. I needed you.
— V for Vendetta (2005), screenplay by Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Wisdom. Today’s suggestion by Will King.
Trivia: The original comic series was originally created by Alan Moore. However, following his negative experience with From Hell (2001) and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), Moore decided to reject all money and credit from Hollywood on any adaptations of his work. Thus, he gave all the money he would’ve gotten to the artist who drew the character with him, and rejected his own “created by” credit from the film.
Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary from Will: “Throughout the film to this point, Inspector Finch has been collecting pieces of the truth and slowly coming to believe that history as he understands it is wrong. The “criminal” V becomes a Trickster, disguising himself as William Rookwood, and then acts as Mentor to Inspector Finch to aid the Inspector’s understanding of all the evidence by sewing it into a complete narrative. The ultimate outcome of this meeting is that Finch’s outlook is changed permanently, even after he discovers he’s been played by V.”
If you have a suggestion for this week’s theme, please post in comments.
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