V for Vendetta

The 2005 film, V for Vendetta directed by James McTeigue and based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore, depicts the interplay of personal and political power through the protagonist known by the single letter V (played by Hugo Weaving). The film is set in London in the year 2038 where the country has become a totalitarian state under the supreme control of High Chancellor Sutler (John Hurt), who is portrayed as an omnipotent leader. V rescues a young girl called Evey (played by Natalie Portman) from Sutler's police known as “the Fingermen” and sets about on his quest of revenge to mark the 5th of November forever in history, and remind the people of London that “people should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people.”

The film was an effective medium to not only portray the personal power of V’s revenge, but also to provide a visual for what one person can do to affect the masses. It depicts a struggle of powers as can be related in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, but the medium of production allows it to reach a wider and more varied audience (for example, teenagers, adults, action film fans - as opposed to literary critics or Shakespeare fanatics).

The forms of powerplay that are shown are personal and political. These two aspects are   interconnected through V using his personal power to shed light on the power the political regime has; causing anarchy in the world of politics, and undermining the effect of the government on the people. V is a rebel filled with ideas about how a society should act and focuses on the idea of tearing down an old government to build a new. He is pictured throughout the entire film in the disguise of his hero, Guy Fawkes, who he refers to saying; “Men can be forgotten but ideas never die.”

The idea of political powerplay in it's most literate form is highlighted when Evey, reflecting on her parent's capture by the government, says “I would watch the news at night in...