V for vendetta speech

[brave_new_world]

Hey everyone. Some of you have seen the movie V for vendetta and some have not. Some have read the comic book and some have not. Anyway for those who have never read the comic or seen the movie. V is a terrorist of sorts (anyone who uses violence to achieve their ends is a terrorist in my eyes) who has a personal vendetta against people in governmental power who committed scientific and political atrocities against him in the past. At the same time he has a vision of setting the people free from the totalitarian police state which England had developed into.

Anyway in the story V hijacks a mainstream television broadcasting studio by strapping himself with dynamite and coercing the workers into braodcasting his tape to the country. His tape contains footage of himself in his famous disguise preaching a somewhat revolutionary political sermon about taking responsibility for one's actions and being responsible for one's government. The speech in the movie is different from the one in the comic. I am going to type up the one from the comic.

Good evening, London. I thought it time we had a little talk. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...

I suppose you're wondering why I've called you here this evening. Well you see, I'm not entirely satisfied with your performance lately.... I'm afraid your work's been slipping, and...and well, I'm 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 the 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's 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, havn't we? And yes, yes, you're right, in all that time you havn't missed a day. Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Also please don't think I've forgotten about your out-standing service record, or about all of the invaluable contributions that you've made to the company... Fire ,the wheel of 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's 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 unwillingless 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'nor," you wheedled. "I know my place"

To be frank, you're not 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 behaviour. 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....Hmmmm. Well, I didn't really want to have to bring this up, but...Well, you see I've been hearing some disturbing rumours about your personal life.

No, never you 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 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 usnot mince words...the managment is terrible! We've had a string of embezzlers, frauds, liars and lunatics making a string of catastrophic decisions. This is plain fact.

But who elected them? It was you! You who appointed these people! You who 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 these 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.

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 labours.

Edited January 21, 2007 by brave_new_world

[when.i.am.queen.]

It's a great speech - wish that they had used that one word for word in the movie.

But...why are you posting it? Or do you want people to agree that it's good?

[brave_new_world]

It's a great speech - wish that they had used that one word for word in the movie.

But...why are you posting it? Or do you want people to agree that it's good?

I feel that the essence of this message needs to be heard that is all. And also it gave me something to do.

Edited January 21, 2007 by brave_new_world

[Cadetak]

The movie version:

Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat. There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed the Old Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot.

"People shouldn't be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people."

P.S. I can't find the full version of the Valerie Letter from the movie anyone have it?

Edited January 21, 2007 by Cadetak47

[brave_new_world]

Thanks for adding those Cadetak47. Much appreciated.

[Cadetak]

Thanks for adding those Cadetak47. Much appreciated.

What can I say...I like blowing buildings up.

Edited January 21, 2007 by Cadetak47

[brave_new_world]

"....fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives." Edited January 21, 2007 by brave_new_world

[liokee]

I may regret asking this, but does anyone happen to have a copy of the movie speech (or know where I could find it) that V gives when he first meets the girlie, in the alley? All the words that begin with "V"? I was trying to describe it to a friend and she didn't believe that someone could work all those "V" words into a comprehensive speech...

[brave_new_world]

But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona.

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.

The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.

Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

If only I could be so articulate. *sighs*

[when.i.am.queen.]

It's a great speech, the one in the beginning. My friend use to be able to say it all, but has since forgotten it.

Oh yeah, and way to go Cadetak..though it would have been better with paragraphs - still good to read it though.

And the Valerie Story? Anyone? I've also been looking for it...

[liokee]

Ah, thanks BNW! You can be my personal hero for the day!

[brave_new_world]

Ah, thanks BNW! You can be my personal hero for the day!

Or your personal V for the day?!

[when.i.am.queen.]

Hey Brave, any chance of you pulling the Valerie story out of your hat as well?

[EmpressStarXVII]

I don't know who you are. Please believe. There is no way I can convince you that this is not one of their tricks. But I don't care. I am me, and I don't know who you are, but I love you.

I have a pencil. A little one they did not find. I am a women. I hid it inside me. Perhaps I won't be able to write again, so this is a long letter about my life. It is the only autobiography I have ever written and oh God I'm writing it on toilet paper.

I was born in Nottingham in 1957, and it rained a lot. I passed my eleven plus and went to girl's Grammar. I wanted to be an actress.

I met my first girlfriend at school. Her name was Sara. She was fourteen and I was fifteen but we were both in Miss. Watson's class. Her wrists. Her wrists were beautiful. I sat in biology class, staring at the picket rabbit foetus in its jar, listening while Mr. Hird said it was an adolescent phase that people outgrew. Sara did. I didn't.

In 1976 I stopped pretending and took a girl called Christine home to meet my parents. A week later I enrolled at drama college. My mother said I broke her heart.

But it was my integrity that was important. Is that so selfish? It sells for so little, but it's all we have left in this place. It is the very last inch of us. But within that inch we are free.

London. I was happy in London. In 1981 I played Dandini in Cinderella. My first rep work. The world was strange and rustling and busy, with invisible crowds behind the hot lights and all that breathless glamour. It was exciting and it was lonely. At nights I'd go to the Crew-Ins or one of the other clubs. But I was stand-offish and didn't mix easily. I saw a lot of the scene, but I never felt comfortable there. So many of them just wanted to be gay. It was their life, their ambition. And I wanted more than that.

Work improved. I got small film roles, then bigger ones. In 1986 I starred in "The Salt Flats." It pulled in the awards but not the crowds. I met Ruth while working on that. We loved each other. We lived together and on Valentine's Day she sent me roses and oh God, we had so much. Those were the best three years of my life.

In 1988 there was the war, and after that there were no more roses. Not for anybody.

In 1992 they started rounding up the gays. They took Ruth while she was out looking for food. Why are they so frightened of us? They burned her with cigarette ends and made her give them my name. She signed a statement saying I'd seduced her. I didn't blame her. God, I loved her. I didn't blame her.

But she did. She killed herself in her cell. She couldn't live with betraying me, with giving up that last inch. Oh Ruth. . . .

They came for me. They told me that all of my films would be burned. They shaved off my hair and held my head down a toilet bowl and told jokes about lesbians. They brought me here and gave me drugs. I can't feel my tongue anymore. I can't speak.

The other gay women here, Rita, died two weeks ago. I imagine I'll die quite soon. It's strange that my life should end in such a terrible place, but for three years I had roses and I apologized to nobody.

I shall die here. Every last inch of me shall perish. Except one.

An inch. It's small and it's fragile and it's the only thing in the world worth having. We must never lose it, or sell it, or give it away. We must never let them take it from us.

I don't know who you are. Or whether you're a man or a woman. I may never see you or cry with you or get drunk with you. But I love you. I hope that you escape this place. I hope that the world turns and that things get better, and that one day people have roses again. I wish I could kiss you.

Valerie

X

Valerie's Letter

[Scare_Crow]

V, why do you believe they delayed the opening of this film? Was it because of the London bombings that July, or Katrina, or both? It cost them money delaying that opening. It would be interesting to know if they received any compensation for doing so, like tax credit, etc. I wonder if we'll ever know the real story, because it just seemed a little fishy to me.

People won't lose faith in their earthly governments, until all Hell breaks loose. It will be as if a giant wooden beehive was knocked over by a bear, or as if lightning repeatedly struck a stadium infield during a football game. Martial law will mean nothing. There will be no law on the earth when the "man of lawlessness" comes to full power. There will be no light, but fear of the light.

Edited January 21, 2007 by Scare_crow

[Gatofeo]

Sure, get all wrapped up in the speech of a comic book or movie.

But how many of you still continue to support the ban or heavy control of firearms?

Like it or not, a citizen with a firearm is something to be contended with.

Here in the States, the private ownership of firearms is a contentious issue. Those who would deny private ownership of firearms have forgotten that those who created the United States owned firearms. They were revolutionaries. When the existing government not only failed to address their grievances by peaceful means, then brutalized them, they had little recourse but to rise up with firearms.

Do I believe we are near that point, here in America? No. We still have some control over our government but it's slipping steadily.

Our leaders need to be reminded that revolution created this country --- and history shows us that when people's grievances are ignored, and they are set upon and brutalized, they turn to violence to set things right: just as Guy Fawkes did.

God help us Americans if a second revolution breaks out, however. There are so many factions in this country that it won't be united as it was 225 years ago. The hispanics will want the Southwest. White supremacists will want their own country. Radical blacks will want New Africa as a country. Gays will want their own land. Christians will demand their own country. The list will be endless and the blood will fill the gutters for decades.

I firmly believe that if citizens are allowed to own firearms, without hindrance, it keeps government in check. It gives despots pause, because they know they must be responsible to the citizenry or face its armed wrath.

I often wonder how quickly unjust laws and practices in America would change if half a million hunters, with unloaded rifles on their shoulders, marched down the streets of Washington, D.C. and demanded that politicians be more responsible to those they represent.

As has been observed, "In an armed society, where every citizen under his coat, everyone tends to be polite."

Or, as the old-timers used to observe: "God created man. Samuel Colt (the creator of the world' first successful revolver) made them equal."

If you want more freedom, decry any attempts at more gun registration and control. Call for the repeal of any laws that prevent law-abiding citizens from possessing or carrying them.

Fight crime. Learn to responsibly use and store a gun --- and then keep it within reach.

[Cadetak]

Anybody who sacrifices a little freedom for a little security, deserves neither.

[brave_new_world]

Violent means will give violent freedom.--- MahatmaGandhi

[brave_new_world]

Sure, get all wrapped up in the speech of a comic book or movie.

But how many of you still continue to support the ban or heavy control of firearms?

Like it or not, a citizen with a firearm is something to be contended with.

Here in the States, the private ownership of firearms is a contentious issue. Those who would deny private ownership of firearms have forgotten that those who created the United States owned firearms. They were revolutionaries. When the existing government not only failed to address their grievances by peaceful means, then brutalized them, they had little recourse but to rise up with firearms.

Do I believe we are near that point, here in America? No. We still have some control over our government but it's slipping steadily.

Our leaders need to be reminded that revolution created this country --- and history shows us that when people's grievances are ignored, and they are set upon and brutalized, they turn to violence to set things right: just as Guy Fawkes did.

God help us Americans if a second revolution breaks out, however. There are so many factions in this country that it won't be united as it was 225 years ago. The hispanics will want the Southwest. White supremacists will want their own country. Radical blacks will want New Africa as a country. Gays will want their own land. Christians will demand their own country. The list will be endless and the blood will fill the gutters for decades.

I firmly believe that if citizens are allowed to own firearms, without hindrance, it keeps government in check. It gives despots pause, because they know they must be responsible to the citizenry or face its armed wrath.

I often wonder how quickly unjust laws and practices in America would change if half a million hunters, with unloaded rifles on their shoulders, marched down the streets of Washington, D.C. and demanded that politicians be more responsible to those they represent.

As has been observed, "In an armed society, where every citizen under his coat, everyone tends to be polite."

Or, as the old-timers used to observe: "God created man. Samuel Colt (the creator of the world' first successful revolver) made them equal."

If you want more freedom, decry any attempts at more gun registration and control. Call for the repeal of any laws that prevent law-abiding citizens from possessing or carrying them.

Fight crime. Learn to responsibly use and store a gun --- and then keep it within reach.

A well written post with much conviction I can see. As articulate and well argued as your point is I must say that I disagree with it in general. I have more faith in mankind. I think we wouldn't turn on each other like animals, though there would be some but the love of the majority would be able to convert them to non-violent ways.

Edited January 22, 2007 by brave_new_world

[brave_new_world]

Who thinks there needs to be a revolution????

[Owlscrying]

free willed men - killing freedom

[Four Winds]

One of my favorite movies!!!!

Who thinks there needs to be a revolution????

Something needs to happen here in the US. The people are asleep and the goverment is taking away our freedoms. It is very sad to watch the very foundations of my country be chipped away while all the while the government is telling the people it is for their own safety.

[brave_new_world]

One of my favorite movies!!!!

Something needs to happen here in the US. The people are asleep and the goverment is taking away our freedoms. It is very sad to watch the very foundations of my country be chipped away while all the while the government is telling the people it is for their own safety.

Thank you for your post.

[Midna]

You know, I LOVED V For Vendetta. It's such a beautifully written movie, and the cast was superb! I can quote most of it, too. The begining is one of my favorite parts...I am going to TRY and recite it, don't kill me if I don't get it word for word. lol.

"Remember, remember the fifth of November.

The gunpowder treason and plot.

I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

But what of the man? I know his name was Guy Fawks, and I know in 1605 he attempted to blow up the Houses Of Parliament, but who was he really? What was he like? We are told to remember the idea and not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught. He can be killed, but 400 years later, and idea can still change the world.

I've witnessed first hand the power of ideas. I've seen people killed in the name of them, and I defending them. But ideas do not bleed. They do not feel pain. They do not love. And it is not an idea that I remember, it is a man. A man that made me remember the fifth of November."

Tell me if I made any mistakes, please. =)

[Cradle of Fish]

Who thinks there needs to be a revolution????

Who says things wont go back to how they were after a revolution? The system we have now is absolutely terrible, but it's the best we have for the greedy species we have to work with. We're gonna have to evolve before we can find a system of government(or lack thereof) that doesn't screw anyone over.