“V for Vendetta” is a comic book that features scenes that were imagined in the 1980s. The book was written by Allan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd. It was set in the futuristic United Kingdom. The book chronicles the actions of a masked revolutionary who calls himself “V.” This revolutionary is living in the post-nuclear-war United Kingdom, and he adorns a Guy Fawkes mask. The fascist party has taken over leadership, and V is going around trying to convince people to rule themselves.
His campaign involves elaborate violence that is intended to topple the government. Some of the themes in this book are still applicable even in modern times. This essay will investigate the media element in this book. The essay will investigate issues to do with media, technology, immediacy, hypermediacy, and remediation. Then it will investigate how these issues translate into today’s world.
This comic strip depends on technology to pass its intended message. This technology is used to convey themes as well as develop the story. Initially, this comic used to be in black and white. Somewhere along the line, the series started using colored illustrations. This tool is important when it comes to passing the intended message. For example, in V’s hallucinations, the reader can travel with him to his past life (Moore and Lloyd 118). This is made possible by the artistic use of color.
The book also uses other modes of technology in telling the story. The part where a surveillance tape’s footage is used to expose Helen and Harper’s affair is an example of such. This use of technology is used to develop the plot. This is because it leads to the death of all key party officials. This use of technology is also meant to develop the themes of betrayal and advancement. The society the writer is illustrating is futuristic, hence the heavy use of technology. Today’s technology advances fast, and art creators have to embrace it with similar speed.
Hypermediacy is a visualization method that is used to remind the reader of the medium (Bolter and Grusin 272). It integrates the senses of the reader with those of the characters in the story. For example, at the beginning of the first chapter, the readers can view V’s hallucinations as if they are their own. When Heyer is viewing the tape sent to him by V, the reader sees this action through his eyes. Also, when his wife finds him bleeding to death, she places a camera in front of him.
She then makes him watch his tribulations from a nearby television monitor. This style taps into the readers’ awareness of the media used to tell the story. In today’s world, the focus is not on the media but the message and plot development in a story. Today’s audiences do not question hypermediacy as much as they used to a few decades ago. This allows artists to exploit this tool as much as possible. For example, the movie Hitchcock relies entirely on hypermediacy.
Remediation is when representations change from one media form to the next. For example, one can refashion a work of art from a previous form. This book is already a product of this element. This is because before this story was made into a novel, it ran on two different comic books. The comic issues were then compiled into a paperback collection. Remediation is usually done on a work of art for two purposes. One is to try to enrich it, and the other is to preserve it.
When all these comic issues were made into a book, their theme was solidified. This book was then made into a movie. The movie was highly successful. This form of remediation took this work of art into a new medium. Remediation seems to be the new trend in the filmography. This is mostly because the film medium seems to be the ultimate representation of the artwork. Today, a significant number of box office hits are remakes. Remediation also tries to connect past works of art with modern audiences. This is achieved by tweaking them to match their audiences’ tastes.
An immediacy is an old tool used when creating art. It refers to the act of bridging the gap between reality and fiction. Through immediacy, what has represented acts as a window to the real thing. The main goal of immediacy is to make the reader forget about the medium.
This book accomplishes this fete with ease. This is because when reading the book, one has totally emerged into V’s world. For example, the chapter on V’s death has the reader involved with his fate such that he/she forgets it is just a story. In today’s world, audiences are exposed to too many creative works. This fact is making it harder and harder for artists to achieve immediacy. What may have had audiences mesmerized a few decades ago is now just simple art. Today, artists have to use as many resources as possible to achieve immediacy.
Works Cited
Bolter, David, and Richard, Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2000. Print.
Moore, Alan, and David, Lloyd. V for Vendetta, New York, NY: DC Comics, 1989. Print.