Caution: If you haven't yet seen the movie I strongly recommend that you go right away and watch this movie immediately, preferably with subtitles.
V for Vendetta is arguably one of my favourite movies. The obscurity of the protagonist (V) made me go ahead and check wikipedia for hidden/subtle aspects of the movie. (Shashi should also get his share of credit for inspiring me to visit wikipedia so often).
The Number 5
There are numerous references throughout V for Vendetta to the letter V and number 5, which is itself "V" in Roman numerals. The character V is seen reading and quoting from Thomas Pynchon's novel, V. and listening to Beethoven's fifth symphony (the first four notes of which can be represented as the letter V in Morse code and were used as a call sign by the BBC during World War II) V introduces himself to Evey with a five-syllable phrase: "You can call me V." A large part of V's speech is in iambic pentameter, which is comprised of five iambs. The phrase "Remember, remember, the fifth of November" is also referenced; it is the first line of a nursery rhyme detailing the exploits of Guy Fawkes. The name of every chapter begins with the letter V. Evey's name—"Evey"—is actually composed of "E" (the fifth letter of the alphabet; 5 in Roman numerals is V, also, if you count the alphabet backwards and you'll end up with the letter V as the fifth letter),"V",and "Y" (which is the 25th letter of the alphabet = 5 squared). Another link to that letter comes from his identification as the "Prisoner of Room Five", as later revealed in the series (since the Roman numeral for 5 is V). (In addition, "5" converted to binary numerals is "101", so "Room 5" is "Room 101", which an allusion to the infamous torture chamber in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four). V is also a guinea pig for the hormone substance Batch 5, which transforms him into the being we see in V for Vendetta. V's hideout is accessed from the closed Victoria Park tube station, the damaged sign of which resembles a sideways V when Finch locates it. Also, the very title of the story "V for Vendetta," is made up of 5 syllables.
V for Vendetta is arguably one of my favourite movies. The obscurity of the protagonist (V) made me go ahead and check wikipedia for hidden/subtle aspects of the movie. (Shashi should also get his share of credit for inspiring me to visit wikipedia so often).
The Number 5
There are numerous references throughout V for Vendetta to the letter V and number 5, which is itself "V" in Roman numerals. The character V is seen reading and quoting from Thomas Pynchon's novel, V. and listening to Beethoven's fifth symphony (the first four notes of which can be represented as the letter V in Morse code and were used as a call sign by the BBC during World War II) V introduces himself to Evey with a five-syllable phrase: "You can call me V." A large part of V's speech is in iambic pentameter, which is comprised of five iambs. The phrase "Remember, remember, the fifth of November" is also referenced; it is the first line of a nursery rhyme detailing the exploits of Guy Fawkes. The name of every chapter begins with the letter V. Evey's name—"Evey"—is actually composed of "E" (the fifth letter of the alphabet; 5 in Roman numerals is V, also, if you count the alphabet backwards and you'll end up with the letter V as the fifth letter),"V",and "Y" (which is the 25th letter of the alphabet = 5 squared). Another link to that letter comes from his identification as the "Prisoner of Room Five", as later revealed in the series (since the Roman numeral for 5 is V). (In addition, "5" converted to binary numerals is "101", so "Room 5" is "Room 101", which an allusion to the infamous torture chamber in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four). V is also a guinea pig for the hormone substance Batch 5, which transforms him into the being we see in V for Vendetta. V's hideout is accessed from the closed Victoria Park tube station, the damaged sign of which resembles a sideways V when Finch locates it. Also, the very title of the story "V for Vendetta," is made up of 5 syllables.
