catapult magazine

I just realized as I was writing my post on V for Vendetta that I’m stuck in a bit of a conflict since I’m criticizing a movement that has given me my own country (which I am grateful for). I guess this is a confession I must make. But maybe we should be clear about what America really is based on—can America’s beginning be attributed strictly to violent revolution? I would counter V for Vendetta’s perspective with another film, A History of Violence, directed by David Cronenberg. Cronenberg continues his masterful exploration of American mythology (especially when it comes to sex and violence…and automobiles) with this film, which asks in a post-9/11 world if it’s possible to escape a history of violence. The main character tries to do it with more violence and it is justified because he’s "protecting the homefront" and his family, but there’s clearly a recognition of the tension in America between religious moral values and the violence that seemingly made America possible. The main character washes his hands of the violence toward the end of the film in a symbolic baptismal ceremony, but I really don’t buy it. I even wonder if Cronenberg buys it. The end of the film feels like the family has been corrupted and that this is only a brief rest before it starts again. I think this is what V for Vendetta must recognize. V for Vendetta ends as if the new beginning can be maintained as long as people never give up an inch of their power. Cronenberg’s A History of Violence says "bollocks" to this whole notion.

i’ll second that. revolution leads to disappointment. and disappointment leads to revolution. its the circle of life.