Remember, remember the Fifth of November...

"Remember, remember the Fifth of November - the Gunpowder Treason and plot. I see of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot."

Very occasionally you come across a film that stays with you. It is kind of film you find yourself constantly thinking about for weeks and months after viewing it. This has happened less and less in recent times as a result of the amount of repetitive and generic shit Hollywood continues to churn out. But I came across a film only recently that has already skyrocketed itself into my favourite all-time films - V for Vendetta.

This film was made in 2005 and it took me until 2009 to see that. That is so like me! It was introduced to me by my girlfriend Nikki and my roommate Matt, both of whom had seen it. They both liked it and told me I would also enjoy it. I was a bit sceptical only because I am very fussy when it comes to films...and coffee. But I was spellbound - it was one of the best movies I had seen. I have not felt a way about a film since watching Fight Club for the first time.

For those who have not seen it, the movie is set in London in 20 years' time. We are told that the US is now basically a third-world country. They are still counting the cost of the Iraq war and are stuck in an intense civil war that has separated the country. Disease is widespread and they are in desperate need of medical supplies. To put it simply, they are fucked. But things are different in London, where the government controls everything. The scene is set at the start of the film when the government-appointed 'Voice of London' preaches to people on his national television show. "Did you like that? USA... Ulcered Sphincter of Ass-erica, I mean what else can you say? Here was a country that had everything, absolutely everything. And now, 20 years later, is what? The world's biggest leper colony. Why? Godlessness. Let me say that again... Godlessness. It wasn't the war they started. It wasn't the plague they created. It was Judgement. No one escapes their past. No one escapes Judgement. You think he's not up there? You think he's not watching over this country? How else can you explain it? He tested us, but we came through. We did what we had to do. Islington. Enfield. I was there, I saw it all. Immigrants, Muslims, homosexuals, terrorists. Disease-ridden degenerates. They had to go. Strength through unity. Unity through faith. I'm a God-fearing Englishman and I'm goddamn proud of it!"

The film is based around a shadowy freedom fighter known only as "V", who uses terrorist tactics to fight against the totalitarian society. The film is outstanding because, from my perspective, it is a great and timely piece of social commentary. It is also a very real warning of what could happen one day if we as a society are not careful.

It struck a chord with me because I can see this type of strict, right-wing, anti-everything government control happening one day, if it has not already occurred already. Hitler's Nazi Germany in the 1930s was an example of this kind of totalitarianism, and one could argue Bush's Nazi-like Administration employed some of the same tactics. But this film is very relevant NOW, and here is why...

In undoubtedly my favorite scene of the film, 'V' breaks into London's government-controlled television station and broadcasts a message to the people which can only be described as a spine-chilling call to arms..."Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologise 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."

This really resonates because now, more than ever, it is becoming obvious that we have become slaves to fear. The legendary Hunter S.Thompson summed it up when he said, "We are turning into a nation of whimpering slaves to Fear—fear of war, fear of poverty, fear of random terrorism, fear of getting down-sized or fired because of the plunging economy, fear of getting evicted for bad debts or suddenly getting locked up in a military detention camp on vague charges of being a Terrorist sympathiser." And that was written by HST back in 2003. It is even worse today. Even more so we are afraid of being laid off, of getting swine flu, possible terrorist attacks, nuclear war breaking out...you name it. And as V for Vendetta tells us, it would not take much for some opportunistic swine to rise up and feed on that fear in the current climate. I can see it now, "I will keep you safe! All I ask in return is all your civil liberties." It is not beyond the realms...and that's why it is terrifying. We cannot let this happen.

As 'V' says during the film, "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."