Pre-reading for Monday 29th September 2014

What stock characters are to be found in V?

• Bimbo
• Battle-axe woman 
• Damsel in distress
• Holmesian detective 
• Eldery martial arts master
• Everyman
• Femme fatale
• Final girl
• Hero
• Hotshot
• Legacy hero
• Reluctant hero
• Secret identity
• Sidekick
• Space Nazis
• Superhero
• Tragic hero

How does the film use characters differently to a typical Hollywood film?
The film, V for Vendetta uses characters, such as stock characters differently compared to a typical Hollywood film. For example, above I have listed all of the stock characters that I believe VforV includes, however it does not necessarily use these stock characters directly and stereotypically like the usual Hollywood film. Many of these stock characters above apply to V and Evie alone. This is because there is no clear definition of a hero/villain/stereotypical stock character in this film.
The majority of the characters can fit into more than one stock character type. However, for example, Evie's character develops throughout the film, which also means she can fit into many different stock character categories.
In a typical Hollywood film, it is clear who is the character the audience should emotionally connect with, and who is the villain. However, in this film it is unclear. To the audience it is unclear whether V is a terrorist/villain and whether the audience should be on the government's side.


Why do you think this is in relation to getting the film's message across?
One of the messages of the film is warning you to not lose your voice/freedom of speech, and to not just believe what you are told. A Hollywood film is not necessarily accurate to the audience lives in reality. In reality it is not clear who is the hero and who is the villain; a terrorist in Afghanistan may be a terrorist in one man's eyes, but a freedom fighter in another man's eyes. The fact that the film V for Vendetta does not portray clearly divided stock character types, makes the film closer to home, and more like a real life event, that is possible to occur.
Although the film is set in the future, it is only set 10 years ahead from now. There is not much extremism in the film like hoverboards and eating dinner from a single pill. This therefore helps to portray the message of the film even more as the film is set in a world like the one the audience lives in; conveying that this is possible.