“V for Vendetta” and Today: A Dystopian Warning for Our Times

Photo by Chaozzy Lin on Unsplash

Introduction

I don’t usually watch “R-rated” movies, but I made an exception to watch this one because I was intrigued by its plot of rebellion, revenge, and justice. If you plan to watch this movie, you will need to use VidAngel (a streaming service linked to other platforms like Netflix that allows you to filter content) to block profanity and be aware that there is quite a bit of violence, especially at the end. Let’s examine how this movie parallels today’s social and political issues.

Background

This movie was released in 2006. The first scene shows an audience of townspeople staring at a man about to be hanged on the gallows. It turns out he is Guy Fawkes, a co-conspirator in the Gunpowder Plot who was caught trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London on November 5th, 1605. I learned about the Gunpowder Plot after watching the movie because I wanted to understand the historical context it was based on. It was a conspiracy led by English Roman Catholics who tried to assassinate King James I and restore Catholic rule in England. The failure of the plot is still celebrated today with bonfires and fireworks on Guy Fawkes Night.

“V” is a masked vigilante whose own quest for vengeance against the oppressive “Norsefire” regime was inspired by the Gunpowder Plot, which was an attempt to bring down a tyrannical government. Just as Guy Fawkes became a symbol of defiance against oppression, “V” represents the oppressed masses and their suffering under the current government’s harsh rule. He was tortured at Larkhill, a concentration camp where people were experimented on in a secret program to create a weaponized virus. He escaped when a fire destroyed the premises, disfiguring him permanently, and instilling in him a broiling vendetta to bring down the government that experimented on him.

A Foreshadowing of Christian Persecution Today

This movie powerfully depicts what happens when a society abandons truth, rejects God’s authority, and replaces moral conviction with state-controlled ideology. Many believers see in the film a symbolic warning about how persecution can grow in a culture based on Humanism that drifts away from biblical foundations.

The totalitarian regime “Norsefire” attempted to shape every aspect of its citizens’ lives, their thoughts, speech, morality, and identity. In Scripture, any authority that seeks to replace God ultimately becomes oppressive (see Daniel 3; Acts 5:29). Some Christians see a parallel in today’s governments. When governments or institutions claim the right to redefine morality, biblical conviction becomes countercultural, unpopular, unwelcome, even hated.

People who spoke the truth were mocked, censored, or imprisoned. Jesus warned His followers that the world would reject truth and hate those who bear witness to it (John 15:18–20). For many believers, the movie echoes the growing cultural pressure to remain silent about biblical teachings on sin, righteousness, and salvation.

The government redefined morality to fit its cultural ideology. They determined what was “acceptable” and punished anything that contradicted their narrative. They maintained power by weaponizing fear, fear of disease, terrorism, social instability, and “the other.” The state manufactured crises and then positioned itself as the sole source of safety. (Doesn’t this sound familiar?)

Isaiah 5:20 warns of a time when people will call evil good and good evil. Moral disagreement turned into moral condemnation in this film. This should be a wake-up call to Christians not to let fear rule them (2 Timothy 1:7) nor let it suppress their faith. The film’s central question, which remains deeply relevant today, is: How much freedom are citizens willing to trade for the promise of safety?

Religious conviction was targeted, and religious groups were quietly removed, marginalized, or criminalized. This reflects a spiritual truth: wherever Christ’s lordship is rejected, hostility toward His people tends to follow (2 Timothy 3:12). While full persecution varies by country, the film reminds believers that spiritual opposition often begins not with violence but with subtle exclusion.

Tactics of Control

In the film, the media was manipulated and controlled through the government’s propaganda network, “The BTN”. Stories were rewritten to suppress dissent, and citizens received information designed to distract or deceive. In today’s culture, the struggle over truth has intensified, especially with the Humanist battle cry, “Truth is Relative.”

The government used surveillance technology to track individuals and collect data to stave off dissent. These tactics parallel current technologies, which continue to erode individual privacy. Today’s digital systems provide unprecedented data about individuals: location tracking, biometric databases, predictive policing algorithms, and AI-driven monitoring. Governments and corporations alike possess capabilities that far exceed what the film imagined in 2006.

The film contains an element of romance in the character of Evey, a young woman rescued by “V” from thugs at the beginning of the movie. She learns through her relationship with “V” that apathy and fear enable tyranny. She sees ordinary citizens tolerating government abuse because they feel that resistance would be dangerous or futile.

Conclusion

Nearly two decades later, the film’s themes feel uncomfortably familiar. In this film, we see how fear is used to maintain government control, and the question of trading security for freedom is posed.

V for Vendetta doesn’t predict the future, but it reflects a biblical pattern: when truth is suppressed, when power replaces God, and when fear governs a culture, persecution is never far behind.

This film inspires me to stand firm, speak truth in love, and remain faithful to the Gospel, even in a world that may grow increasingly hostile to it.

© Debra Hodges