Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

12 reviews

bold_badger's review

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abandonment, War, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Genocide

yaboiellis's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Kidnapping, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Blood, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Body horror, Death of parent, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: War, Alcohol, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Torture, Xenophobia, and Violence

Minor: Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual violence

xenia_li's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Police brutality, Violence, Torture, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, and Genocide

Moderate: Mental illness, Infidelity, Rape, War, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Murder, Gun violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Incest, Medical trauma, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Violence, Grief, and Religious bigotry

samferree's review

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I knew Alan Moore hated the movie (but he hates all adaptations of his comics) and now I understand why. It's not quite as egregious as Minority Report, which completely inverted both how the mechanics of the universe worked but also the message, but it's close. V for Vendetta the film was a commentary on the Bush administration, neo conservatism/liberalism, surveillance capitalism, but the comic is really about anarchism. Knowing that Moore was unhappy with the film kind of shaped the way that I read the comic, though, and I kind of think that the story has less to do with fascism (it's been done) and more of a philosophical exploration of the individual's relationship with the collective and government, essentially pointing out that The People are the responsible for whatever society they create and maintain, deserving all the credit and praise or ridicule and damnation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Sexism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Genocide, Hate crime, Police brutality, Suicide, Blood, Drug use, Murder, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, War, and Xenophobia

sup_demons's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very mysterious and poetic, glad I read it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Murder, Xenophobia, Torture, and Homophobia

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

slayergirl3281's review

dark emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Still rings true in the modern politics of today. As V says “While I’ll admit that anyone can make a mistake once, to go in making the same lethal errors century after century seems to me nothing short of deliberate.”

As humans we continue to make the same mistakes over and over again and I think that is why V for Vendetta remains so timeless and relatable even 40 years after publication. 

Cw
Genocide
Racism
Homophobia
Eugenics 
Hate crime
Sexism
Rape
Death
Murder
Torture 
Pedophilia 
Antisemitism 
Xenophobia

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Homophobia, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Blood, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, War, and Religious bigotry

unavezmas's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

I am not sure about the rating to be honest. I have been constantly comparing visual novel to the movie and they are both good. I mean the screen version has unnesary and problematic romance. But in finale was better there (probably because of the medium itself). Overall screen version stayed close to the source material.

The thing gives me Batman vibes. Oh wait Alan Moore wrote couple of Batman comics. The social commentary is still relevant though. I didn't even tried to understand V's mind honestly. That's why I didn't get wtf was the ending. The novel is more confucing in terms of characters but I guess we weren't supposed to differ them. I mean there are like 5 Important Midle Aged White Men there...

Overall I liked it. V was smart and ruthless. Ivi well faithfull companion. There were also some touching side stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Misogyny, and Xenophobia

dudebell's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

An absolute classic for a reason. Stripping the comic of sound effects and thought bubbles was a revolution in itself, creating a noir-ish feel without ever verging into the cinematic. This dystopic world avoids the pitfalls of many others by remaining grounded and feeling real, feeling contemporary - it was shocking to read the words “make Britain great again” in a comic that was not only pre-Trump, but pre-Thatcher. The Storm Saxon panels illuminate the kind of propaganda that we consume daily. All around brilliant, subtle world building.

The world of V for Vendetta is one in which fascists in Britain have successfully eradicated all visible ‘minorities’ from their country, leaving behind only those less visible - those who are queer. Characters are forced to make the decision: to be visible, or to move invisibly. For Valerie, this is her “one inch” that she will not give up. For Ruth, this is price she is willing to pay for her ‘freedom’ — a freedom that is simply a different sort of prison. It’s interesting to me that, in the afterword of the edition I read, Moore describes an earlier version of V as “transsexual” — and it’s true. Firstly in the sense that V is both everything and nothing, he is a man and a woman and both and neither, he is an idea, and anyone can be an idea. He represents anarchy and freedom and the queerness we can associate with that, and we see this as

Spoiler

Evey dons his mask and becomes him; a woman becomes a man. I can also very easily see V as Ruth, as someone who decided one prison and got the other one anyway, who is fuelled by remorse for what she did to Valerie, who takes her lover’s initial in an act of defiance but still feels the need for invisibility, the need to mask her face and lie.

The world of V is also one in which love has been replaced with power, and for me this is the strongest element of the novel. All romance is a power play. Sexual intimacy is girls on a stage, is rape. Susan (and there’s something to be said about genderplay with that name as well) is ruling a world so devoid of love that he falls for a computer (here again — a non-sexed ‘entity’ who is addressed as a woman and has the voice of a man). There’s an incredible scene where, almost in a trance, Susan whispers “I love you” to Fate, while Creedy trembles in the background, unsure if he’s the object of this affection. Lost love is depicted as queer joy, as a celebration of Blackness. And this is something that has been sacrificed for uniformity and control.

There are some issues I take with the comic. I think the film’s decision to make Gordon a queer man was the right one, as his role in the book is a little cloudy. I also wish the two leads were less opaque. While I understand this decision to make V more myth than man, I wish there had been moments to humanise him and make him feel more real.

Spoiler

But the biggest offence for me is Evey’s under-reaction to her torture and captivity at V’s hands. What V does is insurmountable, strangely motivated, unclear in its outcome. In my opinion it would almost be better if it were lost entirely.

Overall, a classic comic, one of the greats. Definitely an important read for anyone interested in the medium.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Confinement, Death, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, and Antisemitism

shivapriya's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I feel this graphic novel is one that would benefit you in re-reads to come. The ideas were neatly simple and remarkably complex simultaneously and even as a graphic novel, it's dense content and I may or may not have survived a full fledged novel with the same themes. And yet, it's the visuals that likely do make it a profoundly visceral experience in this case in tandem with the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

fruitbat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, War, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Antisemitism