Socialcaterpillar’s Weblog

I watched V for Vendetta this morning (sadly, without having read the comics). Despite my initial hesitance to watch the film (I actually read real, paper Spiderman comics before ever seeing the theatrical adaptation!), I found it very fascinating. The ending in particular, where the London masses don their Guy Fawkes masks and storm the streets, reminded me strangely of the internet—let me explain:

It seems to me that it is the anonymity afforded by their masks, that emboldens London’s citizens. It is the light to Kierkegaard’s shadow: where Kierkegaard saw the crowd as a way for people to shirk their individual responsibility through their anonymity, the crowd of Londoners are claiming their personal responsibility through their anonymity. Paradoxically, it is their homogeneity that gives them their ability to express their individuality.

Similarly, the internet can act as a mask for us all, but this effect is rarely seen in a positive light. The shadow side of the internet’s power to embolden people to act in ways otherwise unprecedented is (all too) well documented, so I will refrain from repeating them here. It is its ability to bring people together—people of all races, religions, sexual orientations, etc…, by allowing us to emphasize our commonalities—that is not so well documented (at least not in the popular media).

We find at the end of the movie, where the crowd removes their masks, that they are in fact not homogenous, but, rather, belong to every age, race, and sexual orientation. Perhaps we need to see more people taking off their masks, to appreciate the profound power of anonymity, and how it can unite our society.