Pop Culture Corner: Vendetta
03-22-2006
by Johann Snyder

V for Vendetta, the new movie from the Wachowski brothers, recently released in theatres; and it has people talking. The movie is full of allusions to today's current events, and it doesn't paint them in a positive light. It also doesn't paint religion in a positive light, which has a lot of Christians slightly incensed, although I fail to understand why. In fact, I would say that Christians could learn a lot from a movie like V for Vendetta, even if they don't agree or like the message it sends.

The film is set in a near future scenario when a fascist regime has risen to power in Great Britain due to a series of crisis events in the world. War and disease have taken their toll on society, and the people turned to their government for protection. Enter a right-wing conservative politician who uses faith and God to give hope to a nation on the brink of chaos. He eventually becomes the sole power of the government, and uses his position to eliminate anyone who may threaten the stability and safety of his new society; this includes minorities and people of alternative romantic tastes. Of course, freedom of expression is also seen as dangerous, so art, music and the like are strictly censored. The whole situation sounds vaguely familiar of what took place in the nineteen-twenties and early thirties in mainland Europe. What Christians, I believe, find offensive about this scenario is that V for Vendetta seems to make the claim that political religious conservatism is the first step towards fascism. However, I would have to say "who are we to argue?"

Look at history. The Crusades. The Inquisitions. The Dark Ages. The Holy Roman Empire. Every time religion is the ruling power of a nation, bad things happen. Simply put; theocracy is bad idea, no matter how much good we believe it might bring about. In fact, if theocracy was truly the means for humanity's salvation, I'm pretty sure that God would have established one a long time ago. But He didn't. In fact, when He came to Earth, He avoided political power at all costs; even to the point of disappearing when the people wanted to forcibly make Him king. Why would He do this? Surely God could have brought freedom, prosperity, and peace to the people by disposing the Roman Empire that ruled at the time and establishing His own government. However, God understands one very important thing about freedom; true freedom is completely dependent on free will. Take away one's choice to sin, and you take away their choice to be righteousness. Take away their choice to hate, and you take away their choice to love. Take away their choice to do evil, and you take away their choice to do good. Take away their choice to disobey, and you take away their choice to be obedient. Christianity is all about free will - religion is about rules and regulations. And it is religion that's represented in V for Vendetta, not Christianity. Still, this movie serves as a warning for the Christian church because when Christianity becomes more about politics than people, it runs the risk of becoming the restrictive religious regime that's portrayed in the film.

Now, I'm not saying that Christians shouldn't be involved with politics. We have a very precious right to speak our mind through the voting process here in America. I am saying that when political participation becomes more of a focus than people, we're headed into dangerous waters. Jesus Christ wasn't concerned about policy; He was concerned about connecting with people. In fact, He broke several of the laws that helped define what makes a good Jew in order to connect with the people that needed Him most. Laws and amendments aren't going to sway people to act any differently. Creating new laws won't do away with sin. In order to get people to truly change, in order to stop sin, their hearts have to change; and the only way to do that is through Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that He made on the cross for people. When we begin to believe that a Christian government and set of rules for society are what's necessary to change this world, we run the risk of becoming the type of society that's portrayed in V for Vendetta. Does that sound extreme? Perhaps it is, but sometimes it takes an extreme example to get people to examine their present in order to avoid a potential future. Was that as confusing as it sounded? Let me simplify. Extreme statements often force us to examine what we believe and why. That's a good thing. We should examine the foundation of our lives from time to time in order to determine if the ground on which we're standing is solid.

I can't say that I agree with the messages of V for Vendetta, or that I cared that much for it's portrayal of the Church and religion, but stories such as this can serve as a warning. If Christians are known more for what they're against than what they're for, the world logically sees them as antagonists. Judging by portrayals of Christians on TV and in the movies, a lot of people see us this way. Well, I may not be able to do much to change Hollywood's opinion about Christians, but I can change my neighbor's opinion or that of my co-workers, or the person at the check-out, or any where else I frequent, by minding how I treat them. I can show them the compassion, care, love, and interest that Jesus had for people, not for policies. One person at a time, we can change the world.

Johann "Yo" Snyder is the host of the Mid-day show at M88 radio, 88.3FM in Albuquerque, NM. He writes a monthly blog that takes some elements of current events and pop culture to illustrate spiritual points. The archives for these articles can be found at: http://www.m88.org/yo-duh.asp