V for Vendetta Opening Scene Textual Analysis The opening scene from V for Vendetta depicts a man and

a woman both getting dressed to the voice of a super religious leader spouting his views and describing the fall of the United States over the television. The main characters are a woman.

And a man in a mask. The woman is represented as being a middle or upper class citizen. I inferred this from several clues in the opening sequence. She dresses up in formal and e pensive attire and high heels and towards the end of the religious leaders speech she shows her articulate speech when she sa!s "Oh, and that's quite enough of that thank you very much' this gives the impression that she is quite wealth! and high in the social hierarch! of the time. It is hinted that the woman is ver! conscious about her appearance as she goes out of her wa! to dress herself up and appl! make up. Ver! little can be inferred about the other male character apart from that he does not want to be identified# this e plains his mask# and that he is intending to commit a violent act with the concealed daggers he possesses. This is emphasized because the! are visible when the man on the television sa!s "No one escapes..Judgement' The target audience for V for Vendetta is !oung males between $% and &%. I believe the socio economic 'roups would be between (& and ). The target audience of the film would share interests and *obbies oriented around action and 'raphic +ovels and comics because V for Vendetta is an action film adapted from a 'raphic

+ovel. The! target the audience in the opening sequence b! showing a "V" logo which is made out of flames. ,lames are a convention which are featured in man! action films. The use of the word "Vendetta" appeals to the target audience because revenge is also a common convention used in action films.

The film was made b! the compan! -arner )rothers# the! are not mentioned in the ,ilms .pening Sequence and do not influence it. The camera creates meaning in the opening sequence b! the use of panning between two different rooms and changing the scene. The camera starts in the masked man/s room with him looking left towards the mirror and then pans into the woman/s room where she is looking right into her mirror. This creates meaning because it suggests that the man and the woman are equal or have something in common. The shot used in this part is a close up.

.nl! 0iagetic lighting is used in the man/s dwelling. This is from his counter and several other trinkets that are scattered around it and of course the television. This illuminates onl! a small part of the room. This conve!s to the audience that the man is not welcoming and that he is solitar!.

The settings are ver! different. The man/s room is ver! odd and quirk! and does not look like it fits the technologicall! advanced time period 1there is a television present2 This is due to the old fashioned adorning"s and the bust of what seems to be a 3oman. The woman"s bedroom however is ver! modern and suited to the

time period. A lot of questions are posed from the opening sequence# but not b! the main characters but instead a religious spokesman who is ranting on the television. 4uestions such as 5 " Why is the USA no onger a super po!er"', 'Why did the USA start a !ar and create a p ague"', 'Why is this spokesman so re igious and re iant on #od"', 'Why does this man hate immigrants,$us ims and homose%ua s"' can all be poised b! this man/s baffling political and religious rant. This opening sequence would ask the audience to consider these and other questions. The opening sequence is a linear narrative. -e are introduced into

the world of the film from a voice over of a rant on the Television b! an unknown spokesperson# this also provides back stor! and conte t to the film and suggests that it is either in an alternate present da! or somewhere in the foreseeable future. The film falls under man! genres# including5 (rime# Science ,iction# Thriller# 6!ster!# 0rama# Adventure and Action. The main genre it is however is Action. A convention of the 'enre which is used in the opening sequence is the use of -eapons when the man reveals his concealed blades.