News and Politics | October 20, 2011 | 3 comments

V for Vendetta masks: what's the story?

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mattsoper
The Guy Fawkes mask seen in V for Vendetta has become something of a trademark for anti-establishment protests but what’s the story behind it – and why has it become so iconic?

The BBC News website offers an explanation in an article by Rosie Waites, saying the mask – originally designed by graphic novel artist David Lloyd – is ‘an image of collective identification and simultaneous anonymity.’

Lloyd himself states that his creation is ‘a convenient placard to use in protest against tyranny,’ as seen in the film of V for Vendetta, which ends with a crowd marching towards parliament while all wearing one of the masks.

Lloyd says he is happy with protesters using the masks to represent individualism versus faceless corporate greed, a symbol of ‘one person against the system.’

But the authorities in countries where Occupy protests have been taking place seem less happy about people wearing the masks – and in some instances have taken them as evidence of involvement in activist collective Anonymous.

Get the full story on the V for Vendetta mask on the BBC News website: http://bbc.in/puF8Mo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15359735
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