V for Vendetta

I hadn't considered that watching that movie might trigger some thoughts about civil disobedience. There are some nice quotes in it. And I like the Wachowski Brothers. I think a lot of times, when they get criticized for bad filmmaking, it's not the filmmaking the critics are responding to, but the content of the films. Rather than admit that it makes them uncomfortable to think about their own complicity in the shittiness of the world - which the Wachowski's deal with a lot - critics will pull apart their films for being bad art. But people - read critics - aren't stupid; they're probably, mostly, willfully blind. Of course, as the film was wrapping up, I was thinking I should get right online and put all my thoughts down. But I took a shower and made tea instead. And now that I'm finally here, an hour after I put the dvd back into its case, I can't recall what I thought was so profound.

I am avoiding going to school. I have a hearing tomorrow and there are some niggling things to pull together still. But I am still reeling from a client emergency that happened yesterday and that tugged on my childhood issues. It's tough. I sometimes feel like I'm working twice as hard as my classmates. Twice because not only am I doing the work of representing my clients, but I'm also working to manage myself. I don't get the feeling that any of my classmates are having the same struggles. I know that ultimately what I'm doing is good and right and I'll come out the other end stronger (better, faster, cue Six Million Dollar Man theme song here), but right now, life kinda sucks. No, not really. Right now, it's my attitude that sucks.

[SPOILER WARNING - DON'T KEEP READING IF YOU HAVEN"T SEEN V FOR VENDETTA AND CARE TO BE SURPRISED BY ITS ENDING.]

So, V for Vendetta... For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Does that really mean that if there are monsters in the world, they are merely products of the world? And does love conquer all? After having accused V of being a monster, was it her love or her own conversion to the dark side that caused Evie to pull the lever? And why didn't Stephen Rea stop her? Do we really believe that words are that powerful? Could I say that blowing up the Parliament building is a way of shutting down dialogue? How much is enough when we live in the shadow of a government that shuts down dialogue? Can you say "Bush administration"? During those times, is killing a justifiable form of civil disobedience? And if it is, what is the criteria, how can we be certain when it is justified and not just another form of insanity?