A graphic novel was the next choice of text to study the theme of antihero. As far as graphic novels go main heroes are usually outcasts fighting beside the law yet never coinciding quite with them. V in this instance is the usual, a failed experiment in which he escaped. This gave him a special mind set, and uses his own ways to keep the world society from evil etc etc. The ideas of breaking out of the controls of government through destruction couldn’t be by a pure hero- that would be sought through other means than the belief of total destruction bringing creation.
February 1, 2015 at 11:36 pm
I’d be interested in how the graphic novel strengthens certain aspects of the anti-hero theme/genre.
Are there visual elements that are strongly reinforced? (The notion of a ‘typical’ setting for an anti-hero text is something very worth investigating). Does a graphic novel have a unique set of affordances, or is it just a book with pictures?
What aspects of V make him an anti-hero other than the simple character/plot points you’ve made already? Isn’t it interesting that this idea of “destruction is a form of creation”, which was also expressed in Donnie Darko (as Donnie’s summary of the theme of the Graham Greene short story “The Destructors” states directly) seems to come up again and again?
Destruction being a form of creation is a paradox – you should have a chat with Alex about that. Not to mention the fact that it’s very likely that the idea of an anti-hero is a paradox. And then when you move to the ‘morality’ of Alex de Large in A Clockwork Orange where he justifies his violence because it’s beautiful – it gets even more complicated.
Please consider exploring one (or all) of these lines of thinking in this entry – I’d encourage you not to leave it as is.
CW