Medlin1 Chelsea Medlin Professor Arnold Politics and Culture 3 December 2013 Final Paper Fear can be a powerful

motivator. t can motivate us to do the ri!ht thin!. t can also motivate us to do the wron! thin!. "overnments for hundreds of #ears have used fear$ to manipulate people into doin! e%actl# what the# want them to do. &oth the novel$ 1984 b# "eor!e 'rwell$ and the film$ V for Vendetta$ directed b# (ames Mc)ea!ue$ implore the use of a d#stopian !overnment where fear is the main motivatin! factor. *ven more astonishin! than the amount of fear present in a totalitarian !overnment is the fact that sometimes a person+s lo#alt# can lie with une%pected people. ,People should not be afraid of their !overnments$ the !overnments should be afraid of their people- is a famous sa#in! from the movie V for Vendetta$ but in d#stopian societies the e%act opposite is true. A common theme #ou see in d#stopian societies is a fear of some t#pe of police.li/e force. n V for Vendetta it is the watchmen and in "eor!e 'rwell+s 1984 it is the )hou!ht Police. Another common theme is use of telescreens which are sometimes used to watch people$ but most often are used to promote political messa!es. *ven shows that are meant for entertainment are full of political information. )he d#stopian societies often chan!e or ,rewrite- histor# in order to ma/e their !overnments leaders seem in total control and never in the wron!. )he most common element of a d#stopian societ# is fear0 fear that no matter what #ou do$ the# will one da# find a reason to torture and /ill #ou.

Medlin2 V for Vendetta is a 2001 film that is set in a futuristic d#stopian societ#$ in which people trade their freedoms for their safet#. *ver#one is afraid and ever# second of their lives are monitored. A man driven b# a personal vendetta !oes b# the name ,2- and his mission is to rescue ever#one from the totalitarian !overnment. 2 wears a "u# Faw/es mas/ and on 3ovember 1 he rescues *ve#$ while in the process of blowin! up his first buildin!. *ventuall#$ he winds up ta/in! her bac/ to his home where he tells her she will have to sta# there for a #ear with him. 4he confides in him that her parents were part of the resistance and that she wishes she was more li/e them$ and not afraid all of the time. n order to help her reach this !oal$ 2 arran!es for her to be captured and tortured in order for her to learn not to be afraid. 4he remains lo#al to 2 throu!hout the entire process. 5hen she first learns it was 2 behind ever#thin! she is furious$ but then she reali6es that what he did to her tau!ht her to not be afraid an#more. After she reali6es this$ she a!rees to see him a!ain. 4he never tells an#one where he is hidin! and she remains lo#al to him. 2 !ives her the choice to pull the train lever and blow up Parliament$ and then he leaves to /ill the last of the prominent part# members. n the process of doin! so$ 2 is /illed. *ve# ma/es the decision to blow up Parliament and ma/es the statement that it is ,&ecause he was ri!ht$ what this countr# needs is hope.4imilar to the lo#alt# that *ve# has to 2 is the lo#alt# that 5inston has to '+&rien in the boo/$ 1984. )he novel follows an e%tremel# similar stor#line as V for Vendetta. )he# both are d#stopian societies that are controlled b# a totalitarian !overnment. &oth of the main characters$ *ve# and 5inston$ are unconsciousl# tr#in! to be invisible and doin! nothin! to chan!e their !overnment$ even thou!h the# are unhapp# and deep down the#

Medlin3 don+t believe in it. *ventuall#$ both characters are interested in bein! a part of the resistance. n 1984$ 5inston decides to team up with the resistance throu!h '+&rien$ a member of the nner Part#. 7ittle does he /now$ but '+&rien is actuall# not a member of the nner Part# at all$ he is an undercover member of the )hou!ht Police. 5hile tal/in! with '+&rien in dis!uise$ 5inston tells '+&rien that he would basicall# be willin! to do an#thin! the resistance as/ed him to do includin!8 murder$ acts of sabota!e that will /ill thousands of innocent people$ cheat$ blac/mail$ throw sulfuric acid in a child+s face$ etc. 9e is willin! to do an#thin! aside from be apart from his lover (ulia. '+&rien turns him in and is the one to directl# torture 5inston. *ven thou!h '+&rien is the one who controls the amount of pain and sufferin! that 5inston endures$ 5inston still feels a lo#alt# to him$ and even at one point feels that he loves him$ ri!ht after he has been bein! tortured. *ventuall#$ 5inston is released and left to do what he wants with his da#s. 5inston /nows that he will eventuall# be shot in the bac/ when he least e%pects it$ but the fear he had before his capture is !one. nstead$ it is replaced with the da# to da# life. 5inston spends most of his da#s at a caf: the Chestnut )ree$ and this is where the telescreen announces that *urasia has been defeated. )his is where '+&rien finall# has victor# over himself$ and learns to love &i! &rother. )here are several differences between the torture 5inston received in 1984$ and the torture that *ve# received in V for Vendetta. 'ne difference is that 5inston was starved to the point of bein! unreco!ni6able$ and while *ve# undoubtedl# was thinner after her torture$ she had received food on a re!ular basis. Another difference is that 5inston interacted ;uite a !ood deal with '+&rien durin! the time he was bein! tortured. 'n the

Medlin< other hand *ve# barel# tal/ed to them at all. *ve# also had the note from the !irl ,in the cell beside hers- to ma/e her feel not so alone$ while 5inston onl# had people in the same cell in the be!innin! with him$ and he was not allowed to sa# an#thin! to them at all. )he bi!!est difference in their torture was that 5inston onl# resisted for a short period of time$ and then he !ave them what the# wanted to hear. *ve# never !ave them even a small amount of information$ she was willin! to die instead$ and thereb# learned not to be afraid. )here are unar!uable differences between 5inston and *ve#$ but a similarit# between them is that the# both feel a bond with their torturer. n the boo/$ The Psychology of Torture$ Dr. 4am 2a/nin addresses this when he states$ ,)orture is the ultimate act of perverted intimac#. )he torturer invades the victim+s bod#$ pervades his ps#che$ and possesses his mind. Deprived of contact with others and starved for human interactions$ the pre# bonds with the predator- =2a/nin>. &oth victims were isolated from ever#one else$ e%cept for the ones torturin! them. )his made them form bonds and become lo#al to their torturer. )his is a phenomenon referred to as$ 4toc/holm 4#ndrome and is ver# common amon! torture victims. Author ?athleen )ri!iani describes what happened at 4toc/holm$ in her article Societal Stockholm Syndrome. )he term$ 4toc/holm 4#ndrome$ came about after stud#in! the reactions of four ban/ emplo#ees to their captor. 'n Au!ust 23$ 1@A3 four ban/ emplo#ees were ta/en hosta!e in a ban/ in 4toc/holm. 'f the four emplo#ees$ three were women and the fourth was a man. )he# were held hosta!e for si% da#s b# a couple of e%.convicts. Althou!h the# threatened the victim+s lives$ the# also were /ind to them. All of the hosta!es resisted the efforts of the !overnment to rescue them. )he victims all

Medlin1 still had warm feelin!s for their captors and eventuall# two of the women !ot en!a!ed to them =)ri!iani>. )hese warm feelin!s occur for 5inston and *ve# as well. n 5inston+s case he mentions that he loves '+&rien$ but it is not a romantic love. *ve# feels she can relate to and loves 2$ and hers e%tends to a romantic love. Perhaps most surprisin! is the fact that this s#ndrome is common amon! prett# much an#one who has been throu!h somethin! traumatic. ,2irtuall# an#one can !et 4toc/holm 4#ndrome if the followin! conditions are met8 perceived threat to survival and the belief that one+s captor is willin! to act on that threat$ the captive+s perception of small /indnesses from the captor within a conte%t of terror$ isolation from perspectives other than those of the captor$ or perceived inabilit# to escape- =)ri!iani>. &oth victims had more than one of these conditions met$ and therefore developed lo#al bonds to their tormenters. n the be!innin! of both 5inston and *ve#+s stories$ the# were afraid of their !overnment. )he# were afraid to fi!ht bac/ and do what the# needed to do$ in order to see a chan!e in their !overnment. *ventuall#$ the# were motivated to set their fear aside and fi!ht bac/$ and when the# did$ the# were captured$ tormented$ and eventuall# released. )heir pain and sufferin! made them stran!el# lo#al to their tormenters$ but most importantl# it tau!ht them not to fear.

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5or/s Cited Pa!e

Mc)ea!ue$ (ames$ dir. V for Vendetta . 5rit. 5achows/i$ and 5achows/i. 5arner &ros.$ C4A$ 200B. Film. 13 Dec 2013. 'rwell$ "eor!e. 1984. 3ew Dor/ Cit#8 Pen!uin "roup$ 1@E3. 1.33@. Print. 2a/nin$ 4am . The Psychology of Torture. @th. 2013. 5eb. Fhttp8GGsamva/.tripod.comGtortureps#cholo!#.htmlH. )ri!iani$ ?athleen. I4ocietal 4toc/holm 4#ndrome.I Women's Web Ring . 3.p.$ n.d. 5eb. 13 Dec 2013.