Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that just wants everyone to, “Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot.”
This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about why the 2005 cult classic film V for Vendetta Should’ve Been Gay. This film is based on a graphic novel and is set in a dystopian British society that is overrun by fascism. While it certainly made a splash in 2005, it really hits different watching it now after experiencing the tumultuous political environment of the past few years.
Whether you’ve seen V for Vendetta or not, you’re likely familiar with the character of V. V is incredibly recognizable with a flamboyant black cape, top hat, and Guy Fawkes mask. This super queer freedom fighter is honestly a gay icon that we are sure many drag troupes have replicated. In the film, V is basically a theater kid turned murderer fighting back against the tyrannical government that performed illegal experiments on him and countless others who didn’t fit within their standards of an ideal citizen. V was captured and kept in a top-secret government testing facility that was essentially a concentration camp. Thanks to being inexplicably immune to the toxic chemical being used, V was able to escape by setting the whole place on fire. He somehow survives the fire and comes out stronger than ever, which honestly is a pretty gay allegory. After this experience, he sets about his goal of destroying everyone who had been involved in the secret facility and bringing down the fascist government.
During V’s attempt to overthrow the government, he encounters Evey, played by Natalie Portman. He somehow manages to recognize that she also stands on the fringes of society (ie. she’s gay af) and they both become a bit fascinated by one another. He is so excited to show her his own secret bunker full of banned objects (like homoerotic art, books, and music). Unfortunately for Evey, V’s time in the government facility twisted him quite a lot and his version of love ends up a bit toxic. He captures Evey and sets up these tests for her, making it seem like she’d been captured by the government the way he and her own parents had been in the past. He puts her through similar things to what he was subjected to including shaving her head so that she really looks like the lesbian she is inside. While trapped in what she thinks is a government cell, Evey discovers letters written by Valerie, a lesbian who had been captured previously and learns about her love story and everything that she endured just for loving who she did. This lesbian letter fills her with the strength to fight back and escape captivity.
Although there is some gay content in the film with Valerie and her backstory, we wish there had been more! V and Evey both have transformative queer journeys and yet it is never really discussed.
We know one thing for sure, V for Vendetta Should’ve Been Gay.
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