How the 'V for Vendetta' Guy Fawkes mask became a global protest symbol
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Masks of Guy Fawkes, the 17th-century English conspirator who has become a symbol of resistance, have been worn in England since the 18th century. But it’s only within the past 15 years that they’ve become internationally recognized protest symbols. So what changed circa 2006? The release of
V for Vendetta, the movie version of Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s ’80s-era graphic novel.
Directed by Australian filmmaker James McTeigue and produced by Lana and Lily Wachowski, the movie was both the first, and last, of its kind: a politically charged, mega-budgeted comic-book movie with a major star — Natalie Portman — that actively advocated for resistance, regime change and rising up. The film’s title character spends the entire 132-minute runtime behind a Guy Fawkes mask that has since been adopted by groups on all sides of the political spectrum, from the Occupy movement to the insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.