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Remember, remember, the Fifth of November!
There’s a new oddity about Guy Fawkes and his place in the modern mid which has really developed this year; history and modern politics run head on.“Vendetta” mask becomes symbol of Occupy protests
I read that story above and found it quite interesting for a variety of reasons. I had always considered Guy Fawkes as a symbol of the persecution of Catholics under British rule in the 17th century, whether it be in the circumstances surrounding what he did or the “anti-Guy Fawkes” nature of Guy Fawkes Day. Nowadays, with the help of a corporate-sponsored Hollywood movie, the “Occupy” crowd has adopted the Guy Fawkes mask and used it for their own anti-establishment mask. Kind of ironic that you have to rely on a corporation to come up with ideas on how to be anti-corporate, isn’t it? The article is amusing. For example, here’s one from someone of the Occupy movement:
“The origins of this mask comes from the idea of rising up against the government,” he said. “Guy Fawkes represents the fact that the people have the real power.”
Is that really the case? Do they know their history? I can grant that symbols may be appropriated throughout time, but let’s first get the history straight. Also:
At Zuccotti Park in New York, the Guy Fawkes masks have been worn over the past month by Occupy protesters ranging from self-proclaimed anarchists to drummers to those impersonating “zombie” bankers. Few wore them Thursday afternoon because of the arrests of masked activists. But they weren’t gone – just hidden. One was in the left hand of 32-year-old Jason J. Cross – right under a protest sign. He had 20 more stashed in his tent, to be sold at $5 apiece. “I had 10 here yesterday, and I sold out!” he said. Cross said he’d purchased 100 of the Chinese-made masks online.
I imagine that the Chinese masks must have cost him a dollar or two, and now he’s selling them for $5. A nice profit is made, and I’m sure it only makes him want to sell more of them. Capitalism at its finest right under the noses of a socialist demonstration. How do you like that?
They also wear Che shirts, use Microsoft or Apple technology to email and text their cohorts, and they do it on a cell phone made by a large, rich corporaton. Hypocrisy isn't even a strong enough word to decsribe these people. 😀
Actually, that has been my question as well – are they boycotting corporations such as Apple and Google? Aren't they all capitalists at those companies?But going back to the OT, does Guy Fawkes really work as a general “anarchist” figure? I think they just like the mask from the movie and the vague idea of Fawkes.
I think it's mostly because of the movie. I don't think most of the people doing it realize what they are doing.
It's more about V for Vendetta than about Guy Fawkes that these ppl of the Occupy movement are referring to; the real Fawkes is at lightyears away from their thoughtshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15359735
It's more about V for Vendetta than about Guy Fawkes that these ppl of the Occupy movement are referring to; the real Fawkes is at lightyears away from their thoughtshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15359735
That was an interesting read. I liked this statement at the end:
The idea of the V mask being appropriated as a political symbol is inherently ridiculous, he suggests.”It's like assuming you can bring down a government using a light sabre or a He-Man sword.”
We all know that historical and even contemporary reality has little or nothing to do with how those symbols are used in the present. Look at the proliferation of Che shirts, or my personal favorite, the “palestinian” Keffiyah as fashion accessories. It should be no surprise that the coddled types participating in the “occupy” protests are using Guy Fawkes. Aeth is no doubt right that their use of the mask has much more to do with the movie than the historical Guy Fawkes. It is a great movie too.
Ironically, since the OT was the Occupy folks. Anybody know where they all went? My guess is they are all campaigning for legal weed now.
Weed does seem like the cause du jour these days among neo-hippies. Now that I think of it, the divide between rich and poor has probably gotten even worse since OWS began. I guess that is what happens when there is widespread mismanagement of the economy over the course of several years; the rich are able to hang on – and even thrive – while the middle and lower classes lose what they have.
