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Alan Moore didn't acknowledge any film adaptation of his work positively but why did he say that the Wachowskis' film adaptation of V for Vendetta is themed like Bush-era and not like the original novel?
How is the theme of the film adaptation different from his work?
The main political theme of the V for Vendetta comic was anarchy vs. fascism. But the movie didn't turn out that way.
Alan Moore himself said:
[The movie] has been "turned into a Bush-era parable by people too timid to set a political satire in their own country.... It's a thwarted and frustrated and largely impotent American liberal fantasy of someone with American liberal values standing up against a state run by neoconservatives – which is not what the comic V for Vendetta was about. It was about fascism, it was about anarchy, it was about England
MTV (2006). "Alan Moore: The last angry man". MTV.com
The Wachowskis took the message Moore tried to say with his comic about England and transport it to the US. They wanted to protest about what was going on. Thus, they changed V from an anarchist to a freedom fighter.
It seems to me that the movie focuses more on the "vendetta", then on the idea of building a new political order based on anarchy.
In the comic book, V trains Evie to become the new V, because he was the distruction, while the new V has to represent a new era of hope: there is nothing like that in the movie.
Reff: V for Vendetta vs Graphic Novel
The movie takes the path of creating a perfect villain, which is the government and a hero who saves the people from their government.
The movie makes the Norsefire extremely evil by introducing the element of creating a virus and attacking and killing thousands of their own people just for the sake of power. The book doesn't do that, yes they are evil and corrupt but gained their power during the period of the nuclear war.
The book makes V truly an idea as Evey takes on the mantle of being V and continues the rebellion. The movie shows more of a good vs evil battle where even the good fights fire with fire and dies winning. Evey is not shown taking the idea of V forward. V is one person who has died.
That does change the theme out a bit but I suppose it was good for the movie given it needed to be packed into 2hrs.
