Where Space Ends

—Is where space ends called death or infinity? 


Pablo Neruda, The Book of Questions

BY JULIE CHEN

Every person’s childhood seems to be marked with a peculiar fear. Whether it be snakes, or subways. Or the scary third grade math teacher who had crooked teeth. Mine was a fear of emptiness. Sometimes I would stand in the garden and cover my eyes, and imagine the endless, void universe. Expanding in perpetuity. No air, no emotion. Just miles and miles of darkness and I would be forever drifting, drifting and when I died, I imagined I would be lying in my coffin, but my mind would remain vigilant. And I would be forced to wander forevermore in the infinite vacuity of death. And there would be no stars because death does not permit any twinkling. The thought made my heart drop and I would picture my body collapsing until it was folded into a piffling speck of dust in an interminable vacuum of nil. The tears would fall. And I would run run run away from where the emptiness was, run into my mother’s arms where I could relish a comforting, tangible hug or run into the market where the throbbing presence of people assured me I was not a solitary asteroid — although the unfathomable concept of infinity would come back to haunt me whenever I shut my eyes. There was a period in time where sleep would seem terrifying. I could not lay my finger on the exact moment in time where I would transcend into a state of oblivion. For all I knew it was a secret I would be forbidden to comprehend. And was not death the same thing, I thought. One would gently slide away, and his being would be buried under the earth, where it would disintegrate and eventually become part of a flower, or a bee, or a sliver of wind. But his identity would be forever lost in the Galactic anticenter of time.

Movie musings (V for Vendetta)

"Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked vigilante known only as "V." Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites a revolution when he detonates two London landmarks and takes over the government-controlled airwaves, urging his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about V's mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plot to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption."

(Summary by Alex W from IMDB.com)

"A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having." -V            

BY JULIE CHEN

            Rumor has it the Wachowski Brothers remained laudably loyal to the original comic.  I wouldn't know, since I have never been able to get my hands on a copy, but let me begin by offering my greatest kudos to Hugo Weaving for being able to portray V as the passionate, powerful, and uncannily sexy character he is while hiding behind a mask and wig for the whole film. I swear I began to see facial expressions on that silly mask after some time.

            In my opinion the movie was incredible. The producers really managed to pull together a film with just the right amount of humour and romance to keep you on the edge of you seat while managing to preserve the depth and sophistication of Alan Moore's original intentions. Superhero movies usually bore me with their frivolity, but despite having achieved some degree of supernatural kinesthetic power, V's intense emotional conflicts and playful obsession with Shakespeare draws him closer the audience as a more tangible human being.

            James McTeigue did a remarkable job as a director. Large amounts of cuts and sudden transitions did nothing to undermine from the film's clarity. Every scene was vital, anticipated and timed to precision. What I love the most is probably how McTeigue kept only the dialogue essential to support the backbone of the plot because personally, there is nothing I hate more than movies with drawn out conversations. I'm also quite impressed with the echoing symbolism that unified scenes that were chronologically distant. The reverberance was straightforward and easy to digest. 

            The Hollywood romance aspect of the movie softens the somewhat political film up appropriately. It's tender enough to make V seem pathetic at times, but does not undermine from the story's solemnity.

           I would definitely recommend this movie. I've hopped on the bandwagon a little too late as it is a 2005 film, but V for Vendetta is definitely a classic you'll be able to return to again and again.