Identities in Children of Men and V for Vendetta

The two films conform and defy the stereotypes of women. In Children of Men the portrayal of women is mainly through Kee and Julian, being two of the few female characters in the film. Julian is portrayed as independent and a strong leader. This is illustrated throughout; a key scene that links to this point in particular is when she is discussing with Theo about the job at hand, while surrounded by several armed members of her cause. They all listen to her orders and do as instructed, conveying strong leadership skills by determining the response to any choices that arise. Kee can be seen as fairly weak in comparison to other characters, on the basis she receives constant guidance from Miriam and Theo. At the same time, her character acts as a symbol of strength once the baby is born. This is in reference to the sequence when Theo and Kee are thrown into the middle of a war zone. When the baby is born, the conflict stops and allows for our protagonists to exit safely. It can represent the idea that without the presence of women in society, life as we know it would descend into chaos. It relays the message that the masculine use of guns and weaponry will not match the power of women. As I see it, both V for Vendetta and Children of Men have a similar representation of women. I believe they both defy stereotypes of women, but V for Vendetta conforms to The Male Gaze Theory, to a greater extent than that of Children of Men.

In V for Vendetta there are two scenes in which Evey is portrayed as a sex object, exploited for her looks by other characters. One scene is when Evey is getting ready and goes on her way to Dietrich’s house, and is about to get raped by the Fingermen just before V intervenes. The second scene that reinforces this point is when Evey is in the company of the Bishop. In both of these scenes, the point of Evey is to convey the objectification of women. In dressing Evey in a cosmetically pleasing outfit, reinforces the idea of The Male Gaze, which encourages the male audience to watch the film. On the other hand, Evey promotes the independence and strength of women. This becomes apparent when V takes away her fear, establishing the Evey we see at the end of the film. Evey is also responsible for the destruction of parliament, when she pulls the lever on the train; this communicates the power she is is capable of, which can represent the power of women. with this scene in mind, we can make reference the The Final Girl concept. Although Evey is not considered pure or a virgin, she survives until the end and extinguishes the threat (the pulling of the train lever). 

Both films conform and defy the stereotypes of men. The idea of masculinity is comprised of traits such as emotionless and physical strength. In Children of Men, the main character that aids us in the representation of men is Theo. He Is considered to bear both feminine and masculine traits. In one scene the audience witnesses Theo cowering and crying behind a tree, for a brief moment. Showing such emotions is considered feminine, as stereotypically it is deemed that women are the gender to deal with emotional matters. However, in this same sequence Theo can be considered quite masculine as he chooses to hide himself while he cries for an extremely brief moment. In hiding himself causes the audience to assume it is in an attempt to preserve his role as leader. By crying for mere seconds, relays the point that Theo recognises the stereotype of crying as a sign of weakness; so in response decides to take Julians death on the chin, and carry on as normal. Another sequence that conveys Theo’s masculinity is during the war zone. He takes on the role of a protecter and tries his best to get Kee to safety. In this sequence Theo has his arm around Kee several times in order to protect her; reinforcing the view of masculinity and role of the hero, being able to protect others weaker than yourself. At the same time it can be argued he is portrayed as being feminine in this sequence. This is on the basis he doesn't use any form of weaponry, and in order to escape, the birth of the child causes the threat to stand down; as opposed to the stereotypical male action, which is to destroy it.

In V for Vendetta the stereotypical traits of masculinity are conveyed through our protagonist V. Throughout, he battles the minions of the totalitarian government and chooses to use knives as his preferred choice of weapon. This is apparent in the sequences when he fights Creedy and his men in the underground. The use of a knives illustrates V’s masculinity and strength against others, as the knife is considered a phallic symbol because knifes are related to penetration. It is used as a show of power and causes his enemies to recognise his male dominance. There is also moments in the film when V’s character communicates aspects of the developing post-modern man, displayed in our current society; although some may argue they conform more to the stereotypes of women. An example of this is when V is cooking breakfast for Evey in his lair. In this scene he is also wearing an apron. In terms of being more feminine, V’s mask has rosy cheeks and a shaped mustache. These characteristics communicate the use of makeup and male grooming, which is normally undertaken by women to appear more attractive.