Dystopian Trailer Critique:V For Vendetta (2005)

Title: V for Vendetta
Director: James McTeigue
Rating: R (strong violence and some language)
Release Date: December 11, 2005
Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, and Stephen Fry 


   The year is 2020, Britain is run by the fascist Party, where the weak and unwanted part of the population are killed. A young women, Evey (Natalie Portman) is saved by a masked terrorist named "V" (Hugo Weaving) who is seeking revenge for his government inflicted deformation, and Evey's comes away from their encounters with a new revolutionary perspective.
      This trailer is exemplary because portrays the film's society and protagonists struggles through the use of color, rapid cuts of jarring violent images, and the use of propaganda. The film trailer starts with the sounding of guns and the protagonist, Evey, surrounded by lights, terrified. As a voice-over begins, the trailer flashes clips of Evey in peril rapidly. The belligerent nature of Evey's current conditions give an overview of the totalitarian society in which she resides. The sterile environment and excessive violence in the clips help depict  a dominating and cleanly orderly world. Another way the power of the government is displayed to the viewer is through propaganda. The Norsefire party symbol is a reoccurring image throughout the trailer, and is shown by the government officials, a man who corners Evey around, and a crowd of marching soldiers. The propaganda and party support displayed in the trailer shows the large amount of support the government receives. Lastly, the trailer effectively uses the dark colors, such as black and red, portray the violence of V and the government; the black portrays a bleak world of darkness, an evil presence , an ignorant body of citizens, and a war hidden desperately in the shadows of the night.
    Not only does the trailer help the viewer understand the setting, it also helps the viewer understand the protagonist. The same montage that shows the audience a world of peril makes a viewer worried for Evey before they even know who she is. The clips depict her as terrified, but willingly to stand up for friends and her opinions. It shows Evey as a relatable and noble protagonist, the audience is already on her side thirty seconds into the trailer. The use of propaganda and party symbols help us understand Evey's peers that she is never seen interacting with. As a rally is held, Evey does not appear to be a part of the picture, making Evey as a typical dystopian protagonist, an outsider looking in. She is never portrayed as a part of the mass. Neither is V, who blatantly proclaims the government "monstrous" to Evey as he plans his acts of defiance. This film trailer portrays a typical dystopia and  a typical dystopian protagonist effectively with color, rapid cuts of jarring violent images, and  the reoccurring propaganda.
   We can use these techniques to make our trailer exemplary. We can use dark colors and bleak settings to portray our world's citizens dismal existence. We can use jarring cuts to make the trailer intense and portray any types of violent action. The jarring cuts help exemplify violence or power. The cuts adding suspense would make the trailer engrossing and less cliche, hopefully. The third and final technique we can take from the V for Vendetta trailer is to use reoccurring images. When used in the V for Vendetta trailer, the reoccurring images of propaganda gradually  revealed the exact control of the government. If we to show images from our society's government it would clue the viewer in about everyday life in our fictitious worlds.
Here is another link to the video, just in case.
CTR and Allons-y!