Film can utilize sound, specifically music, to drive the plot and shape characterization. Sound in film can be diagetic (sound that the characters interact with) and non-diagetic (such as the film score). Both can be used in tandem to create an additional storytelling element not found in traditional literature. Diagetic music in V for Vendetta frames Evey Hammond’s change in characterization, emphasizing her transition from a passive role to an active role. In every moment after Evey is introduced to diagetic music, she is deeply affected and driven by it, causing her characterization to become more aligned with V’s. As a result, Evey is not only a foil of V, but also a part of him. Through the use of the film’s diagetic music (framed by two instances of Tchaikovsky's “1812 Overture”), Evey accepts the “monster” within her, altering both her identity, and the society around her. Through interaction with music, she learns how to influence society, whether it be with her own voice, or the sound of an explosion. As she becomes more experienced with music, she distances herself from the silence that plagued her in the beginning of the movie. Evey also acts as the eyes of the audience as they enter into V’s dystopian world. The audience experiences and shares the same confusion, reluctance, and surprise as Evey does, seeing the faults of this alternate future (and simultaneously the faults of the present) through the eyes of an innocent.
Working Bibliography
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