BBC: V for Vendetta masks: Who's behind them?

[marmar]

The sinister Guy Fawkes mask made famous by the film V for Vendetta has become an emblem for anti-establishment protest groups. Who's behind them?

From New York, to London, to Sydney, to Cologne, to Bucharest, there has been a wave of protests against politicians, banks and financial institutions.

Anybody watching coverage of the demonstrations may have been struck by a repeated motif - a strangely stylised mask of Guy Fawkes with a moustache and pointy beard.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange arrived at the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest to make a speech wearing one of these masks. He took it off, reportedly at the insistence of the police. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15359735

[proud patriot]

1. I know my 15 yr old son is behind one

He's really in to the occupy movement. His first movement of choice.

[formercia]

2. The Chinese can't make them fast enough

especially with Halloween coming up.

Trick or Treat! :rofl:

[Old and In the Way]

3. It's edgy, but Faulkes wanted to overthrow the secular government and install a Catholic monarch.

I could understand teapartiers wearing this mask, but it seems an odd symbol for us to use for OWS.

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. It's about his death mask's use in "V for Vendetta", where it is a symbol of rebellion

and a unifying "everyman" symbol.

[The Doctor.]

5. Right, but the general idea is 'anti-corrupt establishment'.

I'm usually nitpicky about that too, but "V for Vendetta" is the new definition.

[sabrina 1]

14. Did you see V, the movie I mean?

Anonymous uses the mask as a symbol.

[SidDithers]

6. Wasn't it Project Chanology?...

Edit: The Anonymous - 4chan - /b/ protests against Scientology.

Sid

[eShirl]

11. yes

[AntiFascist]

13. Exactly....

because the Church of Scientology was actually keeping enemy lists.

[lbrtbell]

7. The mask represents Anonymous

Not all protesters. The meme got started on boards like 4chan. The media can't seem to get anything right, can they?

[sarcasmo]

8. Remember, remember the 5th of November, pull your money out of the Greedy mega bank.

[elocs]

9. Here is my then 19 year old goddaughter at the Madison protests last winter:

Nobody knew there was a red haired teenage girl under that mask and costume.

[Mimosa]

12. Those look great!

And I loved the movie. :D

[sabrina 1]

15. Those are great photos!

[7wo7rees]

10. Everyone of us should have one. Looks better than a Julian mask.

Warner Brothers Pictures licensed the image from their V For Vendetta venture, so they get a piece of every mask sold.
That said, consider it the LAST contribution you make to your slavemasters. Buy the mask --and boycott Warner with it. And all the rest of the corpo-peopletoos.

[War Horse]

16. Honestly, I'm not a fan

I get the point behind all of this, but it all pretty much boils down to masked protesters for me.

Not crazy about that.

[Hydra]

17. The anonymous nature of the protests is all that's allowing it to work

Look what happened to Julian Assange and others. The leaders can be attacked, but when it comes to attacking the message, it's a lot harder for them. Sometimes impossible.