V for Vendetta - Opening Sequence Analysis

The opening sequence of this film establishes the tone for the rest of the film. The diegetic voice of the news reporter along with the dystopian music connote a serious tone as well as revealing that many things have gone wrong. The tone of the news reporters voice further emphasises the serious nature of this thriller. The fact that the film begins with a reverse zoom of the news reporter speaking signifies that what he is saying is of importance in the film as it is the first thing the audience hear and will therefore help them understand what is going on in the film. Additonally, both the characters that are shown in the opening sequence are listening to the same news report which shows the audience that everyone is interested in or impacted by what is being said. As what is being said by this man grows more intense, there are more cuts back to the report and close-ups of his face, connoting that these are the pieces of information that the audience are meant to pick up on and pay attention on most.
     The woman is shown putting make-up, paying little attention to what is on the news which symbolises her vanity implying that she cares more about what she looks like than what is going on in the world around her. However, towards the end of the opening sequence, it appears that her interest grows as she glances at the TV more and more often, however, right at the end, she turns of the TV and says, 'that's quite enough of that,' which signifies that she disagrees with what is being said and doesn't want to hear anymore.
    The person putting on the mask appears to be starting something like a revolution as he/she is trying to hide their identity by wearing this mask and putting on black clothing. This is the complete opposite to the woman who is putting on make-up to draw attention to her identity and appearance. Moreover, he puts on a belt full of swords around his waste and there is a close up of the swords to show the audience just how many swords this person is carrying. This is done to make this character seem as violent as possible.
     The use of cross-cutting between the two characters doing almost the same thing signifies to the audience that these two characters will meet. This represents a typical convention of thriller/horror films as there is one masked, mysterious person who appears to be the one who will cause harm and a pretty girl harmlessly putting on make-up. It becomes quite clear that like many other thrillers/horrors, the masked person will kill or attempt to kill this woman. The dark colours also add to the sense of danger in the film, adding to the serious tone presented and are also another common convention of films of this genre.