V vs Murrow
by Desiree Djaba
V vs Murrow
V’s announcement to the people of London was an act of remembrance. He was getting the people to remember a day that everyone had overlooked, but was of great significance to him.
V’s purpose of the speech was to inform the citizens of London of the “cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression” of the country. He starts by telling the people how they don’t even have the power to object. They have been stripped of their freedom to speak up on what is wrong, to even think on their own. They have been forced to live how the government tells them to by the constant” surveillance”. V doesn’t say to blame the authority controlling them, he says “you need only look in a mirror”. A mirror shows us a reflection of ourselves, shows who we really are! He’s telling the people of London that they themselves are who to blame. The threats of the government, the terror, are all reasons why they allowed it to happen, “fear got the best of you” says V. Once V enlightened the people on the corruptness in the world around them, he invites them to join him and ‘” together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot”.
On the other hand, Edward R. Murrow’s speech had different meaning. Edward wants the people to understand the harmful effects of television and the radio . He says 50 years from now if there are historians who look back at the recordings of what we watched, they will find…” decadence…escapism, and insulation”. In other words, they would find evidence of moral decline, and the excessive engagement in fantasies in order to escape unpleasant realities. He wants the people to understand that the media is distracting them from real issues. They have become so complacent and distracted by it that no one even wants to hear the unpleasant things happening in the world. Murray explains that if we continue like this “then history will take its revenge, and retribution will not limp in catching up with us”. Being deluded from reality, ignoring what is really important and carrying on our lives without acknowledging the issues of the world will come back on us. Edward explains that it won’t take anything from them to devote time out of the week to just sit down and engage in things can better the country, and catch up on real world issues. That is his call to action for the citizens.
Both V and Edwards speeches’, though of different topics, have similarities as well as differences. They both talk about the state of comfort that the citizens of London are in and how relaxed they’ve become. After enlightening their audiences, they say that the citizens themselves are the ones to blame. Their speeches differ in the origin of the corruption. V gives an excuse for the citizens behavior and says that the government has …” rob you of your common sense” through “war , terror, and disease”. While Edward on the other hand, blames television and the radio for the escapism of the society. Their calls to action are also different. V wants the people to stand by him as he plans to bomb the parliament, while Edwards call is as simple as taking time to acknowledge the importance of “ideas and information”.
V and Edward were on a mission to get the people on their sides. They enlightened the people and attempted in persuading them to see their point of view and act.