Murrow vs. V
By: Alex Matthews
speech analysis
There are individuals that choose to go against the current grain and they want to make you aware of problems. They don’t want us to be ignorant and blinded to the truth.
One instance is a speech in this movie V for vendetta and another more famous one is Edward R. Morrows speech. These speeches are “watershed” that want to change the direction of human life.
V’s speech goes out to the citizens of London. In it, he tries to enlighten and inform the people about the wrong doings of the government. He uses a multitude of ways to get people to take action. Throughout the speech, V tries to relate to people of London, he tells them he also enjoys “the tranquility of repetition” but he reminds them it is just a facade put on by the government to control the people. V pulls apart their since of safety by telling them how the government censors and manipulates their whole life. Then V talks about how words never fade and are influential/powerful. He goes on to tell people that they are the guilty ones and they but only have to look in a mirror to see it. They are guilty because they let corruption happen in ignorance to the truth. But V also apologizes in a way because he knew they were scared and had nowhere else to turn to except the people they thought would help them. V is trying to inform people by making them frightened, angered, and motivated to do something about the corrupt government. He wants people to realize that they can do something to change and it is not too late. He asks the citizens of London to stand with him on November the 5 in front of parliament. This is a wake-up call/ call to action to the people of London to put an end to this fabricated world that the government has created.
Edward R. Murrow’s speech is addressed to the people who write and produce the news. In the speech he talks about how we are way too comfortable with our lives. We do not report any upsetting or unpleasant news because we do not want to disrupt our perfect little lives. All we use the TV for is entertainment in our mundane life through foolish cartoons and sappy stories. He is saying it is dulling the mind and senses with trivial matters. Feeding pabulum to the masses rather than examining the truth of what is really happening in the word. Instead, we need to be reporting significant world news even if only occasionally (once a week). Throughout the speech he tells the people they have a voice. He wants them to use their voice to inform and inspire the world and the people that report the world news. Murrow goes on to tell the “journeyperson” that TV, is “merely wires and lights in a box” and not reality. He calls us to action by giving us purpose/something to get behind.
There are similarities in both V’s and Murrow’s speeches. They both talk about how the people are being misled and insulated from the ugliness of the real world.
They have a call to action for the people. Both want them to change the world around them and make it better for future generations that will follow a meaningful legacy if you will. The differences in the speeches are that one talks about the government and its suppression of the will of the people and the other is talking about the fact that we have become captivated by shows that have no meaning rather than examine issues that are more substantial.
In the end, all they want is for people to wake up and see the reality and engage in a meaningful manner. The mass is comfortable being spoon fed a phony construct of life.