Guy Fawkes Night

Let's talk about Guy.

You know the face.

You can quick-read the Wiki here if you don't know who Guy Fawkes was.

There's also a lovely History.com piece if you want something more intellectual.

In the UK, on November the 5th, there is a fairly simple rhyme that you might hear if you are attending a bonfire (save me toffee if you make any!), or a cookout or any sort of gathering.

You might have seen V for Vendetta or any protests filmed after about 2006. You could also hear bits of it on a Sherlock BBC episode. It's hard to find a good version online, only one that I found and it's here.

You can find the complete verse here. Interestingly, this is a hodgepodge of pieces kind of smooshed together to form a complete poem. Almost like the antique version of a mashup. Or one of those books where everyone writes a paragraph or a sentence.

It's important to take time, not to remember a good movie, or a decent poem, but to consider why this face is everywhere, even now. Why has this particular mythos survived?

Like most authors, I am always curious about what sticks in the public consciousness. Perhaps more importantly, I like to understand why something is culturally relevant. I remember seeing V for Vendetta in theaters when it first game out, and I remember thinking, "How could V be the hero?"

A few years later, we get the same sort of thing with the Joker. Since then, there have been a string of slightly-mad, tortured anti-heroes, across most of the dramatic milieux.

What are the reasons behind the popularity of anti-heroes? If you'll forgive the heavy-handed allegory, why do these characters plant their boot on our neck and refuse to go away? I think the more interesting question for writers is how do you make an anti-hero compelling and not simply romanticized. How do you create the next character that will live forever?

While we ponder these imponderables, take a moment, read a little history, delve a little deeper into the past.

Indeed, remember, remember the 5th of November...

Source for the verse:
Habing, B. (2006, November 3). The Fifth of November - English Folk Verse.



http://ow.ly/U78nd