I read 1984 by George Orwell in high school after enjoying one of his other novels, Animal Farm. Soon after, I just had to watch the movie which had the actor, John Hurt, play the protagonist, Winston Smith. I never thought much of the casting until I saw V for Vendetta (which to my pleasure, was adapted from Alan Moore’s graphic novel and Alan Moore wrote League of Extraordinary Gentlemen which is one of my favorites). However, something seemed off and then I realized that the biggest difference here was that Winston Smith, the protagonist going against the government in 1984 was now the chancellor, Adam Sutler, the antagonist leader of a totalitarian state. Of course it was only the actor who was the same in two seperate movies but the two story plots are similar dystopias. This loop that these movies made is beautiful because it brings out the connectivity between scifi novels and movies and how they are always in demand in a never ending loop. The creators appreciate the work of others and are able to wink at them in clever ways. Unfortunately, John Hurt passed away a few years ago but this loop he was able to fulfill was very simple yet very joyous. 

This brings up the question of despite how these stories were written, who is the actual protagonist/antagonist of the story. Both dystopias shine a negative light on the leaders but is the leader of the society really all that bad if they are simply trying to keep peace in the society? Are the rebelling protagonists not causing utter havoc, sending other civilians who have nothing to do with them or their cause, into chaos? Protagonists and antagonists are necessary to have in a story to keep it interesting but I’m afraid in real life, most everyone believes that what they are doing is right. The stories are only one sided and do not always represent the motives of every character in the story. 

The two movies are wonderful, V for Vendetta (2006) and 1984 (1984) (they released 1984 in 1984 which is honestly amazing) but of course the books are better: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta

I was glad to see that someone else appreciated this connection so here is that blogger’s content which is much better than mine:

https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2017/02/05/1984-v-for-vendetta-and-john-hurts-hope-filled-legacy/