Norsefire

Norsefire

Party logo and flag as portrayed in the film adaptation
Universe
In-universe information
TypePolitical party
Leader
  • Adam Susan (formerly; deceased)
  • Peter Creedy (formerly after the death of Adam Susan; deceased)
Key people
List of members
  • Adam Susan (former leader/the Head; deceased)
  • Peter Creedy (former leader/the Head after the death of Adam Susan; former head of the Finger after the death of Derek Almond; deceased)
  • Derek Almond (former head of the Finger; deceased)
  • Conrad Heyer (former head of the Eye; deceased)
  • Brian Etheridge (former head of the Ear; deceased)
  • Eric Finch (former head of the Nose)
  • Roger Dascombe (former head of the Mouth; deceased)
  • Lewis Prothero (former Commander of Larkhill Resettlement Camp; former Voice of Fate)
  • Anthony Lilliman (former Chaplain of Larkhill Resettlement Camp; former Bishop of London; deceased)
  • Delia Surridge (former doctor of Larkhill Resettlement Camp; former forensic pathologist of the Nose; former botanist of the Nose; deceased)
Slogan
  • "Strength through Purity, Purity through Faith" (comic)
  • "Strength through Unity, Unity through Faith" (film)
ColoursBlack and white (comic)
Black and red (film)
Political ideology
Political positionFar-right

Norsefire is the fictional white supremacist[1][3] and neo-fascist[4][5][6][7][8][9] political party ruling the United Kingdom in Alan Moore and David Lloyd's V for Vendetta comic book/graphic novel series, its 2005 film adaptation, and the 2019 television series Pennyworth.[10][11][12][13]

The organization gained power promising stability and restoration of the United Kingdom after a worldwide nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union decimates Earth. Britain survives due to its geographic isolation and the decommissioning of the British nuclear arsenal, but suffer widespread damage leading to societal instability, a catalyst for the rise of Norsefire.[14]

Due to the chaotic state of the world outside of the United Kingdom, the party gained power by promising order and security among the population.[14] However, while the Norsefire regime did indeed bring order back to the country, this order came at a cost. Political opponents along with religious and ethnic minorities were rounded up and sent to concentration camps.[9] With their potential enemies all removed within a short space of time, Norsefire began consolidating their power over the country.

In public, the party portrays itself as a Christian fascist party supportive of the Anglican Communion.[15] In private, the party leaders are apathetic on the subject, and allow higher-ranking members to not follow Christian morality or Christianity in private as long as such activities do not threaten the party's power. For instance, propagandist Lewis Prothero takes illicit drugs, Bishop Lilliman sexually abuses children, and three Fingermen attempt to rape Evey Hammond when they apprehend her.[15] The head of the party, Leader Adam Susan, actually worships Fate, the super-computer surveillance system that surveys the nation, and considers himself and his creation God. While this is not explored in the film, both the novel and film imply that Susan/Sutler is not a religious fanatic so much as a person who values security and order above all else and maintains it by eliminating political opponents and cultural minorities.[8]

The Norsefire party is loosely based on the Nazi Party and the private religious views of Adolf Hitler.[3][7][9][16][17][18][19][20]

  1. ^ a b Shantz, Jeff (2015). Specters of Anarchy: Literature and the Anarchist Imagination. Algora Publishing. p. 223. ISBN 978-1628941418. [Norsefire's] goal is to lead the country that I love out of the Twentieth century. I believe in survival. In the destiny of the Nordic race.
  2. ^ Moore, Alan, Introduction. V for Vendetta. New York: DC Comics, 1990.
  3. ^ a b Keller, James (2008). V for Vendetta as Cultural Pastiche. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 113. ISBN 978-0786434671. The Norsefire regime is obviously based upon the Nazi party (including the Nordic nationalistic implications of the name), Sutler upon Hitler, and the Larkhill International Facility on the Nazi death camps.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Muise, Chris (2011). Quicklet On V for Vendetta By Alan Moore. Hyperink, Inc. pp. 1–10. ISBN 978-1614640844. Britain, however, survives under the cold, watchful eye of the Norsefire government, a fascist regime that took control amidst the chaos and confusion after the war.
  6. ^ Gerbaudo, Paolo (2017). The Mask and the Flag: Populism, Citizenism, and Global Protest. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0190491567. It is not by chance that the most popular sequence is the final revolution scene, an almost hypnotic act, in which a mass of people wearing Guy Fawkes masks and costumes flood the streets of London, converging on the Houses of Parliament to overthrow the regime of the fascist Norsefire party.
  7. ^ a b Boudreaux, Madelyn. "An Annotation of Literary, Historic, and Artistic References in Alan Moore's Graphic Novel, V For Vendetta". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-10-25. ...make Britain great again....This is typically "nationalistic" sentiment.... It was this sentiment, taken to its extremes, that drove Hitler's Nationalist Socialist (Nazi) Workers' Party to try to rid Germany of "non-Germans."
  8. ^ a b Moore, Alan (1981). V for Vendetta, Book One: Europe After the Reign. Vertigo (DC Comics). pp. 37–39. ISBN 0-930289-52-8. My name is Adam Susan. I am the leader. Leader of the lost, ruler of the ruins. I am a man, like any other man... I am not loved, I know that. Not in soul or body. I have never known the soft whisper of endearment. Never known the peace that lies between the thighs of woman. But I am respected. I am feared. And that will suffice. Because I love. I, who am not loved in return. I have a love that is far deeper than the empty gasps and convulsions of brutish coupling. Shall I speak of her? Shall I speak of my bride? She has no eyes to flirt or promise. But she sees all. Sees and understands with a wisdom that is Godlike in its scale. I stand at the gates of her intellect and I am blinded by the light within. How stupid I must seem to her. How childlike and uncomprehending. Her soul is clean, untainted by the snares and ambiguities of emotion. She does not hate. She does not yearn. She is untouched by joy or sorrow. I worship her though I am not worthy. I cherish the purity of her disdain. She does not respect me. She does not fear me. She does not love me. They think she is hard and cold, those who do not know her. They think she is lifeless and without passion. They do not know her. She has not touched them. She touches me, and I am touched by God, by Destiny. The whole of existence courses through her. I worship her. I am her slave.
  9. ^ a b c Bell, Deborah (2014). Masquerade: Essays on Tradition and Innovation Worldwide. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 168. ISBN 978-0786476466. Nuclear war has ravaged the world. From the ashes of English society the Norsefire regime creates a sense of order. This fascist order resonates with images of Nazi Germany. Anyone who deviates racially, ethnically, or sexually from the Norsefire norm is placed in prison or a concentration camp-style facility.
  10. ^ Gomez, Manny (July 29, 2019). "EPIX'S Pennyworth: Setting Up 60's DC London And The Road To V For Vendetta – SDCC2019". LRMonline. Retrieved July 29, 2019. "The arcing story this season is about a civil war that is brewing, and that came from a conversation from myself and Bruno [Heller] where we were considering doing V for Vendetta, we were like "that is much a very 80's 90's kind of show, what would it be in the 60's?' What kind of world would be have to create, like in Gotham there would eventually be Batman in this there would eventually be V for Vendetta [Norsefire and V]. So we took that brewing civil war as a stepping stone." – Danny Cannon
  11. ^ Heller, Bruno (December 11, 2020). (Video) Pennyworth: Bruno Heller Talks Season 2, V For Vendetta, & The War That Breaks London. CBR Presents. Retrieved December 11, 2020 – via YouTube. "The V For Vendetta world conceptually — it's [like] where this world may or may not end up. What [V for Vendetta creators Alan Moore, David Lloyd and Tony Weare] did so well was to create a [Fascist] version of England that felt like England. It wasn't Nazi Germany imposed on that world. [Norsefire] was very much the parochial, familiar world of England transformed into something dark. That's what we've tried to do, and what [Cannon] did so brilliantly with the visuals, particularly in this season. It's England with this shadow across its face." – Bruno Heller
  12. ^ Zachary, Brandon (December 13, 2020). "(Article) Pennyworth: Bruno Heller Talks Season 2, V For Vendetta, & The War That Breaks London". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved December 13, 2020. "The V For Vendetta world conceptually — it's [like] where this world may or may not end up. What [V for Vendetta creators Alan Moore, David Lloyd and Tony Weare] did so well was to create a [Fascist] version of England that felt like England. It wasn't Nazi Germany imposed on that world. [Norsefire] was very much the parochial, familiar world of England transformed into something dark. That's what we've tried to do, and what [Cannon] did so brilliantly with the visuals, particularly in this season. It's England with this shadow across its face." – Bruno Heller
  13. ^ Harper, Rachael (February 5, 2021). "Pennyworth Season Two Secrets: What's It All About, Alfie?". SciFiNow. Retrieved February 5, 2021. "One of the few stories that have been told in this kind of world is V For Vendetta [and] conceptually, this [civil war is a] prequel to V For Vendetta. God, I wouldn't hold us up against Alan Moore, but with comic books you have to find a throughline, and that's very political [for Pennyworth]." – Bruno Heller
  14. ^ a b Keller, James (2008). V for Vendetta as Cultural Pastiche: A Critical Study of the Graphic Novel. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 91. ISBN 978-0786434671.
  15. ^ a b Vaughn, Justin (2016). Political SciFi: An Introduction to Political Science Through Science Fiction. London, England: Routledge. p. 179. ISBN 978-1138639775. However, it is important to note that high-ranking members of the party often engaged in immoral behavior but were exempt from punishment.
  16. ^ Bullock, Alan (1991) [1952]. Hitler: a Study in Tyranny. New York City: Harper Perennial Edition. p. 219. ISBN 978-0060920203. Hitler had been brought up a Catholic and was impressed by the organisation and power of the Church... [but] to its teachings he showed only the sharpest hostility... he detested [Christianity]'s ethics in particular
  17. ^ Kershaw, Ian (2010) [2008]. Hitler: a Biography. New York City: Norton. pp. 295–297. ISBN 978-0393337617. In early 1937 [Hitler] was declaring that "Christianity was ripe for destruction", and that the Churches must yield to the "primacy of the state", railing against any compromise with 'the most horrible institution imaginable'
  18. ^ Evans, Richard J. (2009). The Third Reich at War. New York City: Penguin Press. p. 547. Evans wrote that Hitler believed Germany could not tolerate the intervention of foreign influences such as the Pope and "Priests, he said, were 'black bugs', 'abortions in black cassocks'". Evans noted that Hitler saw Christianity as "indelibly Jewish in origin and character" and a "prototype of Bolshevism", which "violated the law of natural selection".
  19. ^ Overy, Richard (2004). The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia. New York City: Allen Lane/Penguin. p. 281. ISBN 978-0393327977. [Hitler's] few private remarks on Christianity betray a profound contempt and indifference.
  20. ^ Speer, Albert (1970). Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs. New York City: Macmillan. p. 123. Once I have settled my other problem," [Hitler] occasionally declared, "I'll have my reckoning with the church. I'll have it reeling on the ropes." But Bormann did not want this reckoning postponed [...] he would take out a document from his pocket and begin reading passages from a defiant sermon or pastoral letter. Frequently Hitler would become so worked up... and vowed to punish the offending clergyman eventually... That he could not immediately retaliate raised him to a white heat...

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