Remember To Be Anonymous Analysis
Madeleine Flint
Dr. Eric M. Stryker
ARHS 3386
4 May 2016
Remember to be Anonymous “We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, —
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.”
November 5th marks the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in which English Catholics sought to blow up the House of Commons, assassinate the protestant King James I, and place a Catholic monarch on the throne. Guy Fawkes, the leader of the plot was vilified by the British population in the first ever Bonfire Night where citizens lit bonfires across the city, and burned effigies of Fawkes, to celebrate the king and his survival of the assassination attempt. As the night …show more content…
Symbols are powerful because they defy humanity. A single human being can express his/her views however he likes, but they will always be limited by the intrinsic humanity that lies in one’s identity and mortality that makes one flawed. However, a symbol that embodies an idea isn’t directly tied to one human being, and can persist after death and not be tainted by human weaknesses. The Guy Fawkes mask has transformed into such a symbol and now is associated with post-modern digital anarchism through Anonymous’ adoption. The historical Guy Fawkes has been romanticized into a pioneer of violent rebellion against an oppressive system. His attempted assassination of not just a king, but the entire device of the early modern British government unintentionally represents the core idea of anarchy in the destruction of the established hierarchy. The actual face of Fawkes does not offer a specific political message but instead, according to Lewis Call, has become a free floating signifier that has an ambiguous meaning that can curtail to whatever their interpreters desire. The political ideal or movement that Anonymous best embodies through their hacktivist endeavors and the structure of their collective is postmodern anarchy. Anonymous defines themselves as not a group but as an idea that is an, “expression of the anger that every person feels when they see injustice.” This ambiguity of purpose combined with the lack of structure within the group supports the idea that the group requires a symbol to substantiate their ever-changing and ambiguous anarchistic agenda in the public sphere. The subversive nature of the mask and its lack of concrete ties to any previous political movements makes it the perfect tool for Anonymous to
Dr. Eric M. Stryker
ARHS 3386
4 May 2016
Remember to be Anonymous “We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, —
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.”
November 5th marks the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in which English Catholics sought to blow up the House of Commons, assassinate the protestant King James I, and place a Catholic monarch on the throne. Guy Fawkes, the leader of the plot was vilified by the British population in the first ever Bonfire Night where citizens lit bonfires across the city, and burned effigies of Fawkes, to celebrate the king and his survival of the assassination attempt. As the night …show more content…
Symbols are powerful because they defy humanity. A single human being can express his/her views however he likes, but they will always be limited by the intrinsic humanity that lies in one’s identity and mortality that makes one flawed. However, a symbol that embodies an idea isn’t directly tied to one human being, and can persist after death and not be tainted by human weaknesses. The Guy Fawkes mask has transformed into such a symbol and now is associated with post-modern digital anarchism through Anonymous’ adoption. The historical Guy Fawkes has been romanticized into a pioneer of violent rebellion against an oppressive system. His attempted assassination of not just a king, but the entire device of the early modern British government unintentionally represents the core idea of anarchy in the destruction of the established hierarchy. The actual face of Fawkes does not offer a specific political message but instead, according to Lewis Call, has become a free floating signifier that has an ambiguous meaning that can curtail to whatever their interpreters desire. The political ideal or movement that Anonymous best embodies through their hacktivist endeavors and the structure of their collective is postmodern anarchy. Anonymous defines themselves as not a group but as an idea that is an, “expression of the anger that every person feels when they see injustice.” This ambiguity of purpose combined with the lack of structure within the group supports the idea that the group requires a symbol to substantiate their ever-changing and ambiguous anarchistic agenda in the public sphere. The subversive nature of the mask and its lack of concrete ties to any previous political movements makes it the perfect tool for Anonymous to