Anti-Anonymous/Libertarian Imagery In "The Purge," "The East," and "The Following"

I wrote in November and December about The Year Of The Mask -- and mask imagery is still going strong in our popular culture. But while this all started as a riff off the Guy Fawkes "Anonymous" mask, it has taken a very cult-like, Manson-like, serial-killer turn.

Exhibit One: The TV show "The Following," about an Edgar Allan Poe-obsessed cult led by a charismatic, Charles Mansonesque leader. Here's a visual of the masks the followers -- who are in "sleeper cells" and could be anybody -- use:

Apparently the show -- which is incredibly disturbing and visceral -- has made concrete connections between the Poe cult and the Tea Party/Libertarian movement, as seen by this still from an episode where the "Don't Tread On Me" flag is displayed:

Next, we have the recent trailer for the movie "The East," about an Occupy-type group who targets big corporations. Here is a sample of their mask imagery:



While the corporate "Bad Guys" in the film have all the standard "Illuminati" imagery like a Bohemian Grove type get-together and a company name like "Hawkstone" (Horus-Stone, Horus-Mason), we find a quick cut from the trailer where one of the "rebels" is wearing a Baphomet symbol:

Who are really the "bad guys" in this movie? More than likely, The East will be revealed to be a Manson-like violent "cult" that should never have been trusted.

Lastly, here are images from the upcoming film "The Purge," about the beleaguered government announcing a 12-hour period where any crime is legal.

The trailers also have a strong "America Reborn" theme that is reminiscent of Alex Jones-type rhetoric and graphics:



"The Purge," then, features mask-wearing gangs that seem at the same time Anarchistic (Occupy, Anonymous) and Tea Party/Libertarian.

What we can glean from all this? No matter what political extraction of the mask wearer, the message is CLEAR -- these are dangerous people who need to be stopped. That is the message of all this -- that they are all cults, no different from a Manson/Waco type scenario. It is taking the Guy Fawkes symbology and consciously turning it "evil."

Good thing, perhaps, that the next major superheroes to grace our silver screen either have armor (Iron Man = military tech) or are maskless (Superman = Ubermensch, Thor = Aryan ideal).

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Frank Miller Vs. Occupy Wall Street Vs. Zombies

"Dark Knight Returns" and "300" creator Frank Miller had this to say about the Occupy Wall Street Movement last year:

"The 'Occupy' movement, whether displaying itself on Wall Street or in the streets of Oakland (which has, with unspeakable cowardice, embraced it) is anything but an exercise of our blessed First Amendment. 'Occupy' is nothing but a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists, an unruly mob, fed by Woodstock-era nostalgia and putrid false righteousness. These clowns can do nothing but harm America."

While it is uncertain if Miller will choose to celebrate the one-year anniversary of OWS today by perhaps doing a bit of performance art with an empty chair, we can all fantasize about the comic creator's badassery by checking out this Kickstarter project, "Frank Miller Vs. Occupy Wall Street Vs. Zombies":

What I find most interesting about this project is the zombie/protester symbolism -- as I feel many TV shows, books, movies, and comics have been focusing on the symbolism of undead hordes as a subliminal reference to  the fear of the disenfranchised rising up and revolting.

Not that the protesters are the bad dead undead guys here, necessarily -- the project page explains the plot of the proposed comic book:

 "Our story takes place at the doors of a major corporation. Hundreds of the Occupy Movement on the sidewalks surrounding its corporate headquarters. At the same time down the street is a major comic and sci fi convention. Their key note speaker? None other than Frank Miller himself.  

An idealistic young girl, Kerry Kelly, breaks off from the movement to angrily confront Miller and challenge him to back up his harsh and hateful words. Back at the corporate headquarters an untested weaponized gas is used on the movement in an attempt to disperse them - instead it mutates them into a pack of mindless flesh eating zombies. Soon the enraged zombies attack everyone, creating more zombies. It's not long before streets are filled with walking death.  

To survive, Miller and his new Occupy companion must team up against a horrific common enemy hell bent on tearing them apart all while trying to stop the corrupt corporation from selling its new found weapon of death to the highest bidder."

The addition of the comic book convention is even more intriguing, as I noted not only a marked affinity for zombies at the major comic cons...but also, in the huddled masses of fans being shuffled to one long line to another, a sort of zombie-like rhythm to the entire thing:

Comic convention: forced march

Fans are often "rounded up" and cordoned off in little "shanty town" like structures, surrounded by police-tape and barriers, giving the proceedings not only a "zombie" feel, but an OWS one as well:

Comic convention: the "Hall H" shantytown

And finally, we get synthesis between the fans, the zombies, and OWS:

What will happen at this year's OWS anniversary protests? Will Frank Miller make an appearance? Will Guy Fawkes? We'll find out soon enough!

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