Remember, Remember The 5th Of November Activities At UW

To celebrate Guy Fawkes Day Wednesday, Nov. 5, the movie, “V is for Vendetta,” will be shown at 8 p.m. in the lower level of the University of Wyoming Union. The event is free and open to the public.

The Student Activities Council will provide giveaways and snacks, and free Fawkes masks for the first 50 attendees will be distributed.

Guy Fawkes Day is an annual commemoration observed primarily in Great Britain. Its history begins with the events of Nov. 5, 1605, when Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London and, months later, the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.

Gregg Cawley, UW Department of Political Science professor, will lead a discussion about the context of the film after the showing.

“V for Vendetta” is a futuristic tale that takes place in Great Britain while it’s in a fascist state. A freedom fighter known as “V” uses terrorist tactics to fight the oppressive society. He rescues a young woman from the secret police, and she becomes his unlikely ally.