Quotes

“People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

“Behind this mask there is more than just flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea... and ideas are bulletproof.” 

“Everybody is special. Everybody. Everybody is a hero, a lover, a fool, a villain. Everybody. Everybody has their story to tell.”

“Artists use lies to tell the truth. Yes, I created a lie. But because you believed it, you found something true about yourself.”

“You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it.” 

“The past can't hurt you anymore, not unless you let it.”

“Remember, remember the fifth of November of gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gun powder treason should ever be forgot.”

“Knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it.”

“My mother said I broke her heart...but it was my integrity that was important. Is that so selfish? It sells for so little, but it's all we have left in this place. It is the very last inch of us...but within that inch we are free.”

“Happiness is the most insidious prison of all.”

“I shall die here. Every last inch of me shall perish. Except one. An inch. It's small and it's fragile and it's the only thing in the world worth having. we must never lose it, or sell it, or give it away. We must never let them take it from us.”

“Since mankind's dawn, a handful of oppressors have accepted the responsibility over our lives that we should have accepted for ourselves. By doing so, they took our power. By doing nothing, we gave it away. We've seen where their way leads, through camps and wars, towards the slaughterhouse.”

“The past can't hurt you anymore. Not unless you let it. They made you into a victim, Evey. They made you into a statistic. But, that's not the real you. That's not who you are inside.” 

“They say that life's a game, & then they take the board away.”

“Love your rage, not your cage.”

NSA leaker's GF

The voyeuristic media coverage surrounding NSA leaker Edward Snowden's alleged girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, includes some undeniably frivolous content, but one aspect of the story is pertinent. Snowden uploaded a photo of a woman (presumably Mills) wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. As a symbol of anti-government resistance and the unofficial emblem of a pro-transparency hacktivist collective, this mask may be the most relevant piece of information surrounding her.

The unlikely proliferation of the Guy Fawkes mask in popular protest came as a welcome surprise to its creator. Alan Moore, author of V for Vendetta, told The Guardian, "I suppose when I was writing V for Vendetta I would in my secret heart of hearts have thought: Wouldn't it be great if these ideas actually made an impact? So when you start to see that idle fantasy intrude on the regular world… It's peculiar. It feels like a character I created 30 years ago has somehow escaped the realm of fiction."

Middle East protests

The mask also played a role in the Arab Spring movements of 2011. Photos of masked protesters in Egypt also emerged this fall. The Guy Fawkes mask has become so incendiary that several Middle Eastern countries are prohibiting its import and sale. The Saudi Ministry of Interior did just that on May 30, claiming the mask "instills a culture of violence and extremism." The measure was expanded several days later to include the destruction of all masks currently in Saudi stores. In February the government in Bahrain also banned the masks.

Thailand Protests

This summer, another anti-government movement embraced the Guy Fawkes mask. In Thailand,protesters wore them in demonstrations against the so-called puppet administration controlled by an exiled ex-prime minister. This isn't the first time the mask has surfaced in Thailand. In 2011 a small band of protesters in Bangkok donned them the same day the "Anonymous Thailand" Facebook page launched. The masks and leaderless nature of the demonstrations are reminiscent of the global Occupy movement and the anti-establishment Anonymous message.

Occupy movement

The Occupy Movement, born out of the Zuccotti Park-based Occupy Wall Street, adopted the mask in 2011. On Guy Fawkes Day that year, a Facebook invitation urged "all OCCUPY protesters of the world to come together on November 5th to rally again for our efforts to end corruption and social injustice." From that point on, the symbolism of the mask evolved concurrently with the movement.

It's logical that OWS would appropriate the disguise of the faceless anti-establishment crusader from Lloyd's franchise. Still, the mask doesn't carry such weight for everyone who dons it. Sid Hiltunen, an unemployed stockbroker who joined the OWS movement, told the New York Times, "If you want to show your support but are afraid you'll lose your job, just wear a mask — any mask."

Protesters around the world were spotted wearing the anti-authoritarian vigilante's trademark disguise. Even Julian Assange, the man behind WikiLeaks, wore one to an Occupy rally in London.

History of the hacker group 'Anonymous'

The hacktivist collective Anonymous popularized these masks in 2008 when it launched Project Chanology, a movement targeting the Church of Scientology after the church tried to censor an interview with Tom Cruise on the web. Members of the collective agreed to come out from behind their computer screens to protest the Church of Scientology, but needed a way to conceal their identities. The Guy Fawkes mask was their chosen disguise. Although the collective has never officially stated the reasoning behind this choice, it's likely an homage to an eerie scene in V for Vendetta in which a group of masked protesters marches on the British Parliament. When asked why the mask was selected, one protester told The Boston Globe, "I can't say, not having contact with the inner circle — wherever they are, but I can say the image of people marching towards Parliament in the spirit of protest, that wall of masks, had a certain resonance amongst those who held negative feelings about organizations such as Scientology but also towards the government." The project grew into a national movement with demonstrations in Florida, Michigan, Boston, and Los Angeles. Since then, the masks have become a go-to symbol of the collective and anti-establishment movements worldwide.

After Anonymous' first major political demonstration in 2008, the collective began cleverly aligning itself with a variety of anti-establishment movements from Occupy Wall Street to the Arab Spring. It is, in part, due to these loose affiliations that the adopted emblem of one movement evolved into a global symbol of resistance.

The Unlikely rise of the group 'Anonymous'

Over the past decade, dissidents across the globe have appropriated the visage of Guy Fawkes,the infamous insurgent who tried to blow up the British Parliament in 1605, warping the once-reviled fringe rebel into a widespread symbol of resistance.

The iconic version of the Guy Fawkes mask owes its popularity to the graphic novel and film V for Vendetta, which centers on a vigilante's efforts to destroy an authoritarian government in a dystopian future United Kingdom. Although he didn't predict the mask's role in popular protest, David Lloyd, the artist who illustrated the comic, told The New York Times, "It's a great symbol of protest for anyone who sees tyranny."

Before V for Vendetta (which was published in serial form throughout the 1980s before being made into a 2005 film), Guy Fawkes costumes and effigies were only popular in the U.K. on Halloween and Guy Fawkes Day, a November 5 celebration that, by the 20th century, had been largely divorced from Fawkes' violent plot.

But as you've likely noticed, over the past few years the stylized mask has evolved into a global symbol of dissent, employed by everyone from shadowy computer hackers to Turkish airline workers. And although the masks are often used in anti-establishment demonstrations, one of the largest media corporations in the country gains the most from the masks' rising popularity. Time Warner owns the rights to the image, and at over 100,000 masks a year, it is by far the company's best-selling facial costume.

What is the anonymous mask??

Give a man a truth and he will think for a day

Give a man a reason and he will think for a lifetime

An Anonymous mask is a type of mask typically worn by members of the Internet group "Anonymous" during public protests and demonstrations. It is basically a Guy Fawkes mask, and has been adopted by the group based primarily on its use in the comic book and film V for Vendetta. Though this mask was initially associated with the actions of Guy Fawkes, its adoption by members of Anonymous has come to associate it more recently with their activities.

The meaning behind an Anonymous mask is somewhat complex, but it should be understood in terms that are separate from the history of the mask itself. Basically, an Anonymous mask is the same in appearance to a Guy Fawkes mask. Guy Fawkes was a Catholic in the late 16th century who was one of several conspirators involved in an attempt to destroy the House of Lords and assassinate the king of England. This conspiracy failed, and Guy Fawkes was executed for his part in the attempt; his image has been burned in effigy in England ever since, in commemoration of his failing.

The corrupt fear us

The honest support us

The heroic join us

The story behind the mask

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,

‘Twas his intent.

To blow up the King and the Parliament.

Three score barrels of powder below.

Poor old England to overthrow.

The story behind the mask began on the night of November 5, 1605. Throughout the months before, a revolutionary named Guy Fawkes and his cohort of co-conspirators had plotted to remove King James from the throne. They had filled the basement of the British Parliament buildings with gunpowder. Late that night, Fawkes was caught and arrested after the British royalty had been alerted by an anonymous letter. Fawkes was then tortured until he confessed and also gave information leading to the arrest of other the conspirators. On January 31, the day of his execution, he jumped from the scaffolding he was to be hanged from and broke his neck.

Throughout the following 400 years, November 5 was celebrated in England as a day to remember the thwarted plot. It became known as Bonfire Night, with fireworks and bonfires in which effigies of Fawkes (and later other unpopular leaders) were burnt. However, in the last 100 years, the image of Fawkes has morphed dramatically. Instead of being labeled as a murderer and terrorist he is now often seen as a hero, “the last man to enter Parliament with honest intentions”. Today, the fifth of November has become a day commemorating Fawkes subversive ideas.

“My feeling is the Anonymous group needed an all-purpose image to hide their identity and also symbolise that they stand for individualism – V for Vendetta is a story about one person against the system.” David Lloyd

Make your Own Anonymous Mask

STEP1: Print offSTEP2: Cut along dotted lineSTEP3: Cut out eyesSTEP4: Make holes at sides of headSTEP5: Add elasticSTEP6: WearSTEP7: Start a revolution!!!