In recent years, this mask has become the symbol of any protest or citizen demonstration. Since the scandal of the famous Wikileaks -documents that the journalist and editor Julian Assange made public to the horror of the US government - until the last marches that took place in our city during the National Holidays, this smile poses a challenge to authority, a reminder that, from time to time, a population can wake up from its stagnation and say what you think, without fear of being ignored, threatened or repressed. “Anonymous” , as we all now know, is the pseudonym of an organization or person expert in invading web pages of various institutions, stealing information or modifying their content with false, ironic data or protests against certain issues. In superficial terms, it belongs to a well-known 80s cartoon character , popularized in recent times by a blockbuster movie with Hollywood elements. However, this comic character It has its origin in another historical event, of longer standing:let's get to know in depth the true history of “Anonymous” .
The stylized triangular-shaped white mask, with an exaggeratedly wide smile, red cheeks, a long mustache that covers the entire breadth of the face and a vertical beard is a representation of Guy Fawkes , a kind of British anti-hero who tried to smash the English Parliament in the early 17th century.
According to British history, this act of clear terrorist overtones was an attempt to restore Catholic rule, during the reign of James I. Fawkes, who planned to carry out the attack on the 5th of November 1605, he was discovered storing the explosives he intended to use, imprisoned, tortured, and finally executed the following year. This failed conspiracy has been celebrated ever since, under the name of Guy Fawkes Night. , with fireworks burning in celebration of the king's escape.
It was in 1982 that the British writer Alan Moore premiered his graphic novel V for Vendetta , in which a mysterious revolutionary rises up to fight an autocratic and despotic government that tyrannizes London. The character hides his identity by wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. , whose design was created by the illustrator David Lloyd , Moore's permanent collaborator on his graphic novels.
V for Vendetta it became a hit with lovers of graphic novels and achieved cult status as a contemporary work of art. Such was its impact that the story was adapted to the cinema, in a slightly different version of what Moore originally wrote. However, the main character, simply named V , was ranked among the favorite characters of superhero movies, due to his idealistic personality that combines a high culture with a great capacity for physical combat, the validity of his postulates, the bases of his revolutionary action and of course, the spectacular nature of the movie.
Since the first incursion of Anonymous -approximately in 2004- his capacity for action grew like wildfire. But it is only in 2008 that they identify themselves with Guy Fawkes masks. , making it his emblem. Global protests such as the Arab spring, the indignant movement on Wall Street or Madrid, among many others, have adopted this mask to represent their public demonstrations, increasing their popularity.