On an otherwise ordinary day in England, a shadowy figure wearing a Guy Fawkes mask enters the state-controlled television studio and, at gunpoint, forces his employees to broadcast a specially prepared video aimed at the English people. . In the video, the same mysterious masked man chastises the English people for their disregard for the once-cherished values ​​of duty, liberty and honor, values ​​shared by many ancient civilizations. Although, at first glance, Western culture as depicted in the film V for Vendetta may seem radically different from that of ancient societies, many underlying philosophical similarities emerge deep down. Although modern Westerners enjoy improved lives through technology, medicine, and education, they share many similar cultural values ​​and beliefs with the societies of ancient India, Rome, and China. The civilizations of ancient India and the modern West cherish the idea that all individuals have a responsibility to contribute to society. However, because these two different civilizations existed in radically different historical eras, ancient Indians and modern Westerners have different perspectives on what constitutes duty. Ancient Indian society was divided into a caste system made up of five different groups: priests, warriors, merchants, commoners and untouchables. Once a person is born into a certain caste, Indian society assigns them certain duties and obligations based on their particular caste. Priests performed religious ceremonies, warriors fought, merchants sold goods, and untouchables cleaned the streets. In the Indian epic, the Bhagavad-Gita, a reluctant warrior named Arjuana refuses to go to war because he is worried about the lives of his brothers and a...... middle of paper... ... Indians conform to a While the caste system is rigid and modern Westerners demand responsible government, they share the same concept of personal responsibility and duty. Both ancient Romans and Westerners cherished freedom, even though the Roman Empire had a radically different form of government. Westerners and ancient Chinese have extremely different perspectives on honor, but both societies expect their members to conduct themselves in a way that is pleasing to all. “The Interviews”. Trans. Arthur Waley. Prentice Hall Literature. Prentice Hall: Nobody, 2004. 242-44. Print. “From the Bhagavad Gita.” Prentice Hall Literature. Trans. Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood. Upper Saddle: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. 182-89. Print.V for Vendetta. Real. James McTeigue. Perf. Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. Warner Brothers, 2005. DVD.