Of a few years to this part, the mask Anonymous has become very popular especially for being part of the "uniform" of activists and protesters around the world , not just from Anonymous. Its design is recognizable by the naked eye: it consists of a white face, with a pointed mustache and a rectangular knob.
His presence in the media means that you will probably hear the mask Anonymous, and you may have even taken it once, since it has become an icon of the right to protest without losing individuality. If you are curious about its origin, in Supercurious we discovered it . You just have to keep reading to discover that not everything is as it seems!
The History behind the Mask Anonymous | Discover it!
1. The mask Anonymous was previously the mask of Guy Fawkes
Some time ago we talked about What is celebrated on November 5 in the United Kingdom: the night of Guy Fawkes. To summarize, it's a night in which is commemorated the failed attempt of the conspiracy of gunpowder , in which a group of types, among them Guy Fawkes, tried to blow up the English parliament in the fifteenth century.
The way to remember the facts is to a night full of fireworks and in which the masked effigies of unfriendly characters in society are burned (a bit like the Fallas in Valencia , but without the horchata and the masclets). Over time, not only the dolls wore masks, but also became very popular among children to be covered with cardboard masks that were given away with comics and magazines. However, as time went by, the night celebration of Guy Fawkes was losing momentum against Halloween, which is celebrated only a few days before and in which it is also typical to go in disguise.
2. The rebirth of Guy Fawkes: V de Vendetta
As we said, the night of Guy Fawkes was losing popularity in front of Halloween as time went by, but in the eighties came a comic that would change everything: v for Vendetta . In the comic, V wants to overthrow the fascist regime that dominates England.
It was the comic, but especially the film, which premiered in 2005, and in what looked like a scene in which thousands of protesters took to the streets with their masks on. , which ignited the spark of the popularity of the mask Anonymous, which became a symbol of the fight against tyranny. Here you can read a compilation of The Best V Phrases of Vendetta .
Interestingly, one of the first manifestations with the mask occurred in front of the offices of DC Comics , in which two groups of protesters had settled, some to protest against the comic and others in favor. The answer of Time Warnes, the owners of DC? Give free masks to those who were in favor of the comic to help them in their counter-demonstration.
Further, the mask appreciated in an Internet meme EFG (Epic Fail Guy), in which a stick figure dressed with the mask tried to do things always failing loudly . The reason why he wore the mask of Guy Fawkes is not known, but it is believed that it is because Fawkes tried to carry out the attack of the gunpowder conspiracy without actually achieving it.
Even so, the mask Anonymous not only limited to appear in contexts related to the comic , but also began to appear in protests against banks and other financial entities in which the protesters wanted to hide their identity for fear of reprisals but may keep intact their right to protest. A seed had been planted.
3. The stardom of the mask Anonymous
The first time that Anonymous used the mask as a form of protest was in a demonstration against the church of Scientology , in 2008, whose members are known to persecute and harass you if they find out who you are. Therefore, Anonymous strongly recommended to the protesters to cover their faces with this mask and thus avoid scares.
Since then, the mask became a symbol and was appearing in one protest after another . Its peak came in 2011, when it became the symbol of Occupy Wall Street, which protested against economic inequality. In October of that same year, Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, brought that same mask to a protest, but had to remove it at the request of the police.
The mask of Anonymous had become a symbol on a world scale , and would soon appear in many more protests. In 2012, a hundred Anonymous members of India protested against Internet censorship by the government wearing the mask. And the mask has appeared in more protests around the world, such as Brazil, Venezuela or Turkey.
But perhaps one of the most notorious protests with the mask Anonymous as one of its protagonists is the Rebellion of Bahrain, which took place during the Arab Spring, and which led to the importation of the mask was banned in countries such as Bahrain , the Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia, with the excuse, very shabby, that could entail danger for the population.
Undoubtedly the story of the mask Anonymous is very interesting, especially because of the way reality and fiction permeate each other, right? Tell us, did you know the history of this mask? Do you have or have you taken any? Remember that you can tell us what you want in a comment!