In controlling and concealing their identities, the Anonymous hackers have collectively adopted a mascot: that of Guy Fawkes, the 16th-century British revolutionary later popularized by 2006 film V For Vendetta. Online, Fawkes’ image adorns Anonymous banner pics and photoshops. In real life, during protests the likes of those against Scientology and San Francisco’s BART, the hackers don Fawkes masks.
Being that Warner Bros. Pictures distributed V, parent company Time Warner decided to do what any money-grubbing corporation would do: squeeze every last penny possible from its properties. And so, it bought the rights to the now-ubiquitous Guy Fawkes image—every time a mask is sold, Time Warner is paid a licensing fee. And with Anonymous’ help, the mask is Amazon.com’s top seller, beating out Batman, Ghostface, among others. “The man” wins this round.
[via NYTimes]
