Remember, remember
On this 5th of November, we look at protest masks beyond the famous Guy Fawkes visage

Today is Guy Fawkes Day. This British holiday — honoring the capture and subsequent hanging of the eponymous conspirator — has definitively dropped its violent origins. Indeed, ever since Fawkes and his fellow Gunpowder Plot comrades failed to blow up Parliament and King James I in 1605, Britons happily celebrate the Catholic's demise with fireworks, flaming effigies, and general revelry every 5th of November.
Fawkes' second coming as a mask was aided by V for Vendetta, a graphic novel authored throughout the 1980s and turned into a feature film in 2005.
And while the angular white-and-black creation has been appropriated by protesters in America, Egypt, and beyond, Fawkes isn't the only face of public demonstration. Here, a selection of protest masks from South Korea to Brazil that say so much more than words.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.
-
How generative AI is changing the way we write and speak
In The Spotlight ChatGPT and other large language model tools are quietly influencing which words we use
-
How long can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?
Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Easy Money: the Charles Ponzi Story – an 'enlightening' podcast
The Week Recommends Apple Original podcast explores the 'fascinating' tale of the man who gave the investment scam its name