Characters as ideas Films that focus on schooling often make characters symbolic. The strict headmaster may embody tradition and the inertia of institutions; the charismatic rogue teacher represents individual conscience; the misfit student becomes the barometer of a system’s cruelty or compassion. Concrete example: in V for Vendetta, Evey’s transformation is triggered by an authoritarian state’s educational and repressive structures; in Devilish Education, similar character arcs can show how punitive learning environments distort identity formation.