7th
Who Watches the Watchmen?
As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light meaning in the darkness of mere being. – C. G. Jung in Memories, Dream, Reflections.
Could reading/watching such a dark tale of human nature leave one in a lighter state than where he started? Or, as midnight approaches, should he heed Fredrich Wilhelm Nietzsche’s dire warning, “Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster. And if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” Are there terrible battles worth fighting for, or would the fighter/reader get stuck in the darkness like those touched by the Black Freighter, the viscous pirate ship portrayed in the story-within-a-story employed by the visionary Alan Moore?
Who watches the Watchmen?
Moore explores the superhero motif like never before or after. What would motivate men and women to dress up in costumes, to be the laughing stock of the world, saving society from itself? In what forms do power manifest in such individuals? What effects do their violent lives have on their psyches? A maybe a more interesting question that Moore poses to the viewer is whether good intentions coupled with a super-powers can bring about a better world.
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look at my works, ye mighty, and despair! - Ozymandias by Percy Byssle Shelley.
The progressive writer spits on the audio-visual interpretation of his creation, much like he did of the movie adaptations of his other work, ‘V for Vendetta’ and ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.’ However, Dave Gibbons, the brilliant artist of the graphic novel, stands with me to commend Zack Snider’s movie Watchmen of Mar09 for staying true to the book as much as possible. This is particularly interesting given that Moore chose the comic book format to tell a story that cannot be told in any other format. The material in The Watchmen takes time to process, and a reader can flip back to prior pages for details he missed and have “aha!” moments, which are wonderful. With amazingly-cast characters and a rockin’ soundtrack, the movie packs almost half a century worth of story (from 1939 to 1986) into 2 ¾h effectively. Each crease and curl has a reason, and ultimately adds depth to the complex and troubling chronicle.
It would be a stronger world, a stronger loving world, to die in. – John Cale
The thoughtfully crafted contemporary masterpiece does not offer any easy answers to burning questions about nuclear armageddon, homophobia, child pornography or political organizations (the Left of ‘Nova Express’ vs. Right of ‘The New Frontiersman’). However, in the words of Daniel Dreiberg in the Journal of American Ornithological Society (fall 83) sums up my reaction, “stretches of descriptive prose which nonetheless conveyed the violent and terrible essence of their subject matter effortlessly.”
Minutemen, costumed heroes of yesteryear
