Watchmen shouldn't be a movie

[Felon]

I think those folks will be thinking "where are the superpowers??"

I think SIlver Moon was referring to the villanous plot. Then again, I can't recall exactly what Linderman thought he was accomplishing by blowing up New York in the first place. World peace? It's pretty naive to think you can destroy the economic hub of not just America, but all major nations, and expect the result to be anything other than chaos and strife.

 

[Plane Sailing]

What do you mean "in what sense"? Do you look at Watchmen and just see an adventure yarn?

er, yes?

I mean, when I read it I read it as a "superhero story in real life" kind of thing, to give it a different spin.

I'm genuinely interested in your comment that "At its heart Watchmen is a commentary on the comic book superhero genre."

I've not heard anyone mention any "commentary" angle about it before, and wondered in what sense it was a commentary.

Could you elucidate?

Thanks

 

[Felon]

er, yes?

I mean, when I read it I read it as a "superhero story in real life" kind of thing, to give it a different spin.

I'm genuinely interested in your comment that "At its heart Watchmen is a commentary on the comic book superhero genre."

I've not heard anyone mention any "commentary" angle about it before, and wondered in what sense it was a commentary.

Could you elucidate?

Well, if you want a full-on screed, and validation on its themes from more than just my perspective, you can check out what Wikipedia has to say (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen). If that's not enough, Google will turn up plenty more.

As to my personal perspective, I see the work as pretty clearly deconstructing the tropes of the superhero genre, and pointing out how it limits comics as a medium. You have Comedian and Ozymandius--the two characters that Moore sets up to provide insightful commentary to the rest of the clueless cast (and, by extension, to the reader)--both explaining that costumed crimefighters going around beating up bank robbers and supervillains is an impotent exercise in bread-and-circusses because it doesn't make any kind of dent in addressing the big problems of the world. Nite-Owl's literal impotence serves as a big red-flag metaphor.

Then you have the Tales of the Black Freigher storyline running through the entire series; if you're reading Watchmen solely as a two-fisted adventure, I've got to wonder how this extra, stand-alone storyline comes across as anything other than ballast slowing the reader down. In the world of the Watchmen, the superhero genre is dead, and other genres are popular. A lot of writers trying to experiment with mature material in the eighties got kind of frustrated that they were hamstrung in what they could get published by the dominance of the superhero genre. The notion that superheroes could do more than serve up juvenile power fantasies was tough for a lot of publishers to swallow. It wasn't until after Watchmen that perceptions changed.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I think part of the 'problem' with Watchmen is that its ideas aren't really new anymore. While its definitely a classic and probably one of my favourite comics of all time, it could be easy to miss many of the major themes as being revolutionary because they're become mainstream, in a sense.

I think Felon nailed the important stuff pretty well, though I would put Doctor Manhattan up there as something vitally important. His arc mirrors the disconnect with the genre, for me. Only thing, beyond that, I can feel to add is I believe its the wrong question to ask "How is Watchman a commentary/deconstruction of the genre?". Really, I think it should be turned around with "How is it NOT a commentary/deconstruction of the genre?"

 

[Plane Sailing]

Thanks Felon, the summary was helpful and I'll check up the other bits in my copious spare time. I think I have an opening next May

Cheers

 

[Mistwell]

The movie is likely to work. I had the same doubts many of you do, but a friend visited the set, interviewed the people working on it, spent a day looking over everything, and as a true fan of the comics he genuinely believes this movie is going to be incredible and worthy of the comics.

 

[Felon]

I suspect it will pleasantly surprise as well. We're not looking at another LXG.

 

[Hjorimir]

/shrug

I enjoyed LXG; granted, I never read the comics.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

I think SIlver Moon was referring to the villanous plot. Then again, I can't recall exactly what Linderman thought he was accomplishing by blowing up New York in the first place. World peace? It's pretty naive to think you can destroy the economic hub of not just America, but all major nations, and expect the result to be anything other than chaos and strife.

It was some kind of half-baked- "give them a common threat to unite against, and the world will work together as one" notion.

I agree that it in all likelihood wouldn't hold up in reality (heck, it doesn't usually even hold up in comics- ask the Silver Surfer, Cable, and Magneto), but Ozymandias is smarter than all of us, and he seemed to think it would work. *shrug*