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<blockquote data-quote="WizarDru" data-source="post: 4709395" data-attributes="member: 151">I'm not sure what you mean by this?&nbsp; Do you think that Moore was actually predicting World War III by proxy in a story with a blue man who walks on Mars and genetically engineered tigers?&nbsp; As far most people I knew were concerned, Moore was deconstructing the superhero and addressing things like Manichean thought.&nbsp;&nbsp; I'm not arguing whether or not there were people who were not concerned about the fear of a nuclear conflict...what I'm arguing is that it very much was on many people's minds and all over the pop culture of the time (which you yourself admit to not being very in touch with).&nbsp; Or at least the pop culture of the US, since you were in a third-world country at the time...which wasn't the market in which the Watchmen was released nor was intended to be read in.Take Sting's &quot;[ame=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rk78eCIx4E&quot;]Russians[/ame]&quot;.&nbsp; It's a very clear anti-war song that makes its case that our fate depends on 'if the Russians love their children, too', which is intimates that they do and that's what keeps us from a nuclear war.&nbsp; Released around the same time is the &quot;Two Minutes to Midnight&quot; from Iron Maiden, a single that actually reference the Doomsday Clock directly, the same clock that is used in the Watchmen.&nbsp; Because it was topical.&nbsp; Rush's &quot;Manhattan Project&quot; song about the creation of the atom bomb and nuclear fear also came out at this time.&nbsp; OMD's &quot;Enola Gay&quot; was another one.&nbsp; A central conceit of the movie 'Project X' with Matthew Broderick was radiation testing on chimps to better guage how long US pilots would survive during a 'second-strike' nuclear war scenario.&nbsp; The first Terminator movie features an apocalyptic future in which Skynet triggers a nuclear war.&nbsp; And so on.The point is not whether or not some people were not concerned.&nbsp; Nor is the point I'm making that Moore, Reagan or anyone else was right or wrong (which is a subject of significant debate).&nbsp; The point is that it was very much in people's imaginations and concerns and I would argue that it was a concern to more Americans than not.&nbsp; It's pretty obvious that movies, television, music and art throughout the 80s was inundated with references to nuclear war.&nbsp; It sounds like some folks are claiming that Moore was some wingnut who solely imagined fear of a nuclear war in his work that was out-of-step with reality and the times, which is demonstrably wrong.&nbsp; If you're arguing that his work is postulating things about the US and USSR that are wrong, that's fine.&nbsp; I'm not discussing the political ramifications of the politics of the era.&nbsp; I'm simply suggesting that nuclear fear and/or knowledge of the nuclear brinkmanship and it's wider effects was a constant background noise in the 80s, especially the first half of the decade.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="WizarDru, post: 4709395, member: 151"] I'm not sure what you mean by this? Do you think that Moore was actually predicting World War III by proxy in a story with a blue man who walks on Mars and genetically engineered tigers? As far most people I knew were concerned, Moore was deconstructing the superhero and addressing things like Manichean thought. I'm not arguing whether or not there were people who were not concerned about the fear of a nuclear conflict...what I'm arguing is that it very much was on many people's minds and all over the pop culture of the time (which you yourself admit to not being very in touch with). Or at least the pop culture of the US, since you were in a third-world country at the time...which wasn't the market in which the Watchmen was released nor was intended to be read in. Take Sting's "[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rk78eCIx4E"]Russians[/ame]". It's a very clear anti-war song that makes its case that our fate depends on '[i]if the Russians love their children, too[/i]', which is intimates that they do and that's what keeps us from a nuclear war. Released around the same time is the "Two Minutes to Midnight" from Iron Maiden, a single that actually reference the Doomsday Clock directly, the same clock that is used in the Watchmen. Because it was topical. Rush's "Manhattan Project" song about the creation of the atom bomb and nuclear fear also came out at this time. OMD's "Enola Gay" was another one. A central conceit of the movie 'Project X' with Matthew Broderick was radiation testing on chimps to better guage how long US pilots would survive during a 'second-strike' nuclear war scenario. The first Terminator movie features an apocalyptic future in which Skynet triggers a nuclear war. And so on. The point is not whether or not some people were not concerned. Nor is the point I'm making that Moore, Reagan or anyone else was right or wrong (which is a subject of significant debate). The point is that it was very much in people's imaginations and concerns and I would argue that it was a concern to more Americans than not. It's pretty obvious that movies, television, music and art throughout the 80s was inundated with references to nuclear war. It sounds like some folks are claiming that Moore was some wingnut who solely imagined fear of a nuclear war in his work that was out-of-step with reality and the times, which is demonstrably wrong. If you're arguing that his work is postulating things about the US and USSR that are wrong, that's fine. I'm not discussing the political ramifications of the politics of the era. I'm simply suggesting that nuclear fear and/or knowledge of the nuclear brinkmanship and it's wider effects was a constant background noise in the 80s, especially the first half of the decade. [/QUOTE]

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