Thursday, January 23, 2020
Watchmen by Alan Moore
One of the books I read last semester was the graphic novel, Watchmen. It takes place in a universe where Nixon's Watergate was never exposed and over this backdrop, Moore flipped the superhero genre on it's head with this story. At one point in the past superheros were free to be vigilantes but a new government act forces superheros to either retire or work exclusively for the U.S government. The book is separated into different sections that focus on different themes and characters but also relate to the section behind it. This makes it harder to understand because you don't understand the overarching plot until the very last chapter where not only does it tie the plot together, it ties the themes of nostalgia, modernization of technology, lies and deceit, rules and order and patriotism in an ending that is only satisfying in the context of this grim world. Without spoiling too much, the heroes don't save the day like they would in other superhero comics. The writing was very poetic often using visuals and off handed dialogue to tell the story. I couldn't connect to the main characters seeing as how they were adults who for the most part where either stuck in the past or unfeeling and cold. However this does not subtract from the story because we are only supposed to understand their actions, not relate to them. The character of Rorschach views the world and the people in it very harshly but feels obligated to save them from themselves. A very interesting read that takes a few minutes to fully grasp each page.
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I read this a year or two back, and I was absolutely fascinated by the message it was conveying to the reader about government's hipocracy in their ways they try to achieve certain goals and the dangers of absolute authority. I had watched the film years ago before I ever read the graphic novel, so for me this book actually helped fill in some gaps and answer questions that the film never really answered or explained. I hate comparing stuff to Shakesphere because I think that comparison is just lazy, but in terms of how the story is written does kind of remind me of Shakephere. Its way of writing does take some getting used to in order to fully understand, but once you start to understand it, it's really hard to put it down
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