Who Watches the Watchmen?
SKIP THIS PART IF A REVIEW IS WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR: GO TO THE BOLD
No movie has ever given me the disconcerting quietness that I normally associate with books. It is the sudden realization that all is not alright, that the world is a horrible place, that indeed Hobbes' declaration that man's like is "brutish, nasty and short" was a gross understatement. No movie has ever done that.
"The Incredibles" premise of a world turned against super heroes, forcing them into anonymity draws upon the work of The Watchmen by Alan Moore. In both art forms, super heroes are at first welcomed as saviors before the desires of the common man are turned to their destruction. To be too good is a sin.
"The Incredibles" end with a mild recognition that the gifted can exist, as long as they are willing to be beaten by the lowmen. Iminent disaster is the only circumstance in which they can truly exist, acknowledged for their achievements. Peace has no room for them.
The Watchmen however, ends on a much graver note. A present of peace indeed has no room for heroes. They can only be the stuff of fairytales, the subjects of legends, the words of history, mere lines and scratches upon paper; no flesh, no blood, no body,no mind, nothing more than memories of an aged aging plague.
"Which am I?" is the question that both beg to be asked.
Ugh. English class has seeped into my writing. I apologize. I had a longer post and it sounded real class like. I'll try and post something better tomorrow.
I promised some Watchmen. Here.
The Incredibles was an awesome movie. Go see it.
I just finished rereading The Watchmen. Just as I could not do Chuck Palahniuk's Guts justice with my inept descriptions, I cannot do Alan Moore's The Watchmen justice. The only thing that I can say is that the same feeling of unease that I felt at the beginning of The Incredibles carried itself the entire way through the comic. In fact, as I'm writing this, shivers of electric emotion are running rampant.
The Watchmen is a series that is on par with Akira and The Great Gatsby. Do yourself a favor. Read it.
No movie has ever given me the disconcerting quietness that I normally associate with books. It is the sudden realization that all is not alright, that the world is a horrible place, that indeed Hobbes' declaration that man's like is "brutish, nasty and short" was a gross understatement. No movie has ever done that.
"The Incredibles" premise of a world turned against super heroes, forcing them into anonymity draws upon the work of The Watchmen by Alan Moore. In both art forms, super heroes are at first welcomed as saviors before the desires of the common man are turned to their destruction. To be too good is a sin.
"The Incredibles" end with a mild recognition that the gifted can exist, as long as they are willing to be beaten by the lowmen. Iminent disaster is the only circumstance in which they can truly exist, acknowledged for their achievements. Peace has no room for them.
The Watchmen however, ends on a much graver note. A present of peace indeed has no room for heroes. They can only be the stuff of fairytales, the subjects of legends, the words of history, mere lines and scratches upon paper; no flesh, no blood, no body,no mind, nothing more than memories of an aged aging plague.
"Which am I?" is the question that both beg to be asked.
Ugh. English class has seeped into my writing. I apologize. I had a longer post and it sounded real class like. I'll try and post something better tomorrow.
I promised some Watchmen. Here.
The Incredibles was an awesome movie. Go see it.
I just finished rereading The Watchmen. Just as I could not do Chuck Palahniuk's Guts justice with my inept descriptions, I cannot do Alan Moore's The Watchmen justice. The only thing that I can say is that the same feeling of unease that I felt at the beginning of The Incredibles carried itself the entire way through the comic. In fact, as I'm writing this, shivers of electric emotion are running rampant.
The Watchmen is a series that is on par with Akira and The Great Gatsby. Do yourself a favor. Read it.
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