Unheroic Superheroes, Watch out for the Watchmen

Publius' Forum ^ | 2/18/09 | Warner Todd Huston

[Mobile Vulgus]

If you thought the last Batman movie, The Dark Knight, was dark and cynical, wait until you see Watchmen, arriving in theaters on March 6, 2009. Brooding Bruce Wayne will have nothing on a "hero" that rapes his sidekick, another one that has no interest in mankind at all, one that is a megalomaniac, one that is psychotic, and one that is overweight and sexually impotent all set against a backdrop of a United States that is many shades of despair and evil. It makes Batman, The Dark Knight, seem like a festival of sweetness and light. This is the Watchmen, soon to be released by Warner Brothers. If this new flick at all follows that anti-American, nihilism of the original comic books we are in for some dark stuff, indeed.

Why do contemporary artists all seem to think the end of the world is nigh? Why has art become a thing of ugliness, instead of light? With all the beautiful things we see every day, the delicacy of a flower, the turn of a woman's arm, the grace of a bird in flight, we are treated only to the bizarre and horrid by our artists. These days we see sculptures that look like molecular mistakes writ large. We live in architecture with the image of a jumble of blocks thrown to the ground in the midst of a temper tantrum by a gigantic, petulant child. We view paintings that appear more accidental than planned. We have movies full of violence and anti-social behavior. On the radio we hear music that celebrates all the worst in man. We even have comic books that belittle heroism, that deconstruct the good and exceptional turning their heroes as cartoonishly flawed as the most obscene head case on the Jerry Springer Show.

When did entertainment turn so dark?

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[Mobile Vulgus]

This is coming out as a movie next month.

[Badeye]

I suspect it will lose money.

[KarlInOhio]

Watchmen confirmed my suspicion that if you put on tights and go out to fight criminals at 3 AM, you probably have more than a couple screws loose - especially if you don't have any real super powers (see Batman).

[ecomcon]

Art that does not strive to produce beauty is not art, but propaganda.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

This reminded me of one of the first abuses committed by the Canadian “Human Rights” commissions, back in the 1980s.

The decided to censor a comic book, because “it depicted rape”. Actually not. It depicted an attempted rape, in which the attempted rape victim turned on the two attempted rapists, and beat the hell out of them.

This didn’t matter to the HRC, because they had made their mind up.

[Mojave]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VLA0tg5yI0

[Tanniker Smith]

It has been a long time coming, waiting for technology to catch up to the story. How faithful an adaptation remains to be seen. It's a long story with a lot of layers to it, so a lot will be chopped to fit it into the correct timeslot. And it'll get changed a bit because it's Hollywood.

It'll probably suck because Alan Moore adaptations usually suck. But fans will go anyway. Some might even like it. The rest will be disappointed like the fans that nitpicked "The Lord of the Rings" for every minor detail that was changed.

I'd reread it (most of it was over my head years ago), but I'm sure that all the library copies are out and on reserve. (I wouldn't buy a copy.)

Supposedly, it's the kind of book that needs to be read more than once because there are things that happen earlier that you think mean one thing and then later realize mean something totally different as more things are revealed.

[skipper18]

“Why do contemporary artists all seem to think the end of the world is nigh?”

The right thinks God has the continent-sized lightning bolt cocked and ready to toss, the left thinks nukes and the people who want to use them might be more of a problem.

Either way, the whole of humanity has been obsessed with ‘the end’ since the beginning. Why ask such a obvious question?

Todd is not a very bright man.

[allmendream]

Batman is quite the psycho.

Traumatized by an early childhood experience (his parents getting gunned down during a mugging) Batman confronted his fears and attempted to BECOME his fears.

He also trains and goes into combat with a “Boy Wonder”. Apparently he does this to torment himself for not saving his parents. Every time he sees a young boy overcome an armed man he is punishing himself for not being a ‘Boy Wonder’ those many years ago.

JMHO.

[brownsfan]

The Dark Knight is about as dark as I want to see a screen hero. I’ll plan on avoiding The Watchmen.

I watched 2 movies on Monday night. Very, very unusual for me, but I did it, (both were on AMC). What a contrast. I watched Rudy first. Note to Hollywood, Rudy is what you have to shoot for. Rudy made me feel good, and I don’t mind watching Rudy again from time to time.
Next up, Million Dollar Baby. A very good movie. Well made, wonderful characters, but the end was pretty rough. Because of that ending, I can’t watch Million Dollar Baby very often. I just don’t care to feel beaten down after watching a movie. The movie could have stood without that ending. It would have been a great movie with a different end. Note to Hollywood, when you make a movie that leaves the viewer feeling unsettled, that viewer is less likely to buy it on DVD or see it more than once.

[Rhino371]

I wouldn’t bet on that. Much of a movies profit is based on what people expect a film to be. Most people don’t read reviews, so they pay to see a movie based on whether they think it will be or not.

As long as has enough hype, a movie will make money even if it sucks.

[wireman]

I suspect it will lose money.

Betcha a dollar it doesn't.

[Mojave]

Art that does not strive to produce beauty is not art, but propaganda.

Springtime For Hitler.

[Unassuaged]

“When did entertainment turn so dark? “

Early Greek times, I think.

The Watchman was early ‘80s : So Nuclear Annihilation was definitely a possibility, and our government was complacent in the selling of drugs to it's own citizens. So, around the time of heavy ICBMs and frac orbit stuff, people were trading their bomb-shelter food supplies for cyanide capsules. But it is all better now!!!!!

[Badeye]

While true, word of mouth is the single biggest reason most go to see a movie, especially when a cash crunch is occuring.

Thats why the anti American movies lost money, or barely covered the costs the past eight years or so.

We’ll see. Remember what happened with the last Superman movie, when they eliminated the core of his character to be politically correct according to Hollywood?

[Dead Corpse]

Silk Specter was not Comedians "sidekick". She was a fellow Watchmen.

But yeah, Moore's heroes and heroines are flawed creatures. Only one of them actually has a "super-natural" power at all and one of his issues is the aforementioned incremental loss of his humanity.

They all have one thing in common: THEY ACT WHEN NO ONE ELSE WILL.

This sense of self-ownership and taking effective steps against real evil and villainy is part of what is missing in todays American spirit.

[Bluegrass Conservative]

Art that does not strive to produce beauty is not art, but propaganda.

I would disagree. I've read plenty of "dark and forboding" novels that are great works of art. A lot of the classics even!

[Dead Corpse]

Zack is the same guy that did 300. From watching the production updates and webcasts, he's doing a bang up job on Watchmen. The effects and costuming are certainly pretty damn close.

Zack appears to be doing what the Wachowski's should have done with V for Vendetta, but didn't have the balls to do.

[TC Rider]

[Levante]

Sounds like the HRC was PO’d of the depiction of the would-be victim defending her/his self.