ext_345461 ([identity profile] free-exchange.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] tcpip 2009-03-20 06:06 am (UTC)

Isocracy, Squids, and Raw Shark

What happened to Isocracy? I tried to go to isocracy.org and I got sent to a business site advertising the domain to me. Something happen?

Rorschach was great in the film. I'm reading the graphic novel now. It's great!

Actually, I disagree with you about the squid being absent from the film. The film makes no sense to me. Essentially, the Watchmen ending is much like how the concept for Star Trek began; Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, believed that when humanity discovered it wasn't alone in the universe, man would unite against a common "other" (enemy might be too strong a word). In Star Trek, the common enemy/other were the Vulcans; in Watchmen, the enemy is aliens.

There are two problems with the film ending. First of all, Dr Manhattan is a god: America and the Soviets alike both know that attacking him is futile because even if they succeeded in breaking him apart, he would merely reassemble himself. Second of all, Dr Manhattan leaves for another galaxy: once the common threat is gone, how long will it be before humanity's differences overwhelm its sense of a common threat? In Star Trek, the common threat was a reality that persisted; man was not alone. In Watchmen, Veidt's original phantom threat was 'out there' and would keep humanity at peace until man scoured the universe completely (impossible).

So Snyder's peace is improbable and short term. After a few moments of cold thinking, man must conclude that Manhattan is impossible to defeat. And even if they reached a different conclusion, Manhattan is gone -- the threat is removed.

I thought the montage at the beginning was fantastic, especially the flower-in-gun sequence. Plus I think Snyder did an awesome job answering all the questions new fans like me had while we were watching (primarily the question, "what in the hell is going on?!")

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