Matthew Gilman shows us the underlying themes in ‘The Watchmen.’ Will you ever look at ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ ‘The Old Testament,’ ‘Iron John,’ mythology, and politics the same again?
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In 2008, The Dark Knight was released in theaters. The long, dark, and gritty tale ended with the death of district attorney Harvey Dent. The Philosopher Slavoj Zizek would later say, in his movie the Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, “society can only function if it is based on a lie.” According to Zizek this is the underlining principal of the movie.
A year later another blockbuster superhero movie would be released, The Watchmen, by director Zack Snyder. Based on the 1985 comic book mini series, this movie told the story of a world where superheroes really existed and how they would have changed history as we know it. The idea behind the movie was the same, in order to save the world you had to lie to it. While I could sum up the movie with that one line there was something fundamentally different with The Watchmen. The symbolism and mythology that played throughout the movie spoke to a modern audience through every main character of the film. Surprisingly even the events portrayed in the film match the current feel of our world. Instead of the United States and Russia fighting over Afghanistan, President Putin recently threatened nuclear war if the U.S. or European nations interfere in Ukraine.
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The movie starts out with the murder of the Comedian, a retired costumed crime fighter with a questionable past. Throughout the movie you learn that the Comedian was neither a hero or villain. As it’s stated in the movie the Comedian saw himself as a parody of humanity. One example of this was the Vietnam scene when the Comedian helps defeat the north Vietcong saving thousands of American lives. After the war is over he is confronted by a woman he had impregnated. When she attacks him he kills her out of anger and then points the blame at someone else. The Comedian is an example of the talented athlete or Achilles that is never forced to grow up. As long as he uses his talents as authority dictates he is immune to the same laws that govern society. He knows this and he enjoys it. Unlike Achilles he lives to old age where his previous sins catch up to him.
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What happened to the American dream. It came true. You’re looking at it.
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The American dream comes into question during the movie. Nite Owl and the Comedian are out trying to stop a riot and keep order in the streets. The Comedian loses his temper and beats several people in the street. The Comedian states, “We are societies only protection.” Nite owl responds, “ From what?” The comedian answers “Are you kidding me? From themselves.” Nite owl ask him “What the hell happened to us? What Happened to the American dream?” The comedian replies, “What happened to the American dream. It came true. You’re looking at it.” This is pointing out the destructive value of having a utopian ideology. The closer a society comes to reaching it’s utopia the more fragile and violent it becomes. The 1950’s have been viewed as the peak of the American Dream. After the turn of the decade to the 60’s the flaws in that utopia were found by the next generation and the demand to correct those mistakes destroyed the idea the utopia created. The Comedian resorts to the same violence the crowd is using to be heard. The notion of force against force is the oldest method of order going back to ancient Rome with the idea “If you want peace, prepare for war.”
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The murder of the Comedian is investigated by Rorschach. Much like the mirror image pattern on his mask his life and ideology are opposites of themselves. Rorschach is a homeless man by day, marching around town with a sign The End is Nigh. He stinks, doesn’t fit in with society and is ignored by the common people. When he puts on his mask he violently fights crime with the ideology of the right wing Republican party. He is on a constant mission for the truth while trying to stay in a simple frame of mind judging between right and wrong. Out of all of the superheroes he is the one that does not conform to society. Using Robert Bly’s book, Iron John, Rorschach is a wildman in the world, having never grown past this stage he is unable to function in society. He has no job. He lives in the streets. He has no respect for authority except for himself. Even when he is arrested the cops comment how bad he stinks. When Alan Moore was creating the character he said he wanted someone who everyone would hate. Instead, Rorschach remains one of the fan’s favorites.
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Night owl (Dan) is a retired superhero who hung up his cape after the government passed a law banning superheroes in the country. “The Keen Act” stopped most people from protecting the streets while laws did not keep criminals off them. Dan spends his time reminiscing about old times while feeling useless in the world. It’s only when he meets Laurie that he starts to rethink his life and what he is supposed to be doing with it. For those familiar with the Robert Bly’s book, Iron John, Laurie represents the stage in Dan’s life being his girl with the golden hair. This stage in a boy’s life is when he sees or meets a woman that he puts on a pedestal. These women usually appear out of their reach and ends up being a measurement for women they will meet later in their life. During the 1950’s and 60’s Marilyn Monroe would have been this woman for many men. When they met years earlier she was out of his reach. She was unobtainable and in his mind only suitable for the dominant male in the group, Dr. Manhattan. It’s only years later when they meet again and he sees her as a normal woman he is able to connect with her and start a relationship. The first time they try to have sex he finds himself unable to perform. He doesn’t know what the problem is but later that night he finds himself standing in front of his old costume. He tells Laurie that “It scares me.” When they take Dan’s flying owls out for a joy ride he rediscovers what his purpose in life is and only then is able to make love to her. “The Keen Act” had forced him to retire. Society made him impotent in life.
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Dr. Manhattan is the incarnation of Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Superman”. He is above the emotion of man and functions outside the normal order. He also represents the Buddha having found ultimate enlightenment. Dr. Manhattan is free to explore the Universe and knows his place in it. Having learned that he no longer knows his place in society, which doesn’t function within the universe and nature. He is seen as a living god on earth as shown by the Vietcong bowing down to him as the end of the Vietnam war. Dr. Manhattan represents the Eastern philosophy of enlightenment while Adrian is the Western incarnation of a living god.
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Adrian Veidt, also known as the superhero Ozymandias, is the necessary psychopath the world needs in order to save it. He is known for being the World’s fastest and smartest man. Adrian represents two aspects of mythology, first he is the living man god as he states in his association with Alexander the Great. In Greek history Alexander was the only leader of the Greek empire to receive the title of living god. This was short-lived, dying in his early twenties, but his accomplishments are still remembered today. The second myth he represents is the modern god of the World Bank and power of money.
Working to solve the world energy crisis, Adrian spends a fortune trying to create a clean, safe, and free form of energy to power the world. The leaders of the big oil and automotive companies meet with Adrian to talk him out of his endeavor. Adrian states that his fortune is greater that all of the companies put together. He established his power over them and showed that they were to follow him on his path. When Lee Iacocca attempts to argue against Adrian, he is shot and killed, representing the death of the American automotive industry.
Twice in the movie Adrian is shot at and is fast enough to survive the encounters. This shows his godhood in the movie. In American mythology we say “God made man, Smith and Wesson made them equal.” Adrian is above the “great equalizer” making him a living god in the new Americas.
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God made man, Smith and Wesson made them equal.
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Adrian eventually destroys several cities in order to save the world. He tricks Dr. Manhattan, the “Superman/Buddha”, into handing over his powers. In turn, Adrian turns Dr. Manhattan into a figure to be feared. Because man did not evolve with the technology they created, Adrian punishes them with the wrath of god. Adrian recreates the great flood without the promise to never do it again, bringing back the god of the Old Testament to correct the mindset that man was above nature.
The final scene of the movie is representative of the ending to The Wizard of Oz. Adrian is confronted in Antarctica by Dan, Rorschach, Laurie, and Dr. Manhattan. These four people are Dorothy, the Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow. Laurie is the girl lost in the World trying to make sense of it, only to learn she had the truth of her life with her the entire time. She was unable to put it together until Dr. Manhattan helped her discover it. Dr. Manhattan is the Tin Man, no longer able to understand human emotion, he learns through Laurie what it means to be human again. Dan is the cowardly Lion, having lost his courage to wear the suit and follow his dreams he finds it again with the help of Laurie. Rorschach is the Scarecrow, in the past he used violence in order to gain information instead of putting the truth together with his mind. By the end of the movie he finally pieces together that Adrian was behind the murder of the Comedian, remembering clues he gathered. When he finally learns the ultimate truth he is unable to accept it.
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Rorschach’s morality is based on the ancient understanding of good and bad. Having that as the foundation of his beliefs he makes himself a martyr to his truth and sacrifices himself in the hope that the truth will be discovered later.
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Rorschach’s journal represents the Old Testament. Left behind at the office of a right wing conspiracy theory magazine Rorschach has the faith that his investigation will be revealed to the world. His concern isn’t that the whole world won’t find out, but that the conservative right won’t know what happened. In the film Rorschach states, “Never compromise, even in the face of Armageddon,” stating the foundation of old Christian faith. Being set in his ways Rorschach fails to realize in a secular world his old world truth will sound like nonsense and society will dismiss it in order to protect the lie that holds the new society together. Rorschach acts as a martyr to the old world values that no longer apply.
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The movie ends with a new world formed from the events of Adrian and Dr. Manhattan. The United States and Russia agree to a peace in fear that Dr. Manhattan will come back to punish them. Adrian reveals his new clean and free power source as shown by the plug in electric car parked at the newspaper office. The new world is based on a lie but one that people will follow in order to keep the new status quo. Dr. Manhattan leaves Earth to hide the new lie that created peace and saved the world. He is now the god in the heavens that disappeared after man went into space and walked on the moon.
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Adrian brings peace and order back to the planet by using the mythology of the old gods to install fear and superstition into society. This idea can been seen by the “In God We Trust” stamped on all U.S. currency. I have heard more than once the phrase, “I’m a Capitalist and I’m a Christian.” In order to control society it is common for government, corporations, and banks to use religion as a form of control. Adrian modernizes this idea in order to create peace in to world based on one basic lie.
