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Watchmen graphic novel in depth
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The “Watchmen” storylines paint a vivid picture of an ominous alternative reality where masked vigilante’s avenge the loss of their longtime partner, while Russia threatens the United States with World War III. Originally released as a graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons in 1986, Watchmen was later released as a major motion picture in 2009 by Zack Snyder. Although there are varying differences between the storyline and character development of the graphic novel and the movie, the storyline rings true to the ominous feel and the overall objective of the writing.
Upon release of the novel over three decades ago, the franchise has gained nothing short of a cult following. Many fans questioned if the novel could be transformed into a motion picture, while still staying true to the complex storyline spanning nearly five decades in length with all characters having intertwined backstories. As put by Richard Corliss of Time.com, “The best and worst thing to say about the Watchmen film
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The public has cried out against the masked vigilantes as there is nobody to police them. Markings are tagged on brick walls in the streets asking the question, “Who Watches the Watchmen?” The novel spends a considerable amount of time focusing on this detail of the story. The movie however has a quick scene where two of the characters find themselves face-to-face with a mob of citizens and begin to control the situation, explaining that their days of being masked vigilantes are numbered and they should enjoy it while they can. Of course, this doesn’t sit well with all parties involved. Rorschach, the psychopath that wears a mask of ever-changing ink-blot shapes chooses to stay in the shadows and continue his path of righteousness after the Keene Act was
...revolutionize a whole new genre of movie, a genre which is fast becoming more and moe popular. 'As filmmaking technology has made it more and more feasible to bring the worlds of the comics to movie theaters, the comics themselves have begun to provide a broader and richer array of material.. from which films might be made' (Booker 2007: Paul Benton, Lecture notes). All the mentioned arguments throughout this essay on top of; the star performances, unique marketing and special effects, help make The Dark Knight a truly great film. Prior to the movies release it was questioned wether the film could sustain the 'increasing moral weight imposed upon it', the movie to date has more than dealt with this pressure, and has become a focal point for many discussions and essays, and finally it is because of the morals and ethics within the movie that I have written this essay.
Many time in our lives, we have seen the transformation of novels into movies. Some of them are equal to the novel, few are superior, and most are inferior. Why is this? Why is it that a story that was surely to be one of the best written stories ever, could turn out to be Hollywood flops? One reason is that in many transformations, the main characters are changed, some the way they look, others the way they act. On top of this, scenes are cut out and plot is even changed. In this essay, I will discuss some of the changes made to the characters of the Maltese Falcon as they make their transformation to the ?big screen.?
The Watchmen is a comic book that describes how vigilante crime fighters helped in stopping the nuclear war in 1985. The vigilante crime fighters worked in organized groups, whereby they formed the first organized group in 1939, named the Minutemen. The first group of watchmen retired, and in 1966, a new generation of Watchmen formed to help in fighting crimes. The new generation vigilantes sometimes interacted with the older generation vigilantes, with the Comedian belonging to the both groups of vigilantes. Despite the great role that the watchmen played in combating crime in America, their activities started becoming unpopular with the police, the citizens, and the media. The unpopularity led to the anti-vigilante riots, making the vigilantes respond with increased brutality. In 1977, the government outlawed vigilante activities, and some vigilantes quit the vigilante activities while others continued seeking justice through the vigilante activities. In 1985, nuclear war raised international tensions and it seems unavoidable. At the time, the Watchmen included the Comedian, Dr. Manhattan, who had supernatural abilities following an accident at a government research laboratory, Ozymandias, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre II, and Rorschach (Moore and Dave 2). At the time, the Comedian and Dr. Manhattan worked for the
We are currently living in the Golden Age of Superheroes. They dominate our cultural life, and have become seemingly permanent fixtures in modern media. Since X-Men burst onto the screen fifteen years ago, we have witnessed the release of over forty superhero movies. By 2020 we will have seen the release of more than twenty-five more. Today, the much anticipated film Superman vs. Batman has come to theaters. Though a plethora of superhero movies have been released, it is to the dissatisfaction of many, having long been exhausted by the stories of the Hulk, Batman, and Spider-man. Although I must agree that it is quite easy to get bored with the constant action, and flashing colors of these films, if one looks deep enough into the story they will discover universal themes and metaphors. Though they may be fighting off alien invasions, these heroes are also battling with their personal challenges, challenges which we can
Citizen Kane is a valued text because it explores the challenging ideas of power and vulnerability.
In this day in age, it is very common to find films adapted from books. Many of those films do a very well in their adaptations, but some fall short. Since it was finished, and even before its release date, the V for Vendetta film has gained some controversy from its own author. But, although the film did not end up how Alan Moore, the author, would have wanted it, he did not contribute to the project, even so, the filmography very clearly kept with the original work and showed itself as a product of the time.
All graphic novels are structured to provide few words so the reader can follow the story through the illustrations. The comic panels are drawn to be extremely vivid and revealing. In Watchmen, a story based in a Cold War America, political symbolism is everything. Alan Moore strategically places numerous clues for the reader throughout the story to develop and reveal crucial components of the character’s lives, the setting, and the theme of the novel.
While the story follows the perspectives of several vigilantes, the most interesting of the group
Alan Moore’s “Watchmen” focuses on several characters throughout the novel making the idea of a main character moot. However, one character can be described as the most influential to the plot of the graphic novel. Rorschach can be seen as such due to the fact that he narrates a large portion of the novel, and his heroic code that he follows. Not only does he influence the plot by those two reasons, but also by uniting the characters after a long silence. The Comedian is the only character that almost perfectly fits as the character with the most influence on the plot of “Watchmen.” The death of his character allows for the plot to be set in motion. He has not only has he shaped every other character in the novel, but the symbol that represents his character can be found throughout the graphic novel. Although Rorschach can be interpreted as the most influential character of “Watchmen,” The Comedian influenced more aspects of the plot than any other character of the graphic novel.
Literary works have been adapted into feature films since the beginning of the industry. By giving the written work sound and movement, film adaptation lets the story to be told in a more engaging way. It gives the audience’s senses a more powerful experience. However, the film usually differs from the original story due to the director’s ideas, actors, and many other factors. Ronald Wright’s decisions made in his adaptation of Hanif Kureishi’s short story The Dogs, illustrates the positives and negatives on film adaptation. We are able to see the good and bad sides on both the original literary work and the film adaptation.
To conclude, the graphic novel Watchmen presents the non-fantastic representation of a superhero, implying that not all heroes are like Superman. This notion is explored within the novel by mentioning the realistic motives of the characters choosing to become superheroes, by Rorschach’s representation and through the heroic reactions of the New Yorkers to a street crime. These elements all contribute to Watchmen’s uniqueness and complexity as a superhero comic.
Watchmen is not just a graphic novel, but also a unique representation of American idealism as expressed through character image. Although the characters are portrayed as "superheroes," each is psychologically complex in that they become symbols for the flaws of American culture. Together, the characters of Watchmen reflect an unflattering image of American identity. We sacrifice morals to defend principles, rather than saving people. We sacrifice ourselves for commercial gain and for the fame that comes from the worship of strangers.
A movie that came out in 2002 was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This movie was based off the best-selling novel, which was written in 1997 by J.K. Rowling, called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. If you were to read this book and watch the movie you would find many differences, but the main difference between the two is that the book gives more information to the reader than the movie gives to the viewer. If someone was to watch the movie instead of reading the book, that person would not be able to have an accurate perception of the book because so many things in the book are changed in the movie or parts are left out of the movie completely. This is mainly because the book has more characters and chapters, which are able to keep the reader informed and interested. Still, the movie is shorter so that people who want a quick summary of the storyline can get it,
Since Rorschach is often alone in his early childhood, he ends up to be asexual. Through the description, readers learn that his coldness is greatly affected by his young memories, although he does not clarify the reasoning. Kovacs learns how to stand up for himself through the accident with two bullies of attacking one of them by “partially blinding him with a lighted cigarette” (VI, 7, 9). Children tend to involve in aggression and assaults without the guidance of parents and loneliness, which is the reason how Kovacs grows up under the influence of violence. This aloneness results in his over-reaction to the world. Despite the fact that Kovacs grows up alone, he partners with Nite owl in 1965 by “bringing street gangs under control” together (VI, 15, 2). Other than Kovacs’s childhood memory, Rorschach’s “face” can also be considered as loneliness. Through the picture of “empty meaningless blackness”, Dr. Malcolm Long mentioned the picture simply means “[they] are alone” and darkness (VI, 28, 6-7). Furthermore, the blackness of the mark can also represent the judgement of evil and how the horrors have turned Kovacs into Rorschach. As the mask consists the color of black and white, it also exhibits how Rorschach views
Watchmen’s Lack of Punctuality Postmodern literature techniques reflect on many works of the 20th century. Coming from modernist literature, postmodernism begins to focus on contemporary ideology like phones, computers, and television that is currently enveloping today’s society. Every day, people are seen talking on the cellphone with their grandmother before they transition to watching television with their children, completely void with what is happening outside their windows and within their city streets. With this new advance in technology, Alan Moore’s graphic novel, Watchmen spotlights this change from real-time events to a digital reality.