Another look at Watchmen

Before I dive into the theme of this entry, I would first like to address why this blog is named the Shadow Gathering. I am aware that in the comic V for Vendetta, V's place of residence is named the Shadow Gallery. The name the Shadow Gallery entails a great deal of things. Primarily that it is, quite simply, a gallery; a place for observation in which an individual may look upon the many artifacts of the world, uncensored. I chose to name this blog the Shadow Gathering, in light of the convictions that V represents. I replaced the word, "gallery," with the word, "gathering," to specifically invite others to engage and respond to these entries. So please, ask questions, and more importantly, think.

A great deal of people feel that by not viewing the Hollywood adaption of "Watchmen," Alan Moore has established himself as some sort of hypocrite, taking the money and claiming to take no part in the film. Although this is untrue, that is not the reason for this entry. My reason for this delayed response to Zack Snyder's version of Watchmen is as follows.

In essence, Watchmen is, quite obviously, a meditation on power. Each character representing different forms of power, from the omnipotent Dr. Manhattan to the meager Rorschach. With the nuclear doomsday clock ticking in the background, the Watchmen's interactions display a great deal of realism, coupled with human reasoning and emotion, or in Dr. Manhattan's case, lack thereof. As powerful as this symbolism is, I believe what most people take from Watchmen is something entirely different.

Unlike most stories, Watchmen is not told in a linear fashion. It is more of a reflection of the chaotic lives of the "real world." It reveals a number of individual stories winding together to one final point. In Zack Snyder's adaptation, he removed the squid, a seemingly harmless move. In addition, his version satisfied a majority of the fan base. But by removing the squid, he removed much more. He erased the existence of the artist's story and in doing so, he removed what sets Watchmen apart from other graphic novels. This why I believe Snyder missed the mark. This is the reason why I believe Alan Moore does not watch any of his works on the big screen. As much as he would like to see an individual's interpretation of his work, I believe that when one has put so much into a product, only to see it stylized to appeal to a less than deserving audience, one can not simply throw those years of one's life away for a two and half hour movie.