Transcript English Literature and Film Unit 1

English Literature and Film
Unit 3: Watchmen
Elements of Fiction
Scott DeWaelsche
4/16-4/18
Character Morality
Consider the statements and actions of each of
Watchmen’s heroes. Place the heroes on a scale
from one to one hundred, where one
represents amorality, or someone who is
without morals, and one hundred represents
complete morality, or a person whose moral
compass is consistent and pure.
Themes
• Also, as a group, decide what you thought the
themes were in Watchmen.
Character Morality
The heroes are:
• Laurie Jupiter/Silk Spectre II,
• Dr. Manhattan/Jon Osterman,
• Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias,
• Walter Kovacs/Rorschach,
• Edward Blake/The Comedian and
• Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl.
Possible Morality Chart
0
Ozymandias 50
Comedian 10
Night Owl 75
Silk Spectre II 75
Doctor
Manhattan 55
100
Rorschach 90
Characters
Author Alan Moore said, "What we wanted to
do was show all of these people, warts and all.
Show that even the worst of them had
something going for them, and even the best
of them had their flaws.”
Characters
Edward Blake / The Comedian: One of two
government-paid heroes, he does a lot of bad
things. He tries to rape the first Silk Spectre,
and he shoots a girl in Vietnam who is
pregnant. But he also shows some emotion
about his daughter (Silk Spectre II) and when
he talks to his arch rival.
Characters
Dr. Jon Osterman / Doctor Manhattan: Doctor
Manhattan seems to be the perfect being, and
is even called God in the film, but he too has
some flaws. He stops caring about humans
since he is no longer human himself. He lets
The Comedian kill the pregnant girl, and he
agrees with Ozymandias and his plan to blow
up a city and sacrifice himself.
Characters
Daniel Dreiberg / Nite Owl: He appears to be
committed to doing the right thing. He asks
“Who are we protecting society from?” The
Comedian says, “From themselves.” However,
Nite Owl also goes along with Ozymandias
and Doctor Manhattan.
Characters
Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias: Ozymandias
connects himself to Alexander the Great, and
he believes that he can save humanity
destruction (nuclear war). Since he is the
smartest man in the world, he thinks he
knows best, and he has a plan to blow up a
city and blame Doctor Manhattan. He also
killed The Comedian (since he knew about his
plan).
Characters
Walter Joseph Kovacs / Rorschach: He has
strong morals, and separates the world into
right and wrong with nothing in the middle.
Rorschach refuses to compromise his morals,
and he is killed by Doctor Manhattan because
of it. Morality is most important to Rorschach.
He will not compromise his morals for
anything. However, he kills criminals for both
small and big crimes.
Characters
Laurie Juspeczyk / Silk Spectre: She may be the
best example of Humanity in the film. Doctor
Manhattan actually abandons her (and
humanity). Her only flaw seems to be that she
goes along with Doctor Manhattan and
Ozymandias and their idea to sacrifice Doctor
Manhattan.
Themes
• There are several themes in Watchmen.
• What themes did you find in the film?
Even the best of us have flaws
• Doctor Manhattan is called a god, yet he
seems to not care about humanity. He lets
the Comedian kill the pregnant girl. He also
goes along with Ozymandias.
• Silk Spectre’s mother says that it “rains on the
just and unjust alike, and the Comedian was
a little of both.
• Even Rorschach has flaws, since he kills all his
criminals regardless of their crimes.
Conspiracy theories and the threat of
nuclear destruction
• Apocalypticism and conspiracy theory are
elements of both plot and mood in the Film.
The threat of nuclear destruction is everpresent throughout the story. According to an
interpretation by director Darren Aronofsky,
"the whole motivation for Ozymandias is the
impending doom of the world." The plot is
driven by a central conspiracy, and Rorschach
is obsessed with conspiracy theories.
Conspiracy theories and the threat of
nuclear destruction
• Also, the Comedian says several times that the
world is going to destroy itself with nuclear
war, and Doctor Manhattan even thinks that
his future is blocked by nuclear holocost.
Determinism
• Conspiracy theories suggest a lack of control
for characters like Rorschach and are
connected to other themes in Watchmen,
such as determinism. This is the idea that we
don’t control our own destiny, or future.
Determinism
Dr. Manhattan lives his now-immortal life with a
perception of time and events as
unchangeable. He becomes the symbol of
determinism, failing to see that there was a
superior intellect that could outsmart even an
'all knowing' being. It is often Dr. Manhattan
who discusses issues of determinism and free
will, as when he explains to the second Silk
Spectre, "We're all puppets, Laurie. I'm just a
puppet who can see the strings."
Morality (Moral Relativism)
• Moral Relativism is the idea that we each
have our own ideas of morality, or of right and
wrong. In Watchmen, each character kind of
has his or her own moral relativism.
Morality
• A final theme that is addressed throughout
the story is human morality, and each of the
heroes seems to have a different idea of how
to behave in this regard. At the extreme is
Rorschach. Rorschach is an absolutist; he
believes that all criminals should be punished
for their crimes and often treats radically
different types of criminals in very similar
ways (for example, he executes both a serial
rapist and a common mugger).
Morality
• At the other extreme in moral relativism is the
Comedian. The Comedian's moral code is cast
into severe doubt throughout the novel, and
Doctor Manhattan describes him as
“deliberately amoral” while Rorschach
questions his “moral lapses.”
Morality
• At the finale of the novel, Ozymandias' views
on morality are shown, and seem to be
justified by their outcomes: Despite requiring
the murder of three million New Yorkers and a
hundred or so talented artists and scientists
from around the globe, the deception of the
entire world, and many other highly
questionable acts, he has convinced most of
the other main characters to accept the
outcome of his actions.
Morality
• In addition, the ambiguous ending, wherein
the newspaper may or may not publish
Rorschach's journal revealing the conspiracy,
leaves the reader wondering whether or not
Ozymandias has actually accomplished his
goal or merely postponed an inevitable
Armageddon. In the end, Moore leaves the
morality of the characters open to reader
interpretation.
Setting
The setting of Watchmen is mostly 1985
America, but the story spans from World War
II to 1985, during the Cold War between the
U.S. and the Soviet Union. This Cold War
setting is directly related to many of the
themes in the film, including the threat of
nuclear destruction.
Midterm Exam
• 15 multiple choice questions (15 points)
• 3 short answer essay questions (15 points)
• Based on lectures and class discussion of the
films we studied.
• Check the class website to download past
lecture PPTs.
Midterm Exam
• When you arrive, spread out to take the test.
• Once I BEGIN passing out the test, the class
should be silent.
• If you talk to a neighbor, or I see you taking
answers from someone, I will take your test.
• You should clear your desk. The only thing you
should have is a pencil and eraser.
• NO PHONES. If you don’t understand a word,
or have any question, raise your hand.
Midterm Exam
• The test will be at 2:30 on Thursday, 4/25.
• Please arrive on time.
• Once you finish with your test, you may give
me all test papers and you may leave.
• If you want to know your grade in the class up
to this point, come to see me in my office
hours. My office hours are posted on the class
website.
After Midterm
• I will announce the next film on Midterm day.
• I will explain our group work for the second
half of the semester.
• Visit me for grades on quiz, participation, and
midterm.
Class Site
http://sdewaelscheusw.weebly.com/