Following Mikey's dismantling of Lane, Anton wrote from New York:
Yeah, the graphic novel essentially deconstructs the idea of the American Hero, and actually investigates the very problem you and Lane are talking about: how these heroes end up mirroring the forces they are fighting against. (And it "deconstructs" all this in the best, most straightforward, nonacademic way). Thus the question on one of the title pages: Who Watches the Watchmen?
I would go so far as to say it is one of the greatest novels I've read. It is literally Miltonic, and full of references to Shelley and Blake (not to mention Bob Dylan and John Cale). If you haven't read it you need to get a copy of it immediately.
Can anyone lend me a copy?
As an aside, even I sometimes have problems posting to blogger, and anyone who knows me is welcome to send me their comments as an email and I will incorporate them back into the entries.
As for the matter at hand, I'm going to assume Lane hasn't seen the movie, and, since Moore distanced himself from the movie, is it possible that the movie misses the point as well?
I myself will not see the film. The Dufflebag had been anticipating this film for a year now and was upset that he couldn't see it. Since he was so let down, I made a pact with him that we'd see the film for the first time, together, when he was old enough. For whatever reason, this notion seemed to make him happy, so I'm sticking to it. I will, however, read the comic if someone might pass it my way.
*
Anyone with a shred of curiosity about contemporary literature and an extra half-hour on their hands should read D.T. Max's biographical essay on David Foster Wallace in this week's New Yorker. Max manages to pack an astounding amount of insight and information over its few pages: in some ways, the article serves as a time capsule and I suspect historians centuries in the future could read it as a pared down glimpse into how end of the century postmodernism, psycho-pharmacology, and publishing practices all had an immediate bearing on an actual, human life.
The issue also contains the Wallace story "Wiggle Room," which is taken from the unpublished novel he was writing at the time of his suicide.
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Heard Max on NPR the other day and after listening to him, I was eager to read the article. I can't imagine it's easy to speak with any authority regarding someone's intentions, mindset, etc., when they are deceased, but Max did a stellar job, in my estimation.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Watchmen is concerned, I read the graphic novel in the fall and wasn't that impressed. I think the movie, if what I hear about it is accurate, might be more effective. If that is the case, it will be one of the rare examples of the movie being better than the book. Or perhaps the only example. I'll have to think on that.