In the beginning I was going to write about the whole movie of the Watchmen , however that became to long and more of a summary. Rather I am going to try to focus on one singular character from the film. This will be the awesome Dr. Manhattan. On first glance he seemed to be to over the top, but upon watching the film all the way through you can see even he struggles.
His power is nearly limitless as i can tell. He is able to harness the world of quantum physics and bend it to his will. Nothing is out of his grasp when it comes to the physical world. I do not know of any other superhero who could withstand him in a purely physical battle. Superman would just be totally broken down to a molecular level with but a thought from Dr. Manhattan. And Superman would be able to do much of anything to Dr. Manhattan since he is non-corporeal. I am not saying Manhattan is a better superhero than Superman because he is not. It is Dr. Manhattan is more powerful on a wider scale than any superhero i can think of at this moment. Manhattans powers are also a weakness that keeps him from seeing us as anything more than insects. Some of the people of his fictional universe conclude he is a god( A moniker which he denies). It makes one wonder though if there was a god would he look at us like Manhattan does? The world in which Manhattan sees thing have caused him to lose all touch with humanity except for his connection to his girlfriend. To him human life is nothing special he does not see it as having any meaning or validity in the universe.
With his lack of empathy humanity it isolates him from us and makes him leave our planet. This introspection which occurs on Mars does lead him back in the end. It is his link to one human which allows him to see we are not all worthless insignificant creatures. I think this is a good way to learn about humanity because on a whole humanity seems worthless, deplorable and without merit. However making a connection to one individual can make one see this in not true for entire human race. Once one can see this it leads to hope for betterment of mankind as a whole. No one can connect to the entire human race, but we can connect to individuals allowing us a glance into the window of what it is to be human. The nihilism we may share for our species as a whole can be disintegrated by one individual and thats what makes us special as I see it. Its a hard sell on the morality of things the sacrifice of the few to save the many. The logic is hard to cope with because we are much more emotional than logical animals. I ask is it in our best interest to be morally ambiguous at certain points? Can logic be truly incorporated into us and allow for ethical and peaceful society while still following a logical path? Is one life equal to a million others ? These are questions we may not ever hop to answer but that doesnt mean they should never be asked nor attempted to be answered.
In the end Dr. Manhattan was as complex as he was powerful. He did somewhat come to terms with morality, emotion and logic. Although I do not know whether even he was sure if he was right in the end. Even with all the power he had he was no god. Makes one wonder, is there even a god?
"Today, I was on a third date with a girl. Things had been going really well. At one point, the conversation lulled. After a moment of silence, she asked me what my greatest fantasy was. I told her that it was being a superhero. She told me that she meant sexual fantasy, I'm 25."
ReplyDeleteI read this and for some reason thought of you! Hehehee...