Philosophy in “Watchmen” (part 2)

In addition to exploring moral philosophy, Zach Snyder’s film adaptation of Watchmen also contains some intriguing political commentary. The film (and original graphic novel) takes place in an “alternate history,” which is essential to understanding some of the political aspects of the story.

In this “alternate history,” masked superheroes with limited or no actual powers begin assisting the US government in the 1940’s. This group, called the Watchmen, aids the government by fighting crime and helping with foreign affairs. The Watchmen help to win the Vietnam War and are present at other historical events, such as the Kennedy assassination (though they are unable to prevent this). However, they are cannot stop the escalation of the Cold War, which lasts until 1985, when the movie takes place. Richard Nixon is President of the United States, and is serving his fifth term. Fear of nuclear war is greater than ever, and until the characters influence the course of history it was probably inevitable.

Watchmen certainly contains something of an anti-Reganist message to it—the comic has been called Moore’s “admonition to those who trusted in 'heroes' and leaders to guard the world's fate.” The phrase “who watches the watchmen?” is obviously significant, as it hammers home out Moore’s dislike of blind faith in others. Moore is also criticizing the Americanocentric view of the world held by many during the Reagan administration, mostly by using Vietnam as tool to examine this. For example, one the characters remarks that “it would really have hurt us as a nation if we lost in Vietnam.”

Also, the film makes many bold statements about the politics of Richard Nixon. The plot’s alternate history implies that the Cold War was lengthened because the Vietnam War was won during Nixon’s Presidency. The fact that Nixon “won” the war caused him to be re-elected more than twice, resulting in a more conservative foreign policy during the 70’s, increasing tensions. Moore is clearly trying to say something about that kind of black and white foreign policy, since he notably includes Nixon in the plot.

Additionally, the plot rejects the prominent Cold War ideology of nuclear deterrence. All of the characters agree that nuclear war is going to happen eventually, with the result being the complete annihilation of the world.

Overall, I found the film to be fascinating on many levels. On the surface, it is a suburb action movie, violent as they come and packed with fight scenes. As far as acting and directing go, Watchmen rates highly as well—Zach Synder did an excellent job preserving Moore’s vision. Lastly, Snyder also preserved the subtle ideas behind the story, including the political commentary and the moral philosophy. If Watchmen’s gritty, brutal scenes and its postmodern feel do not deter you, I think you will enjoy it.