What happened to the American dream?
It came true and you're looking at it.
The dialogue between Xiaojiang and Ye Xiao during the suppression of the popular riots in this original book reveals the alienation of the American dream in the Watchmen's worldview-the United States won the Vietnam War, with the strongest weapon on the surface, Dr. Manhattan, and masked volunteers. The public order is guaranteed, but the society has not become stable because of this. Instead, new contradictions have bred. Containing dissatisfaction with social reality, resistance to masked vigilantes, and fear of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, the sword of Damocles hanging overhead, the American dream here is an out-and-out nightmare. And the United States 30 years later presented in the drama version is a continuation of the nightmare 30 years ago. The dream is also mixed with the long-standing racial history of the United States and the publicity of Luo Xiaji that the world has not anticipated.
The background of the Watchmen TV series is 30 years after the original incident occurred. During these 30 years, Rorschach’s diary was known, and the Pharaoh was missing. The problems faced by the United States changed from the foreign enemy, the Soviet Union, to a domestic race because of history and culture. Conflicts that are irreconcilable and other reasons.
Many reviews are dissatisfied with the drama version's setting of contradictions as racial conflicts, but I think this is an understandable choice. The original watchman is closely connected with social reality, and the Cold War atmosphere vigorously exaggerated in the book is in line with the 1980s when it was published. If the Cold War is the social problem that has entangled people for the longest time in the 1980s, what are the problems in today's society? The resurgence of right-wing forces and populism around the world can probably be regarded as one, and the racial issue in the United States is particularly sensitive and difficult. Nowadays, racial issues are still unresolved. While the affirmative movement is rising, the voices of opposition are still strong. I think that the watchmen of the drama version are bold in presenting these issues, and some viewers at home and abroad have certain misunderstandings about them. It is not to please black people or to intensify racial opposition, but to force people to face up to this problem lurking in society. At the beginning of the first episode, the scene of the Black Wall Street Massacre is restored to make this buried history known to the public. The performance of a sense of social responsibility.
From the Cold War and worldwide conspiracy to the racial conflicts within the United States, the topics discussed by the Watchmen seem to be narrowed, but in fact it is a transition from a big picture to a focus and a deep dig, and it takes place in the play for 19 years. The conflict in American society is inseparable from the American past, and it is still the original society and world outlook that is inherited. Starting from the setting of the original work, coupled with the publicity of Luo Xia Ji, it is not surprising that the United States has developed into the appearance in the play. Rorschach’s right-wing views and his favorite newspaper, the New Herald, which fanned the flames in the original work, also show that the seeds of racial conflict and opposition in American society have long been planted. The American dream 30 years ago has continued to become a lingering black-and-white racial conflict in the society. Even the police can't protect themselves, let alone the police who protect the public order, the Witt conspiracy theories that are indistinguishable from the truth, and people are not surprised. Weird squid rain....... It came true and you're looking at it! (This is only the first episode. I think as the narrative unfolds, we have the opportunity to see more descriptions of the changes in the whole world in the future , And the entry point may be the social conflict in the United States. Of course, it does not rule out the possibility that this drama only focuses on the racial issues in American society)
Regarding the post-Rorschach era: The show’s treatment of Rorschach is actually easy to understand. Rorschach is a radical right-winger. This is not difficult to see from his diary against liberals and his aversion to homosexuality. And to whom was his diary finally sent? The New Herald, the right-wing newspaper Rorschach loves to read. It is normal for a conspiracy theory about world peace to be published from such a newspaper, which is not widely recognized by all sectors of society. However, the publication of the newspaper can inspire the newspaper’s target readership and the extreme right elements to make more comments about Luo Xianji. An extreme interpretation, arousing hatred of the authorities and seeing Rorschach as their spiritual leader.
Therefore, Rorschach is still the Rorschach. The mortal who was killed in Antarctica 30 years ago for uncompromising and insisting on his non-black and white morality in the face of the end of the world was not that the TV series misinterpreted Rorschach, but Seventh Calvary. To Rorschach, and to do extreme things under his banner.
(I have sent it after seeing the negative reviews at home and abroad, and try to explain the rationality of the focus on racial conflicts in the drama version and the symbolic Rorschach in the drama. Please understand that it is a bit illogical.)
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(Some new small discoveries are too lazy to open a new comment, so I decided to update it in the back of the original text every week. This part of the content is mainly based on record analysis and guessing, and its correctness cannot be guaranteed)
E2 update:
I have always wanted to write about the rich details and easter eggs of this play. It is obvious that the easter eggs from the original work have been written in other articles.
1. The newsstand scene seems to be irrelevant, but in fact it mentions two important newspapers in the original works, from which we can get a glimpse of the political positions of the characters
The first feature was given to New Frontiersman, a right-wing newspaper. In the original work, Rorschach was their loyal reader. Luo Xiaji should also be published in this journal, which inspired some right-wingers to doubt the government.
The other newspaper mentioned was Nova Express, a left-wing newspaper that published an interview with the Pharaoh in the original work. Its liberal tendency was opposed by right-wing conservatives such as Rorschach.
The owner of the newsstand regarded the alien octopus as a scam. He didn't believe in the New Star Express, and he could judge that his thoughts were right-leaning, while the black girls reading every word in the New Star Express showed that their political leanings were leftist. Thirty years after the original work, the two newspapers are still diametrically opposed, and they have their own followers. From then on, we can also see the undercurrent ideological conflicts in the Watchmen's worldview.
2. Gordion's Knot
The line of the Pharaoh’s play, The Son of the Watchmaker, mentioned the Gordian Knot. This allusion comes from a Greek legend. It is a knot that is difficult to untie. It was eventually cut off by Alexander the Great to untie it (pictured above) The subtitles are wrong, this allusion is related to Yadi, not Greek mythology)
This knot has two origins with the watchman. One is the Knot of Gordion, a locksmith company in the original book. Another point is about the Pharaoh. Before Werth became a Pharaoh, the idol he worshiped was Alexander the Great, the man who broke the knot of Gordian. In addition, in the original work, Werther used to create foreign enemies to maintain world peace. The way of thinking is similar to Alexander the Great's splitting of Gordion's knot. The mention of this famous knot in the drama version probably indicates that the Pharaoh is going to muffle and do something unexpected.
In addition, there is another point about the connection between Pharaoh and Alexander the Great. The white horse that Pharaoh rode is called Bucephalus, which has the same name as Alexander the Great’s horse. (At present, it is not clear that the purpose of the pharaoh's Alexander the Great complex is repeatedly implied in the play. This is because the pharaoh wants to be the king of Macedonia?)
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E3 writes casually about Witte’s discovery, which may or may not be useful:
1. The most important thing about Pharaoh in this episode is that he is imprisoned by someone somewhere. This reminds me of the discovery on Reddit at E1: The Pharaoh’s castle has a certain similarity with the Martian architecture of Dr. Manhattan. Combined with Witner’s servant test, it seems to be a spacesuit. The death of the servant is also consistent with the situation of freezing to death in outer space. Someone on Reddit put forward the theory at E1 that Witte was imprisoned by Dr. Manhattan on Mars, which seems to be more and more reliable.
To be honest, two weeks ago, when I saw the Internet saying these two buildings and the theory of Mars imprisoning the Pharaoh, I felt a bit of a bit of a joke, but with the development of the Witte line plot, this speculation seems to be more and more reliable. In addition, I went back to watch the first episode and found that in the last scene before the Pharaoh plot, the director and Angela looked at each other and smiled. The camera moved up to the night sky, then the Pharaoh’s castle appeared, and the Pharaoh line started. This screen switch may not be accidental, because Werther may really be locked in the sky...
2. I mentioned the connection between Werther and Alexander the Great last week. This episode mentions his horse's name again, and the metal sculpture on which he puts the blindfold is very similar to the famous head of Alexander the Great.
I saw the statue of Werther only vaguely thinking of Alexander's head. I searched for a picture on the Internet and found that the two heads were more similar than I expected. This discovery further strengthened the connection between Werther and Alexander, but why the show emphasized the relationship between the two is still unknown.
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The E4 Witte line gradually became clear, and speculations such as one candle = one year and alien imprisonment were basically confirmed. However, the life line related to the heroine and the plot of the new character Zhao Yu have become more and more confusing. In addition, from the switching of the camera and Ms. Zhao’s understanding of Werther, it seems that the mastermind behind the imprisonment of Werther is not unrelated to Zhao Yu.
In addition, this new character gives me the feeling of a female Werther... Just to mention two points. First, the ecological museum that simulates the environment in Vietnam is very similar to the Antarctic ecological museum where the engineer Rivitt killed the engineer in the comics. In addition, this episode shows that the daughter of Zhao Yu who bought the Rising Star Express newspaper in the second episode also shows that she has a similar ideology and political inclination to Witte. Her admiration for Werther is obvious, and the third episode also mentions that she quoted a verse describing the Pharaoh, "Achievements cover things, and the strong are subdued."
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E5 is the Central Collection of Looking Glass, which connects the alien invasion scam at the end of the original book with the present 30 years later through LG's personal experience. I have always felt that LG and Rorschach correspond to a certain degree, so please record
1.Mask
The masks of Rorschach and LG are all full-face masks made of magical materials, with deformed patterns on the masks, one changes according to their own emotions, and the other changes according to the external scene.
Both masks have a certain symbolic meaning and interpretation space. The Rorschach mask is an externalization of Walter's true self, while LG's mirror mask reflects the surrounding environment and represents the hidden self.
The Rorschach mask is black and white as straightforward as his worldview, and the LG mask is gray.
Both of them wore masks in the house, but Rorschach was out of self-identity, and LG out of fear of the 112 incident.
2 people
On November 2, 1985, Rorschach was killed by Manhattan, 30 minutes later an alien invasion occurred, Wade survived, and LG was born.
Rorschach’s favorite newspaper is the right-wing newspaper "The New Herald", which is also available in Wade’s safe house (see HBO official tidbits, LG actor interpretation of his residence)
Both of them have no friends (Ye Xiao can barely be regarded as Rorschach's friends, but the two have not been in contact for a long time before the laughter was killed. Just like the relationship between Angela and LG, these two relationships should be more accurate than friendship and trust)
(The other two actors are all in their early 165s, although this point is meaningless but it's a coincidence hhh)
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