Being a comic book geek of sorts, I was more than thrilled when I heard that “Watchmen” was coming to the big screen. I was even more excited when I saw it opening night (I’m not crazy enough to see a midnight opening). As I sat enthralled over the course of almost three hours, I realized, “Yes, Zack Snyder did have to make some changes here and there,” but I also realized “Wow! This is seriously culturally relevant!” Let me explain.
The plot, in a nutshell, revolves around former masked vigilantes in an alternate United States in 1985. The United States won the Vietnam War and made Vietnam the 51st state, thanks to a scientist who was turned into a blue, omnipotent being. Nixon is in his fourth term, having repealed term limits. Thanks to the blue, omnipotent being, now known as Dr. Manhattan, new forms of energy are being used and technology has become more modernized. So, back to my original train of thought.
One of the three major questions that I felt were posed by the film is: “What if we won in Vietnam?” Sure, in reality, we didn’t have a blue man who could make himself a giant and kill people by directing lethal energy their way. But in reality, what if we did win the war, without the help from super-powered beings? How would things be different in today’s world, even though Vietnam isn’t in the headlines as much as countries like North Korea and Iran? Would Johnson have had a successful presidency? Would we be a more hawkish nation today? That’s only the top of the can of worms, so I think I’ll leave it at that.
The next major question was regarding the presidency. Could there be a chance that term limits could be repealed? I know that Bloomberg extended term limits in New York City, but that’s a different ball game than repealing the term limits on the highest office in the nation. Regardless of that, I highly doubt that anyone would allow the president to wield that much power, considering what Nixon tried to do and how that led to the Watergate scandal.
Finally, energy was the final of the major questions that I felt the film posed. There’s a point in the film where Adrian Veidt, a former vigilante who is now an extremely rich business owner, is discussing foreign oil and energy with a group of foreign-interest lobbyists. He says that they are drug pushers and that the world will survive without their products. This point seriously rings true in today’s world, what with all the talk of alternative energy. The price of oil has been through the roof in recent months, but is now around $43 a barrel, and even though gas prices are more reasonable now, wind and solar power are looking more and more attractive.
Overall, “Watchmen” was, besides being a gore-fest and a damn good adaptation, a thought-provoking film. I mean, what if there was a blue, omnipotent being that ended wars? Yeah, right. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I left my watch in the intrinsic field subtractor.