(urth) OT: watchmen on trial
Gryphoncrossing at aol.com
Gryphoncrossing at aol.com
Tue Mar 22 11:20:45 PST 2005
In a message dated 3/22/2005 2:02:05 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
urth-urth.net-request at lists.urth.net writes:
1] I suspect, if they're there, Herbet either is commenting on them in a
negative way, or they're space opera tropes that have snuck in without
anyone noticing, which can happen if no one's careful.
>>My first post.
Herbert's initial impulse in writing Dune was to write a criticism of
Messiah figures, from Jesus to JFK, showing that one SHOULDN'T follow them.
Illustrating their actions, in the case of Dune, isn't the same as condoning those
actions.
I feel the same way about Watchmen; I found it an illustration of the
fascist underpinnings of the ubermensch supposedly serving the masses while in fact
being above them (sort of like in a socialist country).
The only fascistic works I've seen in fantasy/sf, short of The Turner
Diaries, have been unconscious ones, or at least unacknowledged ones. There are
many of these in post-Tolkien fantasy fiction. The tendency of these power
fantasies to be so popular with supposedly liberal-minded fantasy fans is
something I've always found curious.
I do think Wolfe's books have a touch of this but I think Wolfe is more
interested in exploring a tradition that stretches back so far that one can't do
so without including much of this material. I've never found the impulse
toward glorifying "superior people" that I've seen in much fantasy fiction.
John
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