(urth) OT: watchmen on trial
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
danldo at gmail.com
Tue Mar 22 12:44:11 PST 2005
> 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.
Correct.
> Illustrating their actions, in the case of Dune, isn't the same as condoning
> those actions.
Also correct. However, it is a fascist book in that it is set in a world in
which the basic assumptions of facism (and especially the leader
principle) all turn out to be true. It does so to critique those
assumptions - to show how badly things would turn out if they were
true - but nonetheless, in the _Dune_ universe-of-discourse, they
are true.
Perhaps the problem is that when I say it is a fascist book people
think I'm dissing it.
> 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).
Bingo.
It's interesting to read this in conjunction with Moore's other, more or
less contemporary, works, _Miracleman_ and _V for Vendetta_, which
approach the problem of heroes and facism from very different directions.
Moore appears to be, inna final analysis, a libertarian-anarchist type.
--Dan'l
--
You probably do not want to know what that odor is.
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