Susan Watkins -- In Class Film 5

I wanted to write about Watchmen again because it just overwhelmed me so much, I feel like I could write on and on and on about it and never cover all the things it made me think about. Also I think I would need to see it several more times to really connect all the dots.

One thing I loved about it was how it explored the concepts of "good" and "evil," and how the philosophy of pragmatism seems to neutralize both terms. In many ways, the plotline with Adrian Veidt reminds me of the movie Unbreakable and it's "master villain," Elijah Price. Veidt and Price both claim to have the best interests of Man in mind when they construct their plots. Veidt wants to dissolve Cold War tensions by creating a common enemy, and Price wants to uncover a real-life hero. However, their techniques kill thousands and possibly millions of people, an act which unto itself is morally reprehensible. However, they both argue that "the ends justify the means" because this way they brought something new and good to light where before there was darkness.

The whole problem I see with this is that they are effectively playing God in determining the future of the human race. In the Bible, it does seem like sometimes God does things that harm humans in order to bring them some kind of greater good in the future, and so maybe Veidt and Price think that they can do the same and still be moral people. However, there is a big difference because Veidt and Price 1.) did not create the other humans they kill and 2.) cannot see for certain the long-term effects of their actions. They do not have the proper authority or perspective to behave as they do. Even John, the "godlike" character of Watchmen, realizes that though he has special vision for the future he does not have authority to condemn a race he did not make. Watchmen is able to explore all these ideas pretty well in a very short timespan.