It's gonna be a long one, folks. Bear with me, I've got a lot on my mind.

I know I promised to stay out of the mainstream, but damn if it isn't still a prevalent force in my life. So I must digress... again.

Watchmen. It's a film about superheroes in a hyper-desensitized dystopia and what happens when the most fowl parts of society are allowed to run rampant and unfiltered. Those that hate it will HATE it. Those that like it will LOVE it. And as always, there are justifiable sides to both.

If, as an average movie-goer you walk into the film with no expectations, you will probably be disgusted. The incredible violence, the hate, the rape and the hopeless message will leave your 

stomach in knots and you might leave wondering why you paid money to sit through such torture.

Heed this warning. You absolutely NEED to be prepared for this film. If you have the time (and it's worth it), read the graphic novel - it plays out pretty much frame-for-frame on film. You will also be familiar with the story, the characters and the message, all of which will add immensely to your experience.

Those than pan the film will refuse to see past what is presented on the screen. They'll see the violence against women, men, children and resulting combinations of the three as disgusting and unworthy of depiction. And at a purely superficial level, they certainly have a point.

"Why", they might ask, "do we need to see these terrible things? What is the point? We've all seen it million times and we KNOW it's horrifying! The only thing the filmmakers are doing is propagating images that support and endorse everything that is wrong with the world and we've had enough!! Things must change!"

Committed ideologists of all stripes will picket, leave the theater and demand for refunds.

I've heard reviews spouting "Hollywood at it's unbearable worst," and more specifically, "This despicable trash will find an audience among sad sociopaths, deranged pseudo-intellectuals and brutalized, immature men of all ages. I just hope that there aren't enough of them to make it a hit. If there are, God help cinema."

See, I wasn't kidding.

As someone who has chosen to dedicate their life to studying the media, good OR bad, I feel it is my responsibility to encourage these people to step outside of their bubble. I'd like to suggest that how they feel is precisely how they're supposed to feel. I think the problem lies in the fact that they don't choose to ask WHY they were meant to feel that way. They jump at the opportunity to ruin the film's credibility without giving it the thought that it truly deserves.

This is a big concept film. The original novel won the Hugo Award for excellence in science-fiction and is widely regarded as one of the most influential novels of all time. It is the only graphic novel to transcend the limits of its genre, and is the only "comic" on Time Magazine's 100 best English-language novels from 1923-present.

I would argue that it deserves a place alongside novels like 1984 and Brave New World.

The world is suggests is one of absolute chaos. But, like 1984 it is based in a reality that we recognize and can readily envision. If you take the worst aspects of our society: racism, sexism, war, oppression and hate, then amplify them to the extreme - that's the setting of Watchmen. Consider this and it will come as no surprise to you that the resulting film is as brutally violent and depressing as it is. 

Through the lens of this hyperbole, the ultimate question is asked: Have we become our own wost enemy?  And if so, is the only way to eradicate the problem to, well, eradicate it?

Who can answer that question, if in fact anyone even has the right to?  Alan Moore leaves it in the hands of superheroes; the guardians of our society.  Not so different than our elected officials. 

But that's tangential. 

The real question, posed perhaps to those aforementioned reviewers, is why can't you handle the truth?  These images, scenes we've all seen before and continue to see everyday on our local news stations, are presented to us in a hyper-stylized, yet plainly matter of fact manner.  To react with disgust is natural.  But does that merit condemnation of the film?

Think for a moment about what making you feel that way would accomplish.  If the film's central message is that things need to change before they culminate solely in:

Then isn't that a message to be comended?

Let me try to clarify this picture.

Ozymandias, considered the world's smartest man, makes the final decision in the end of the film.  For those that have yet to see it, I won't ruin it, but as you can see, his bases this descision on his only connection with the world - TV.  Perhaps a comment on the media?  I'd be interested to see what people think about this. 

I'm suggesting that the over-the-top violence and anger portrayed in the film is in fact a self-referential critique.  We are supposed to ask, "THIS is what media has become?"  

Isn't the media the ultimate marker of a society?  Out of all of the things we create, the media is how outsiders will come to understand us (even historians in the future - you think they will look past what has been recorded, or even be able to?).  

All of the things people criticize this film for are the things the filmmakers were trying to point out.  Yes, you're all right, it needs to change!  But this effort should be appreciated, not neglected. This reaction may, however, be inherent in the overall goal of the film.  In that case, it has certainly worked.

What I'm offering is, of course, an interpretation.  Take it for what it is.  Agree or disagree, it makes you step out of the box for a moment and consider that maybe there is a shred of intelligence in Hollywood, however hard that might be.  

So I've said a lot, and I'm sure there are points that I've skipped since this post was written over a long period, so help me out with this.  Start a conversation if you're interested.  

This is what I do.  Or try to do anyway.

Peace.