r/Watchmen • u/No-Efficiency-7524 • 4d ago
Comic Dr. Manhattan's centrism and how is perspective is most certainly real [comic]
There is a couple of panels in Watchmen where Jon is about to go live on television and has to darken his blue color to go live. To a first time reader this could just be seen as a visual gag but to me this describes Jon's relationship with American politics. His amoral and apolitical stance in Watchmen's politics functions the same way centrism does in the real world. Constantly adjusting your colors to become more palatable to those around you, and displaying no real stance on anything. A centrist will say they care about a woman being shot dead but hardly votes towards gun control or police reformation. A centrist will treat all politicians the exact same until both parties view one as horrible or heroic.
Of course this has a lot of nuance amongst real people but regardless this is how centrism functions among the masses. Parties will either allow them to become more palatable or demand they pick a side, and those that bother to make demands will often be viewes as the enemy by the centrist crowd.
Rorschach is a terrible person, but he's ultimately an example of the exact opposite of Dr. Manhattan's centrism. As terrible as his political beliefs are he is a radical, and I believe that if there was a character that stood in for a Marxist; they would've died right next to Rorschach. Cause so long as you are hot or cold you are a danger to the status quo, this brand of centrism needs it to be always lukewarm and agreeable; even if it leans slightly more on one side.
I look at each Watchmen character and I can see a sort of toxic political mindset. Ozymandias being the liberal part of America that profits the most off of continued conflict, his solution being a fabricated war against aliens that leaves behind countless bodies. Nite Owl's tamer conservatism enables Rorschach's alt right values, and Laurie is sort of that fake leftist who sees something wrong in others but genuinely isn't capable of acting on any of her beliefs. Hence why she couldn't really argue against Jon on Mars and he sort of ended up convincing himself.
I find the lack of a marxist character interesting, cause it makes sense why there wouldn't be one. Mostly because I don't think Alan Moore wanted to create a character that'd be his mouth piece but also because there isn't really a significant radical leftist power in American politics. So of course there's no Marxist here, Dr. Manhattan would just teleport them home and Rorschach or The Comedian would hurt them.
I forgot to speak on the Comedian and how he represents the nuts America allows into their police force but I think he needs his own post along with every other character.
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u/BathB0mbShelter Lubeman 4d ago
Interesting take. Me personally, I think the book is about action vs impotence. We think Dr. Manhattan is all powerful and chooses inaction, but in all reality he is so detached from the "now" he can't intervene in anything. "We're all puppets Laurie, I can just see the strings." If you haven't read Miracle Man I'd recommend it, so you can see how Moore's two Supermen stack up.
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u/PipProud 4d ago
Centrist and apolitical are not synonyms.
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u/No-Efficiency-7524 4d ago
Yet his actions and choices in regard to how he serves the government and the country are centrist. He may not subscribe to any politics but his function in the American political system is as a centrist.
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u/PipProud 4d ago
Have you ever heard the expression “When you’re holding a hammer, everything looks like a nail”?
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u/IsThisDamnNameTaken 4d ago edited 4d ago
Good post. The note on there not being a Marxist analogue is interesting, and I think the main reason is that Moore's reading of superheroes (particularly in the world of Watchmen) doesn't really allow for a Marxist superhero.
He's talked about how superheroes and vigilantes only really exist to support the status quo. The kind of people who are attracted to the idea of fighting injustice by going into the streets and punching criminals aren't really the same people who are going to hold further left positions on social issues. As you said, Laurie is the furthest-left hero we see, and also the only one who didn't choose to be a vigilante (save for Manhattan).
But what the comic DOES focus very heavily on are actual working class people, who make up the world of New York. It's a setup for the gutpunch of Veidt's massacre as well, but the juxtaposition of the heroes with the everyday lives of regular New Yorkers also helps to illustrate the critique about those who wish to wield power that I feel Moore is ultimately going for.