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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
HBO’s television series Watchmen — created by Damon Lindelof (Lost, Prometheus, The Hunt) — aired during the final few months of the 2010s and equipped nearly every aspect of society on which we for so long need to focus: employment, law and order, education, entertainment, etc; and these aspects can come off as relatable during this pandemic period, now more than ever. I consider this to be a hit show that deems necessary to win various awards. This season, the Television Critics Association has nominated the series for the following: INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA — Regina King; OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIE OR MINISERIES — Watchmen; OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM — Watchmen; and PROGRAM OF THE YEAR — Watchmen. I ask that you give this series a fighting chance
While set in an alternative reality to ours, Lindelof’s series takes Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s hit 1986-87 graphic novel narrative and relates it to what the world has gone through (and, in fact, is still going through today). Here, the United States of America’s policing system is controlled behind the scenes at the hands of an affluent group from overseas as well as the white supremacist / domestic terrorist organization (albeit both terms synonymous) referred to as the Seventh Kavalry.
The societal aspects of which I wrote earlier, along with themes of race, human identity, digital technology, vigilantism, mystery, and many more, are incorporated into this nine-episode series, one that is grounded into a genre that has garnered popularity in the cinematic medium over the course of some decades — the comic book genre. I must emphasize (for the sakes of our selves) that this series is not “just a show.” Watchmen takes its time sharpening the writing (of plot and character development), the cinematographies, the musical scoring, and the acting that went into the production of itself. The series has shown viewers that both their extensive world and our own world are dystopias that need to rid themselves of evil one way or another.
Regina King (Boyz n the Hood, Friday, The Boondocks, If Beale Street Could Talk) portrays a Black woman named Angela Abar/ Sister Night — representative of two oppressed/marginalized groups — who embarks on a hero’s quest (see Joseph Campbell) to discover more about her historical lineage. What results is a tragic transdimensional tale of race and identity of self. The actress performs the character so well and makes it her own. Some examples to corroborate these claims are Episodes 6 (“This Extraordinary Being”), 8 (“A God Walks into Abar”), and the finale (“See How They Fly”). I must also point out her chemistry with surrounding characters, most notably Laurie Blake (Jean Smart) and Calvin “Cal” Abar (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).
Watchmen is remarkable in many ways that would be difficult to prove otherwise, and the evidence lies in the minutiae of the show. Among the cinematic elements utilized in its entirety is the symbolism that holds certain truths about everyday life. I speak of drug overdosage, masks, and chicken eggs. When I think about this series, these three come to mind, and it also educates fans and viewers alike about American history hidden from the textbooks, beginning with the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. Extrapolated from this point is the system of law enforcement and how the good men and women of such a system can be outnumbered by the unjust individuals who seem to posit themselves in a different level of power.
Of course, I would love to go into greater detail about why this series deserves a vote for its respective categories, although if you have not yet seen the series, I ask that you please do so and see for yourself why these sentiments have been made. Watchmen is not just one genre but rather a multitude of them. Lindelof’s television show has all the action that can be found in a comic book tale, and at the same time is also thrill-seeking and mystery-solving, pervasive of science fiction and drama, and frightening through the horrific lenses of racism.
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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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