Well..thus far anyway, and I guess my opinion isn't too important because it's the 2nd graphic novel I've ever read. But besides all that, Watchmen is awesome. And this blog is going to make me feel like even more of an outsider because no one else is reading this, but here's my opportunity to completely suggest it to you.
Watchmen is the shiz.
I love the complexities of all the characters and the plot. Rorshach is one of the greatest characters I've had the pleasure of reading about in a long time. He's complexly considerate, humorous, and mysterious. I'm only on the second chapter and I feel completely intoxicated by the pictures and writing. I was a huge fan of Persepolis, but this takes graphic novels to a whole other level-- at least for me, which I repeat, isn't saying too much.
We all know the grand story of Frodo and the Ring , but we never seem to see it as a war story. It is instead seen as a story of a journey, or a story of man, but it does have its fair share of intense wars. The Return of the King is where we see Frodo's journey come to an end. Gandolf the White returns, Gollum leads Frodo and Sam closer to Mount Doom, there is the siege at Minas Tirith, and finally the men of the west versus the orcs at the Black Gate. There are two main wars in this film, and they both represent different things. The initial battle at Minas Tirith is to obtain land and destroy people. The Orcs are brutal, and the Gondorians are simply fighting to survive and protect their land. This suggests that war is only a loss of men (and/or Orcs) and nothing is achieved by it in the end. However, the battle at the Black Gate is for something huge. It is to destory Sauron's power, and the Ring forever-- to change Middle Earth. This suggests that war can lead to good things. Aragorn sends his men to battle telling them that they can rebuild the world, and change does occur.
However, I think that Vonnegut's goals and Tolkien/Jackson's were fairly different. While the battles in Lord of the Rings are based on large goals, they do not contribute to the larger goal of the story. However, the war stories provided in Slaughterhouse-Five, contribute to the themes that Vonnegut is trying to convey. Without the Pilgrims' war experience, there would be little for us to go off of. On the other hand, without the wars in Lord of the Rings, we would mostly just miss out on intense action and hearing the absolute best line of the film: "Throw the dwarf!"
Mary O'Hare would like this film because it's one of the most beastly, most epic stories of all time. But she may not like that war is all over the place, and makes it seem like a necessary, exciting thing. She might not dig that, but she'll for sure like Gollum.
I know I'm breaking the first rule here, but...damn I love Fight Club. And as I sit here watching it, it occurs to me, that it stands as an interesting portrayal of "groups," which we've been talking about a lot in class. The main character belongs to a number of groups. First of all: his job. He works at a "job he can't stand to buy shit he doesn't need." Today our jobs become a way of defining ourselves, our key group. However, the main character in Fight Club learns that "You are not your job." Therefore, he becomes an outsider in that group.
Secondly, the main character becomes involved in numerous support groups. The groups were for tuberculosis, testicular cancer, parasites, etc. However, the main character doesn't have any of these problems; therefore, he would be considered an outsider. But it's ironic, because these groups are the one place that the character can let go. In this case, maybe being an outsider to the group is exactly what's freeing about it-- "Bob loved me because he thought my testicles were removed too."
The third group the main character belongs to is the "Slaves of Ikea." Now this is a much broader group-- the materialists, which is a world wide group. The main character of Fight Club begins the movie as a regular member of this "group," but learns a "better" way and then becomes an outsider of that group as well-- "You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world."
Finally...the main group he belongs to: Fight Club. Fight Club is his group. He started it. He led it. He created the rules. He finally became a true insider. However..(SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't seen Fight Club, don't read on) it's interesting that this is the one group that he becomes a true insider, because it's the one group he becomes a part of while also becoming Tyler Durden-- his other self. Therefore, the one group he is a true insider in, he can't even be himself-- he has to create an alternate ego. This alternate ego then creates Project Mayhem, a group in which his regular self is completely left out of.
Six dancers. All from different schools. Two that are sophomores, two that are juniors, and two that are seniors. Palmer, Alison, Leah, Marisa, Erin, and Rachel-- their names spelling Palmer. It was a group that was meant to be. Our mandatory dance classes being on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but we ended up being there almost every other day of the week together. This was the kind of group that no one ever got left behind. We were some of the best dancers the studio had ever seen because we worked together to put on an amazing show. Going to the dance studio became the one part of our day's that we could be ourselves. It was a freeing experience where we could relieve all of our stress, laugh, and dance. Being apart of that group was the experience of a lifetime. At the final recital, we came together in the dressing room for our final speech of the season. Our dance teacher put her arms around us and told us that we were thee group. We topped anything she had ever seen before. That we changed the studio, the advanced class, and even her, forever. This is cheezy and terrible, but one of the most amazing things that's ever been said to me (us). Once the season was over, we all predicted that we would never be able to dance again. But our group was too strong to let that happen. We still meet weekdays to choreograph, dance, and just be together. It's a group that I'll always consider myself apart of even when we're all miles and miles away from each other.
