Faith in Film, Watchmen

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." — Jeremiah 29:11

That promise, offered by God to His people through the prophet Jeremiah, offers comfort to all believers, whether in good times or in bad. But what would it be like if you recognized the fallen nature of mankind, the evil in the world, and believed there was no God there to honor that promise? Where would you find your hope? The answer is you wouldn't, and your world would look an awful lot like the world in "Watchmen."

"Watchmen" is the darkest, most bleak film I've examined during Faith in Film. After 44 sessions, it was fitting to end with this film, because it was the analysis of the world of "Watchmen" that really got me interested in writing about and talking about the worldview in films. It was so dark, so bleak, and so absolute, I just couldn't stop thinking about why it affected me so much.

"Watchmen" is based on a graphic novel written by Alan Moore. Moore was a popular and gifted writer for D.C. Comics who wanted to do something different. He wanted to look at what heroes and superheroes would look like in a credible, real world. He also wanted to do something that challenged authority and made people feel uneasy. With "Watchmen," he achieved those aims. Iain Thomson said, of "Watchmen," "All the characters share a nihilistic outlook, and that Moore presents that outlook as the simple, unvarnished truth." He writes that Moore develops his heroes simply to ask the question, would we, in fact, be better off without heroes. Moore would say yes, that there are no real heroes and there is no real hope for humanity.

That's a sad way to go through life. He also wanted this work to be reflective of his dissatisfaction with the political leaders of the day — specifically Ronald Reagan. But he didn't want to draw too much criticism for making a political attack, so he created an alternate timeline where Richard Nixon was elected to a third, fourth, and fifth term so that his political attacks would not seem so direct.

Moore's work, more than two decades later, continues to be hailed as a masterpiece, not only of its genre but of literature in general. Time Magazine placed it on the list of the 100 greatest novels of all time. Entertainment Weekly placed it No. 13 on the list of the 50 greatest novels of the past 25 years. That is high praise, and indicative of where "Watchmen" sits in our cultural cannon.

It's fair to say that comic books are the cultural mythology of America. They are our myths, and often are reflective of our deepest desires as a society. If that's true, and "Watchmen" sits as the finest example of that genre, one can't help but feel that says something disturbing about our society and where we are headed.

In "Watchmen," there is no hope offered by a higher power, and no hope offered in the nobility of mankind — as you would expect in a humanist piece. Instead, there is simply fear, despair, and anxiety. The world is depicted as dark and hopeless, and the "heroes" of the piece respond in kind.

The Comedian sees life as meaningless, and treats existence as a joke. Sally Jupiter sees life as random, meaning there is no incentive to be a good person. Rorshach sees the world as violent and ugly, and decides the only way to respond is violently. Ozymandias sees the world as broken and believes that by perpetuating a horror on the population he can force a tenuous peace. Then there is Dr. Manhattan — the only God-like character in the piece — who has the power to do something to make the world a better place but can't be made to care about humanity.

Dr. Manhattan likely serves as Moore's view of God. If there is a God, he doesn't care about humanity and he long abandoned His creation to struggle on its own. This stands in stark contrast to the message of the Bible. Consider the story of Lazarus. John 11:35 says, "Jesus Wept." It's the shortest verse of the Bible, but it speaks volumes about how Jesus feels about humankind, and how God feels about His creation.

In fact, the central message of the Scriptures is God's love for us. 1 John 4:9-16 says, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”

"Watchmen" is a world of absolutes. It is governed by fear, anxiety, and despair. It offers no light or hope. And that's because hope and light come from faith. If you don't believe there is a God, it would be easy to look at the suffering in this world and despair that life has no meaning. As Christians, we know otherwise.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love." The only way we can reach a world that is despairing; a world that doesn't know there is hope for them is to shower them in the love of Jesus Christ, and to let that light shine through us. Moore may be right about what the world would look like if God wasn't a part of it, but we know He is, and He has plans to give us a hope and a future.