The more I continue to read Watchmen and the more immersed I become in the world that these characters live in, the more I appreciate the story being told. I didn’t anticipate enjoying the book at all. I thought that there was no way I would like a comic about superheroes, but I have been pleasantly surprised. Watchmen is probably the furthest thing from a typical superhero story. It seems like almost every character who is meant to be good is also villainous – they are antiheroes.

So far the main thing I have gathered from the story is it’s trying to give an accurate portrayal of what the world would be like if there was someone with superhuman powers, and the effect a group of masked vigilantes might have. In this world that has been created in Watchmen the presence of superheroes has a devastating effect on the world. Although wars may have ceased because of Dr. Manhattans existence, it has in no way achieved peace on earth. There was one quote in particular from Watchmen that I thought was really powerful and it was, “One single being has been allowed to change the entire world, pushing it closer to its eventual destruction in the process. The Gods now walk amongst us, affecting the lives of every man, woman and child on the planet in a direct way rather than through mythology and the reassurances of faith.” The idea that a superhero is hurting civilization just by its existence really contradicts every other type of superhero story where usually if it wasn’t for this super human being coming to the rescue, civilization would be destroyed.

I believe there could be many interpretations of the meaning behind Watchmen, and I believe there could be even more meanings behind one of the most prominent characters, Dr. Manhattan. The way I interpreted it is the story is an alternate version of the time surrounding the Vietnam War and Dr. Manhattan is an analogy for a nuclear bomb. His powers depict the sort of devastating and atrocious effect that a nuclear bomb can have. He has the power to wipe out entire civilizations and no being, human or otherwise should have that ability.

I am currently about to begin the graphic novel the Watchmen. I have never read it before nor have I seen the movie. I don’t know very much about the story other than the fact that it is about superheroes. I am going into reading it with no expectations or prior knowledge of the plot.

The only other experience I have with comic books is Boys’ Love, which we briefly discussed in ASTU and what we covered in Women’s Studies surrounding Manga, unless you count Archie comics.. and even those I haven’t read in years. Another brief encounter with comics I have had would be the many movies which are based on them. I also currently follow the TV series, The Walking Dead, which is also based on a graphic novel. However, I have never actually read it.

Last term when we discussed the popular Japanse, Korean and Chinese comic books, Boys’ Love, I found it incredibly interesting because I had never come across anything like it before. The idea of male homoerotic romance comics seemed so foreign to me. Even more fascinating was the audience that it appealed too, young women. These young women were able to find something liberating surrounding the questions of their own gender and sexuality through reading ‘BL’ comics.

At first I didn’t really understand the appeal of this type of comic book to young women, many of whom were heterosexual but through further reading in Cultural Theory it began to make sense. In regular comic books featuring a heterosexual relationship the women is always portrayed as weak and in need of a man to rescue her. This is usually the general plot for any type of story found anywhere. But it is this type of relationship between a man and a woman that drove many female comic book readers in parts of east Asia to turn to ‘BL’. In the book, Cultural Theory, many women were quoted as saying that they preferred Boys’ Love comic books because of the more believable relationship between the two men who were both portrayed as equals, as opposed to the dominant male in a heterosexual relationship.

I’m not sure if I personally would enjoy ‘BL’ comics, but the reasoning behind the enjoyment by so many of these other women makes a lot of sense to me. Women are constantly being portrayed as weak and dependant on men in many forms of media. As such it has become commonplace. If such depictions don’t change, why wouldn’t people begin to look for relationship portrayals that better reflect equality and also support a healthier outlook on what a relationship in today’s society should look like?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the state of my life since it’s now the New Year. 2012 has passed and we’re into 2013, which is something I still haven’t quite wrapped my head around. I’m sure to be writing ‘2012’ on the date of all my papers for at least another month. This year I’m taking it upon myself to really start fresh, and not be bothered or weighed down with the trivial problems of 2012. As the cliché goes, it will be a new beginning.

I have never been one to make New Year’s resolutions, or if I do.. I have never been one to follow through. All of my past resolutions have been pretty standard ones – things such as trying to eat healthier or doing more physical activity, both of which I would like to do, but they are resolutions that always seem to fall by the wayside. The whole notion of making resolutions for the new year in an attempt to better oneself, makes me wonder if this is a universal tradition? Or is it more localized to Western civilization?  I am curious to know if the classic game of what will be your “New Year’s Resolution” is at all cultural, and if it varies from place to place.

This year I’ve taken it upon myself to make a New Year’s resolution, but not for one specific thing, more of an all encompassing resolution. Put more simply, in 2013 I plan on only doing things that make me happy. I am hopeful that  this will allow me to leave old problems behind, and avoid them in the future as well. Happy New Year everyone!