MM Nov 17

Notes From Wednesday's Class- Megan Gallagher

For Wednesday’s class, we started off with Quiz Number 10 focusing on Chapters 4 and 5. After the quiz, we were to write about the role of Dr. Manhattan/ Jon Osterman has in Watchmen, and whether you believed he was a threat or a hero to the storyline. After we had individual reflection through writing in our notebooks, the class began to engage in a discussion about Dr. Manhattan’s obligation to society.

Unlike the other minutemen/crime busters, Jon Osterman had unique inhuman powers after his transformation. Jon is able to see into the future, transport himself (and others), and go beyond all human abilities. With his transformation came flaws, such as Jon’s loss of human emotion. Dr. Manhattan has a great amount of power but seems to not care about social repercussions of his actions. Dr. Manhattan works for the government, and does not try to alter the course of history. In foreseeing JFK’s assassination and the Comedian killing the pregnant woman, Jon does not seem to care what happens to the person or try to prevent the events he sees from occurring. Through his actions, Jon struggles to connect with the people who he is mostly closely tried to, such as his romantic interests Janey Slater and Laurie Juspeczyk.

Regardless of his lack of emotional ties, America puts a great amount of faith into Dr. Manhattan for protecting them. By America being dependent on Jon, this puts Jon under a obligation to society, almost forcing him into the role of a superhero. Unlike the other masked heroes who chose to put on the costume and help protect America, Jon was giving the abilities to make his undefeatable, allowing him to be an invaluable resource to American defense.

Next we had group discussion, which we were to compare and contrast Laurie and Laurie’s Mother, Sally and their role in Watchmen. While Sally really wanted to take part in the superhero lifestyle, the class acknowledged that Laurie was pressured superhero lifestyle to follow into her mother’s footsteps. In comparing Sally and Laurie, the class discussed the roles of women feminism in Watchmen. Upfront, Sally appears to be very independent by being one of the original members to put together the minutemen, and took on a “man’s job” which was very rare during that time period. In Watchmen, Laurie appears to be opposite of her mother and very dependent on Jon, later Dan for support throughout the novel, showing reverse order of feminism. However, both women switch roles in the novel. An example we discussed was the instance of the pornographic book of Sally. Laurie appears to be very upset how her mother was portrayed in a degrading way, while Sally seemed not care in the least. Through this scene, female stereotypes are present in which makes the women who are in Watchmen appear as sexually natured. Evidence in Watchmen has some readers believing that women’s roles in Watchmen were used only as plot devices, making them disposable characters rather than main characters who are essential to the storyline.

For next class we will be reading Watchmen, chapters 6 and 7.

"Notes for Wednesday Latricia Duarte"

During Wednesday’s class we started out with a quiz and then immediately dove into discussion about Watchmen. For our daily writing assignment we were asked to write about Dr. Manhattan and his role in society since his change and also his relationship with people around him. We were also asked to discuss his presence and what it suggests about the relationship between science and humanity. When we came back together to discuss this as a class, many interesting points were brought up, causing the discussion to be continuous. One of the first points that were brought up was that Dr. Manhattan can be seen as a forced superhero, while the other superheroes or vigilantes seem to have chosen to be how they are. The point is also brought up that when he was transformed, he was forced to become a help to society. Dr. Manhattan’s presence and the relationship between science and humanity were further discussed when someone stated that he seems to lose empathy and humanity but he is still able to make scientific innovations. He seems to be helping but does not seem to be concerned with the day to day issues that he is presented with since he is lacking empathy. In the beginning of chapter four, immediately after his transformation Dr. Manhattan has a full costume but as the chapter progresses he has less clothing which eventually leads him to being naked. This process was discussed as being shifts to signify his gradual loss of humanity. During the group discussion we were posed with a question about Sally and Laurie. We were asked if they were similar or different in their actions and relationships with men and also how they compare with the male superheroes in the text. Within my group we emphasized on the question about the comparison of the women to the men. It was evident to my group and later the rest of the class that the women were very disposable and possibly over sexualized in the narrative. The male heroes however were seen as altruistic heroes. Although the women were still seen to be disposable it seems that the superheroes disbanded because Sally left. It seems like you need a maternal figure to hold the group together but she is still very disposable. The main difference that was brought up about Laurie and Sally was that Laurie is full of drama unlike her mother. She fulfills a lot of feminine stereotypes such as dependency. There was a little booklet made about Sally which is inappropriate but she feels like it is something that is building her up as a former hero while her daughter is very upset about it because it is degrading. She seems to be trying to stand up for women but still with some of the feminine stereotypes. Through the text you can tell that the author is trying to differentiate between Laurie and Sally. The final subject we discussed dealt with Ozymandias and Dan. We compared them to other characters and also just discussed their personalities. As a class we placed Ozymandias closer to the comedian because they both seemed to use their powers for publicity, which shows that they both are extremely narcissistic and self-serving. Dan however seems to hide behind his costume and is lonely. He is the only character that does not really seem to engage with his former superhero life. He only looks at the nostalgia. He seems the most visibly middle aged of all the superheroes. Chapters 6 and 7 are the reading assignment for Friday.

Notes for Wednesday 17th november, Aradhika Shrestha

We started the class off with a quiz on the first five chapters of the Watchmen. After the quiz, for the in class writing assignment, we discussed Dr Manhattan’s role in the society at large, his relationship to the people around him and the relationship between science and humanity.

Dr Manhattan obtains supernatural powers after his transformation. He is the only one in the play with actual superpowers. He is able to teleport himself and others to different places and also see into the future. One of our classmates said, that he feels bad for Jon/Dr Manhattan, because no one ever looks at him as a human. He got transformed without his knowledge, so he doesn’t seem that happy with himself. Because he is blue and looks different from the other characters, he is looked up as an alien. Even though Jon wants to be part of the society, he is set apart from the society. He doesn’t seem to care about the violence going on in the world. Dr Manhattan is obligated to help the government because the government depends on him to protect their people. So his power seems to be controlled by the government. Sometimes it looks like he care for the world, as he is helping the government with the nuclear war, but sometimes it seems like he doesn’t because he leaves the earth to go to mars. Dr Manhattans relationship with humanity is portrayed in book in visuals, as we turn the page, we see Dr Manhattan with lesser and lesser clothes until at the end he is standing in mars without any clothes.

In the group discussion, we were asked to compare and contrast Sally and Laurie and how they compare with the male superheroes in the text. Sally was very interested in being a superhero, while Laurie was forced into the lifestyle. Sally is portrayed as a very independent woman, as she helps with the minutemen and has good self defense skills, while Laurie is shown as being dependent on Dan for everything. Both of them seems to have different sets of values, as sally doesn’t care about her being portrayed in a degrading way in the pornographic book, while Laurie is upset to see that, and still hold grudges against the comedian. Women are portrayed as disposable sexual figures than superheroes. As an example, Dr Manhattan leaves Janey to be with Laurie. The costumes they wear are very tiny and skimpy, and can be seen as pornographic models. They are not really represented as powerful being or are a part of any important task to save the country.