Skip to main content

Dr. Manhattan

I would first like it to be known that Dr. Manhattan is an awesome character.  I mean who wouldn't want to be able to be the most powerful creature in the world?  He can win wars single handedly and do other amazing things, too bad he cannot handle relationships.  Due to his accident it seems that Dr. Manhattan is immortal and will live forever, this effect of his transformation is one of the major problems in his relationships.   Dr. Manhattan also has trouble relating emotionally to others because none of them have experienced what he has, including his lady loves.  While Dr. Manhattan never ages, those around him grow old and if that is not bad enough he is now being accused of causing cancer to develop in those he has had intimate or close contact with. Giving those you love to be around and love, cancer a deadly illness would be among the worst things one could possibly be cursed with.  I always thought AIDS or HIV would suck to have but that only effects you not ones you are simply around a lot, like that of Dr. Manhattan's causing disease.  Being Dr. Manhattan must really suck.  One of my psychology professors told me that he believes the need for human contact and connection is one of the basic human needs in life.  While Dr. Manhattan does partake in human contact he cannot truly connect with others because they have not experienced the pain that he has.   Dr. Manhattan makes for a truly interesting character to read about but he is definitely one person from the comics we have read, that I am glad to not be.  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why blame comics for societal failure?

Why blame comics for societal failure? Society blamed comics for the societal failures because it was a fairly new industry, and as things seemed to go “wrong” they figured it must be comic books. When a child grew up during the war, his father was probably killing people and the military and his mother was probably making things in factories to help kill the opposition. The only things kids had to “babysit” them was comic books, and they read many different kinds. So when kids starting acting differently in this new generation the figured it must be the comic books. Society didn’t want to believe it may have been the internal and external scars war causes on the soldiers and their families. Also the fact that young unattended children are reading these comics may not be able to differentiate between fantasy and reality. When society fails it always needs a scapegoat then it was comic books next it was rock and roll. Society naturally resist change.

The 1950s are often portrayed as a period of social cohesion. Why is this misleading?

When we think of the 1950's, most people think of similar things such as "Leave it to Beaver", very conservative and cliched pop music, and high patriotism. Our view of that time is one of social conformity to conservative values, with a traditional nuclear family where the father worked and the mother stayed home, where a majority of people attended church, where crime was relatively low, where a majority of American citizens were extremely patriotic, and where entertainment media emphasized these same conservative values and were subjected to censorship if they did not conform. This is misleading because while these things were all true to a certain extent, the world was obviously not perfect and not everyone was conforming or upholding traditional values, even if it seemed like they were. The 1950's were actually a very tumultuous time period, with the end of World War II leaving Europe war torn and in debt, the outbreak of the Korean War and the clashes of opinion...

Were comics at the forefront of social transformation or lagging behind in the 1960’s?

Throughout the 60’s, comics were at the forefront of social transformation. Possibly the best example of this is through comics reflection of the public’s view of the Vietnam War. At the beginning of the war a majority of Americans fully supported the cause. The idea that communism, the most evil idea conceived, could spread first through South-East Asia and eventually to the US lead Americans to accept the need to occupy Vietnam. However as the war progressed it became more obvious that it was less to defend democracy and actually just a proxy war against Russia. As support for the war diminished, comics greatly altered their position on the war to question the causes of the war, and whether the US should actually be there. The comic Iron Man accurately represented this shift in support as he stopped dealing arms, and took a moral stand against their use. As well as Vietnam War culture, comics also accurately portrayed youth culture in the US throughout the 60’s. Comics suc...