Huh? Oh, you're wondering about the weird looking title of this post. It's a latin phrase from the Roman poet Juvenal, literally translated to "Who will guard the guards themselves", or as we more commonly translate it, "Who watches the watchmen?".

For those of you who haven't watched or read (I recommend read then watch) Alan Moore's magnum opus, Watchmen, it is a very deep story set in an alternate history where the Cold War hinged on the existence of the superman. Nixon is president, Vietnam was won by the Americans, and the electric car is a common household item, all thanks to Jon Osterman, the only man in the world who has gained true superpowers.

Unfortunately for Jon, this transformation has caused him to lose touch with humanity - he can no longer experience time from a linear perspective, he has lost most of his human emotions, and he can no longer appreciate the difference between life and death. Indeed, it is the unique and unorthodox personalities of the heroes in Watchmen that become the true driving force of the story, which is why so many critics regarded the graphic novel as a seminal work in the deconstruction of the superhero ideal.


As the trailer proudly announces, Watchmen is known as 'the most celebrated graphic novel of all time', as it is the only work from the comic book genre to have won the Hugo Award. Because it is encapsulated as a graphic novel, as opposed to a set of characters with multiple series and affiliations (ie. Batman), a proposed movie of Watchmen was heavily scrutinized by fans since the film rights for the comic were bought waaaaay back in 1986. There also so many details, text, and dialogue in the graphic novel that a film adaption was largely thought unfeasible.

And yet, a roughly 3-hour Watchmen movie is out in theaters as we (or rather, as I) speak. Rotten Tomatoes summarizes the film's critical reception as follows:
"Gritty and visually striking, Watchmen is a faithful adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel, but its complex narrative structure may make it difficult for it to appeal to viewers not already familiar with the source material."

As for what I thought about the movie, that will have to wait for another day. This post is already getting too long, and I have work to do. I've got a 7,500 word essay to start working on, which I've chosen to be about vigilantes - and surprise, surprise, references to the Watchmen are definitely gonna show up in it ;)

"The book is always better." ~Richard Corliss, Time Magazine

I've mentioned this before, but the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes had a tremendous impact on me as a kid. My sense of imagination was very much crafted by Calvin's imaginary adventures, the strip probably quadrupled my vocabulary (I took many trips to the dictionary), and Bill Watterson's surprisingly deep social commentary opened my eyes to the cynicism and irony of the 'adult world'.

Still, I never thought that the strip influenced my decision to pursue a career as a lawyer.

After all these years, I may have been wrong.

Haha, these are so much funnier now than they were 15 years ago (^_^)
Thanks again Bill!

"I'm not dumb. I just have a command of thoroughly useless information" - Calvin

“Be not deceived, Wormwood, our cause is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”



The Screwtape Letters has always been one of my favorites - who knows how many times I've read it over the years - but it is a difficult book to properly describe.

First of all, I should point out that it is very much a representation of C.S. Lewis' views on Christian theology. Second of all, it is a VERY deep book. In my opinion, this is not a book you would recommend to someone interested in learning more about Christianity, or even to a new Christian. Thirdly, this book is personally challenging and will likely make you feel uncomfortable - maybe even guilty. Lewis himself once said that the book was 'not fun' to write, but he wrote it anyways.

Clearly, the Screwtape Letters is nothing like Narnia, but it is a masterful piece of writing nonetheless. Lewis had an extraordinary sense of imagination and an incredibly thorough grasp of theology, which were both fully utilized in writing this book. The 'book' is actually composed of multiple letters written by Screwtape, a senior demon who acts as a mentor to his nephew, Wormwood. We only read Screwtape's letters, but can surmize Wormwood's communiques from his uncle's responses and suggestions.

This isn't like Dante's Inferno, as in a portrayal of the afterlife, but is instead a contemporary satire that reveals many of the temptations and myths that Christians fall prey to. This is represented through the techniques and tricks-of-the-trade that Screwtape suggests are ways that Wormwood can make his 'patient' (an Englishman living in the 1930s) turn away from the 'Enemy'. Lewis' use of this 'correspondence' style of writing is brilliant - it is like the readers are privy to the enemy's top-secret communications.

What struck me the most about Screwtape is how different he acts from the stereotypical 'devil' who tries to tempt you into committing extravagantly evil deeds. Instead, Screwtape suggests that a demon's primary goal is to befuddle and confuse the 'patient', making him apathetic and ignorant of the truth. In perhaps the most famous line of the entire book, he advises Wormwood that "the safest path to hell is the gradual one."

In the end, it is hard to do the book any justice by writing about it. It can almost be read as a devotional - it is honestly that deep and full of meaning! I highly recommend it as a challenging read that you will simply have to look at line-by-line.

"Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning." - C. S. Lewis