Alan Moore's Opinions on Comic Books/Comic Book Movies is....certaintly intresting

[TheGamingNewsGuy]

This has been trending the last couple of hours or so. Basically it is Alan Moore's opinions and thoughts on Comic Book and Movies ruling the genre.


Do you agree with Alan Moore on this or think he is incorrect about his veiws and opinions on Comic Books/Comic Book Movies

 

[Syder]

People not wanting to relinquish their grip on reassuring childhood activities is not exclusive to comic books. I don't blame people for being that way either.

 

[Deleted member 60096]

What? You're telling me the dude who brought us Watchmen is critical of the concept of superheroes? Damn this is such a shock

 

[mreddie]

I mean, the world sucks right now, of course everyone is retreating to escapism.

 

[mjc]

Where's the option for no decision because I'm a modern wizard

 

[Sephzilla]

Listening to anything Alan Moore has to say

in 2019

 

[TheGamingNewsGuy]

I don't agree with the whole - Birth of a Nation was a first comic book movie thing. Yes Comic Books especially in the early days definetly had this element of white supremecy to them but that was the 40s and the comic book industry has evolved since then

 

[KarmaCow]

This is probably the least shocking thing Alan Moore has ever said.

 

[Masoyama]

Yeah he is very sharp and accurate with his critique.

 

[lobdale]

get em ya beautiful cranky old man

 

[Tuorom]

Nah I just still enjoy it Mr. Moore. Thanks for stopping by.

 

[Yossarian]

He's been saying this for a while and, as much as I love superhero comics, he ain't wrong.

 

[shnurgleton]

Working on completing our cultural regression back into the womb

 

[BDS]

Interesting that he makes the connection between Birth of a Nation/The KKK and superheroes. Maybe he'd enjoy the Watchmen TV series more than he thinks.

 

[WascallyWabbit]

As he usually is, his thoughts are a rather fascinating mix of right, wrong and just outright bonkers. Gotta love this man

 

[wenis]

 

[Puck Beaverton]

Moore has been secretly watching tv watchmen it seems

 

[Yossarian]

Also, let's be clear here: He is specifically talking about superheroes, not comics as a medium.

Moore has been secretly watching tv watchmen it seems

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He said this a few years ago.

 

[lasthope106]

He's entitled to his own opinion. And after reading his shitty work like Neonomicon, and reading that he did it for money he does sound hypocritical to me.

Dude hates movies of his work. For no other reason than being a fucking hipster. He is basically saying a certain type of artistic expression shouldn't exist, which goes against his constant ramblings about why art is important.

 

[Vault]

 

[Deleted member 20202]

Nothing new from Alan there and cultures stagnation has been his mantra for years now.

It's not untrue, though I do not agree with that birth of a nation statement at all.

Grumpy Al is grumpy, more at 11.00.

In fact I need my escapism to save me from the adject terror that can descend when the realisation of our cultural bankruptcy hits me.

Just don't only read Cape comics people.

 

[TheGreatDirector]

I don't agree with the whole - Birth of a Nation was a first comic book movie thing. Yes Comic Books especially in the early days definetly had this element of white supremecy to them but that was the 40s and the comic book industry has evolved since then

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I mean, they may not directly be stating white supremacist views but it literally took until 2018 for a nonwhite male lead in a MCU film. Hell, the first Avengers was literally an all white team. There's a reason Black Panther and Captain Marvel garnered so much attention and why Shang Chi, Externals, and Ms. Marvel are being looked forward too so much.

I think it's great that the age of Cap and Iron Man being the protagonists of the MCU is effectively over.

 

[Geist]

In a way he's right. Not to the point people should feel bad about watching comic movies or reading comics, but there's a degree of truth that I can't help but agree with.

 

[Deleted member 9479]

Man who made career on writing super heroes for not-children and was mistreated by the industry now hates himself for what his works have wrought. Alan Moore in a nutshell.

 

[Deleted member 60096]

Moore has been secretly watching tv watchmen it seems

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only TV watchmen? What do you think the comics were about?

 

[Poppy]

as per usual i think he has some great points couched in the attitude that comes from being a bitter old wizard

 

[Elderly Parrot]

Black panther stays winning 😉

 

[Garlador]

I love this stuff more as an adult than I probably ever did as a kid. Life is tough. Enjoy something fun when and where you can.

 

[Blader]

These takes always baffle me. I read something like this and come away thinking, am I the only well-adjusted adult in the world who can enjoy a superhero movie without suffering from crippling arrested development and can still carry on a normal, functional life once the movie is over? I don't think that's the case but you would think, reading any one of these "superhero movies are the death of cinema/art/culture" takes, that the concept of a regular person being able to enjoy these things without having to be mentally deficient in some way is just impossible.

 

[Mona]

but are they cinema

 

[Froyo Love]

The Birth of a Nation comparison is spot on. Superhero stories have always been fixated on men putting on costumes to violently perform a cleansing that society needs but refuses to sanction. Sometimes this cleansing is framed around leftist values (going back to the early Superman comics), but the pop culture roots of American heroes blowing away the underclass with thrilling camerawork - Birth of a Nation is pretty close to the foundation.

edit: I just realized that I posted this in 2019 without making explicit that this shit is a monstrous stain on a lot of fiction and I hate it

 

[captainuwu]

People would rather watch safe made-by-committee movies that reassures them everything will be ok rather than films challenging our behaviors/beliefs and their consequences. Life sucks, confront it, don't run away to the nostalgic comfort of endlessly buying tickets and toys of your favorite superhero products.

Haha, I'm sure the usual suspects who would accuse the likes of Scorsese of elitist gatekeeping will do their usual and just dismiss Moore's points

 

[DOT_mjo]

Dawg, it's just a fucking movie. I don't leave the Avengers depressed because I'll never be Tony Stark. I do agree with his last point though.

 

[Mr. Poolman]

OK boomer.

 

[VaporSnake]

The new Watchmen Is definitely hitting on the last part of that statement, drawing clear parallels between the costumed 'heroic' vigilantes of this universe and the KKK, people who play dress up and run amuck causing atrocities under an overwhelmingly disturbing sense of moral superiority.

 

[Inkvoterad]

where's the lie

 

[Ryuhza]

It seems like his attitude towards the concept of superheroes has not evolved along with the concept, or has not allowed for finer consideration of the genre's merits as they emerge. A lot of these complaints just sound sweeping and detached, although there is some worthwhile stuff tucked in there.

 

[UltimateHigh]

I'm not entirely disagreeing.

 

[demondance]

He's entitled to his own opinion. And after reading his shitty work like Neonomicon, and reading that he did it for money he does sound hypocritical to me.

Dude hates movies of his work. For no other reason than being a fucking hipster. He is basically saying a certain type of artistic expression shouldn't exist, which goes against his constant ramblings about why art is important.

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Every single movie based on his work is awful and they seemingly meticulously avoid the most crucial and basic themes in those stories.

It isn't hipsterism, they deliberately gut his stuff. How could you not be annoyed by that as a creator?

They peeled the anarchism from V For Vendetta, which was a scalding advocacy piece for anarchism. For god's sake, Hollywood had an actual Ayn Rand acolyte adapt Watchmen. Now they have a liberal who thinks Veidt had the right idea (just maybe not in precious NYC) doing it. It's a joke.

This is without even getting into what happened with stuff like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

 

[Froyo Love]

It seems like his attitude towards the concept of superheroes had not evolved with the concept, or has not allowed for finer consideration of the genre's merits as they emerge. A lot of these complaints just sound sweeping and detached, although there is some worthwhile stuff tucked in there.

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How has the concept of superheroes evolved since 1987?

 

[bill crystals]

No lies detected. Anyone who isn't a die hard MCU fan should easily see the accuracy in much of his comments.

 

[kmfdmpig]

As a general rule I don't pay much mind to snake worshipers. With that said, he sure wrote some great comics back in the day before he became a professional curmudgeon.

 

[Garrett 2U]

Movies can be for children and adults.
Sports can be for children and adults.
Music can be for children and adults.
Art can be for children and adults.
Books can be for children and adults.

Comics are for children.

It's almost like these mediums can express a variety of themes.

 

[Extra Sauce]

I don't necessarily disagree with the overall sentiment despite the severe lack of nuance.

like, people used to beat their kids a lot more so maybe staying in touch with our inner child is not all bad. maybe it has helped us keep some perspective and not treat our children like adults, which has historically lead to disastrous results.

I do think the infantilization of society is a legitimate concern but it's not black and white like Moore presents it.

 

[JDSN]

I mean, I don't feel he is wrong.

 

[Deleted member 17658]

The superhero themselves -- largely written and drawn by creators who have never stood up for their own rights against the companies that employ them

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lol

 

[Garrett 2U]

Do the 70% of you that voted 'Yes' realize that the exact same thing could be said about gaming?

 

[Rassilon]

The Birth of a Nation comparison is spot on. Superhero stories have always been fixated on men putting on costumes to violently perform a cleansing that society needs but refuses to sanction. Sometimes this cleansing is framed around leftist values (going back to the early Superman comics), but the pop culture roots of American heroes blowing away the underclass with thrilling camerawork - Birth of a Nation is pretty close to the foundation.

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DW Griffith's 'Birth of a Nation' as the original American super hero film is an interesting idea for sure, but perhaps it goes back further to the mythic old west, where 'good guys' carried out their individualistic idea of justice; by killing everyone who defied them.

In these films conventional society is repeatedly shown to be inept, and real folk are just backdrop / fodder. Tragedy comes from the death of Übermensch and not countless civilians.

A Marxist essayist would probably suggest that super hero films are designed to dismantle the idea that strength lies with the people, while the films purport strength lies in the hands of a few exceptional people, who wisely guide the rest of us plebs.

 

[devenger]

1st: he brought superheroes into the realm of adult literature with Miracleman. Continued with Watchmen. You can argue Tony Stark aint all that complex, Marvel movies are formulaic, but there's certainly enough fun there to not be just for kids.

2nd: the same argument can be made for any eacapism. James Bond, Game of Thrones, Star Wars... all pathetic kids stuff.

3rd: diversity has been forefront on many standard comics and is almost always a good thing for every audience. We've had a black partner in Batman, Miles Morales, concentration on the X-women, a teen Muslim superhero, and it will continue. To say none of this has moved the medium an inch from all-white male power fantasies is pretty disingenuous.

Finally, this is a guy who still throws rape into almost everything, boom... adult!

Im so tired of Moore looking down on people enjoying a good guy vs bad guy story with fantastic elements. Comic books are the new Greek mythology, we enjoy stories with heroism in non- real life settings. Except we're now aware thats exactly what they are, fun stories that represent heroic ideals. Like All-Star Superman, he's a mythical representation of the best humans can be, what is juvenile about that?

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I think he has a lot of logical points here. Superhero fiction is definitely something that started as fun aspirational stuff for children and has been coopted by capitalism to be used as a means of perpetuating the status quo.

And there is something to be said about a lot of superheroes sharing an ideological, if not psychological common origin with the Ubermensch theory. Rich, powerful white men who uphold the status quo and punish those who break it? Yes, there is some common DNA there with Birth of a Nation.

Where he falters, however, is in not acknowledging that comics are becoming one of the leading places for marginalized voices and characters to get their time in the sun. While Marvel and DC have a lot of problems, they ARE at the front of the charge as far as mass-media inclusivity goes - unlike mainline Disney's halfassed attempts at inclusion, Marvel and DC have been supporting characters and writers of color for a LONG time now. And those characters and writers can help explore superhero fiction in a way that a bunch of aging white men and ancient white heroes created around WW2 can't. And that's good.