>>98494360>it goes against it own thesisI don't think it does, the entire point is that in the real world unsound people playing dress up would not be a delightful serial adventure, it would be a 24/7 accident waiting to happen with no sliding timescales, retcons or reboots to clean up the narrative for an invisible audience's comfortable enjoyment.
Ergo: Actual Realism (and not pretend "more real and gritty") Is Anathema To Fantasy is a sensible thesis. One some people seem to insist they get and is totally obvious and unnecessary to spell out, and yet ever since we've still had evidence of majority readers and writers failing to get the point in various ways. I don't think it's Watchmen's thesis that's contradicted itself.
We have those Real Life Superhero people as concrete example, they're received with disdain and suspicion for their dangerous thinking that the world is a story revolving around them, sometimes rightfully so given their activities.Even if it's true Watchmen spelled out the obvious decades ago, people obviously can't seem to read.
We also have cases of pretty nutty conspiracies pulled off, I don't mean the ramblings of conspiracy theorists I mean disclosed info on actual collusion, projects, scandals and stunts by people in power on a whim to retain power or exercise it.
The squid is intentionally comical and yet completely rational, after all it's not a question of Veidt's intelligence and sanity, but that of the population he's trying to manipulate and with that infamous case of the War of the Worlds radio show' putting people genuinely into a state of panic and paranoia, with ZERO physical evidence, I'd say his thinking and the result are not entirely wrong.
