Book description
Alan Moore's Watchmen is set in 1985 and chronicles the alternative
history of the United States where the US edges dangerously closer to
nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Within this world exists a group of
crime busters, who don elaborate costumes to conceal their identity and
fight crime, and an intricate plot to kill and discredit these "superheroes."
Alan Moore's Watchmen popularized the graphic novel format, has been
named one of Time magazine's top 100 novels, and is now being made into
a highly anticipated movie adaptation. This latest book in the popular
Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series peers into Moore's deeply
philosophical work to parse and deconstruct the ethical issues raised by
Watchmen's costumed adventurers, their actions, and their world. From
nuclear destruction to utopia, from governmental authority to human
morality and social responsibility, it answers questions fans have had
for years about Watchmen's ethical quandaries, themes, and characters.
Mark D. White
is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science,
Economics, and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY and
coeditor of Batman and Philosophy
.
William Irwin is a professor of philosophy at King's College. He
originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor
of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent
titles, including Batman and Philosophy
, House and Philosophy
, and Watchmen and Philosophy
.
