Watchmen Hype Overload: Is It Worth It?
Who watches the Watchmen? Everyone, apparently. You can't help it--the multimedia circus is in full swing. There are video podcasts, downloadable videos, DVDs, iPhone apps, games, the movie itself (of course), and reprints of the graphic novel that started it all.
Yep, that blood-stained smiley face symbol is everywhere these days. And now, on the eve of the movie's release, I'm scared. A nerd staple is about to get overexposed and risk plummeting in a death spiral of painfully crass commercialism. On the bright side, even if it does, the crass commercialism is smart enough to make even Ozymandias proud. Instead of playing out Watchmenhood, the hype ties everything together in an oddly satisfying way for the most part. In fact, many movie makers could learn a lesson from this about how to soak money from the public without making them feel like victims of vulgar exploitation. Much. Will I see the movie? You bet. Do I recommend snapping up every ancillary thing that sports the Watchmen brand? Let's set the doomsday clock (or is that a watch?) and evaluate some of the hype:
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