Watchmen's comedian: a premeditated parody for the resumption of us nationalism

Abstract

The present work aims at delineating the representation of the North American authoritarianism through the character Comedian in “Watchmen”, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986, 1987) specifically when he appears in Saigon, Vietnam. In addition, it is expected to be possible to establish a dialogue between the image of the character's militarism, present in the excerpts, with the current retaking of nationalist values that are perceived in the political discourses of the 21st century. For this, the elements cited are articulated with reading from the concept of ethos in Fiorin (2004), as well as with the elements of verbal narratives and visual narratives in Pellegrini (2003). As a result, the reading is that, the framework in which the Comedian's character exacerbates violent gestures and actions are elaborated as criticisms of the position of the US military during its presence in Vietnam; and, in turn, this portrayed position is present in the inaugural speech of the current president (2017-) in the US that points to the resumption of nationalist and militarist values.