This archive report was first published on 14 October 2019.
Watchmen Showrunner Damon Lindelof on White Supremacy and Squid ¶
As HBO's Watchmen series prepares to debut next Sunday, showrunner Damon Lindelof has been engaging with fans on social media, addressing questions about the show's themes, including white supremacy.
On Instagram, Lindelof responded to a fan's question about why white supremacy is a plot arc in Watchmen, explaining that the show is 'a story about America' and 'about self-proclaimed “heroes” fighting an intangible enemy that is almost impossible to defeat.' He noted that in the 1980s, this enemy was nuclear Armageddon, but in 2019, it is the 'long overdue reckoning with our country’s camouflaged history of White Supremacy.'
When asked why he used the graphic novel's character Rorschach as a symbol of white supremacy, Lindelof replied that Rorschach died in 1986, but 33 years later, there are multiple interpretations of who he was and what he believed. He suggested that the show's exploration of these themes would be more effective after viewers have seen the season.
Throughout the conversation, Lindelof emphasized that the show will feature squid, a plot point that has been teased in the show's trailers.
