Morality in Watchmen and Persepolis

The morality of right and wrong is a theme that occupies a central position in American pop culture (Crothers, 2017). Here, popular culture seeks to express and explore social and cultural aspects that are categorized and characterized as either right or wrong and good or bad. In American pop culture, heroes and protagonists in stories are depicted as individuals with a strong moral compass and the ability to make choices that conform to morality (Godsil, 2016). Through these depictions, pop culture is able to promote clear moral points of view, such as “one should always endeavor to do the right thing even when faced with difficult moral choices (Godsil, 2016). Both Watchmen and Persepolis disrupt this position, through their unusual representation of morality as being relative. The two books present a conflicted idea of morality, in which right and wrong become interlaced. In Watchmen, the Comedian is presented as a character who is adored by the people because he stands for what is right. However, when it comes to his personal life, he chooses the easy road that allows him to do whatever he pleases. A similar case is depicted in Persepolis, where Marjane’s mother is presented as the moral compass for her daughter because she is ready to pursue equality and justice. However, her morals shift when she is faced with tragedy. These two examples show how the texts defy the representation of morality in popular culture. Through their description of morality as a subjective virtue, these two books create a scenario that makes the reader question the presentation of morality in other pop culture. This is because most pop culture media such as comics and movies are centered on the celebration of the “upright” morality of the hero and or protagonist, which is questioned in the two books.

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References

Godsil, R. D., MacFarlane, J., Sheppard, B., LaFrance, S., Johnson, A. M., & Wong, T. (2016). Pop Culture, Perceptions, and Social Change.

Crothers, L. (2017). Globalization and American popular culture. Rowman & Littlefield.