Under the hood – the written part at the end of chapter 1.

I.

False Memory - Notice the image in page 2, he is mentioned to be aged 21, though Moe, we are told a page later, died when he was 17. This raises the question of memory and how correct are all the stories we are being told. Don’t believe everything you read folks. (This was already alluded to in 1-21-6 when Rorschach suggests that Jupiter’s mother’s rape mentioned in Hollis’ book is just an allegation and that we don’t know whether it actually happened.) As much of the book will be told through memories, this seems an important point.
 
The topic of laughter mentioned before is now seen again as a major theme of the book, as exemplified by the end of the first part of the excerpt (pg. 4) of Hollis Mason’s book, and the story of Moe’s death.

Moe wearing fake breast, hence being feminized, when he discovers he is cheated on is obviously not accidental. We already saw before how Jupiter complained to essentially be a kept whore for Dr. Manhattan, and the stories of rape, can bring us to assume that this is another topic the book is interested in. I didn’t notice that being much of an issue in the movie (as laughter wasn’t at all) and it would be interesting to see if this gets developed here. Besides the obvious issue of dressing up.

(Personally I’m less interested in the psychological issues involved here, at least until they become deeper, so I won’t mention them. You can notice here already, when recounting his father chosen profession that though he thought it was for love of the profession, it actually came from psychological reasons, which is obviously then true of him, and the other superheroes. Also the obvious sexual frustration of Moe, Rorschach before, rape etc. Again, others might discuss it, but I’ll usually not mention it.)
 

II.

A side note regarding THINQon – notice how self reflection comes together with writing.

“I’ve never really examined until now just why I have chosen that particular career.”

Also, the looking down at reading such books as this one, which probably many here feel, is mentioned at the end of pg. 5.

Note how being a superhero starts with committing a crime – hijacking the comic book issue.

The topic of savagery at last appears. Hooded justice. He “proceeded to disarm the three attackers before beating them with such severity that all three required hospital treatments.” …”This extraordinary being had crashed through the window…and attacked the man responsible with such intensity and savagery that those not disabled immediately were only too willing to drop their guns and surrender.” (italics mine).


End of part 1.

I can't guarantee that I will be able to do this at the same time as the Second Sex, but I will try.  More reading groups is good in my opinion.  I haven't seen the movie.  Should I see it first, so I'm not spoiled by peoples' comments?  Here are a few thoughts:

1. Dr. Manhattan and Hinduism

I see three striking parallels between Dr. Manhattan and the Hindu deities.  (Apart from his seemingly godlike power, that is.)

First, his third eye, which is a diagram of a hydrogen atom.  Shiva, the god of destruction, also has a third eye -- when he opens it, it could destroy the whole world.  (Much like nuclear energy.)

Second, he is blue.  Certain Hindu gods, perhaps including Shiva, but especially Rama / Krishna / Vishnu / Narayana, the god who preserves, are represented as having blue skin.

Third, perhaps more tangentially, there is the famous quote from Robert Oppenheimer, director of the Manhattan Project: "I am become Death, destroyer of worlds" -- pronounced upon seeing the detonation of the first atomic bomb.  The quote is taken from the sacred Hindu scripture called the Bhagavad-Gita, part of the Mahabharata, and is a slight alteration of Krishna's statement: "Time / death I am, the destroyer of the worlds, who has come to annihilate everyone."  (That's the same Krishna.)

2. Costumes

The shot of Dan Dreiberg's Nite Owl costume (1-13-5) shows a man who is crumpled (Arthur's word) like a discarded garment.  The owl costume is empty but erect and human-shaped.  Which of them is the man?  In the case of the Comedian ... the costume is a red, white, and blue emblem of patriotism, whose significance is undermined by its owner's horrible crime.  And although Jupiter seems to look back on her "stupid little short skirt and the neckline going down to my navel" with mortification (1-25-7), I would speculate (panel 9) that it represents a youthful vitality or sexuality that she would like to regain.

From another point of view, Jupiter's costume was genuinely embarrassing, as was the Nite Owl's.  (1-written-5 : "I've said it.  I dressed up.  As an owl.")  And embarrassment can be deadly, as in the scene Arthur mentions with Moe Vernon's false breasts.

3. Morality

Certain theorists:

http://faculty.virginia.edu/haidtlab/mft/index.php

divide morality into five types, which are a useful framework here.  (The types are: harm/care, fairness/reciprocity, ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, purity/sanctity.)  When Hollis Mason's grandfather characterizes the city as a "cesspool" (1-written-4), he is buying into morality as "purity."  Rorschach, too, seems to feel that sex, Communism, etc. are impure, rather than simply harmful or unfair.  "The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists" ... (1-1-3).  The Comedian's crime was merely "harmful", whereas his patriotic costume speaks to his "loyalty" -- and Rorschach tries to defend him on that ground (1-21-8).  So I think many of the superheroes see morality in a certain way, and the reader is invited to see it differently.

4. Why, by the way, is he called the Comedian?  The name is at odds both with his public persona (looks like Captain America) and his private persona (a "monster").  I see no evidence that he does anything funny, apart from the smiley face badge.

Hi William,

Happy you're joining here.
I don't think you need to wait to see the movie. It's a good movie that you might want to see, but reading the book won't ruin the movie any more than seeing the movie will ruin the book.

Very interesting what you say. Especially for me point 1, about Hinduism and the Oppenheimer quote, as I know very little about Hinduism. I think that comment is spot on.
(There is a joke about polish mothers that when they give you two shirts and when they come you wear one of them, then they ask: "What, you didn't like the other one?" So mentioning point 1 doesn't mean I didn't like the other ones, which I did, only that it was more surprising to me.)

Regarding 4 and why is he called the Comedian - when I saw the costume it reminded me more of a costume of a clown. Notice the red nose in 1-8-1, and the oversized pants in 1-8-8 (they are not really oversized but are made to look that way). But yes, he also has many similarities to Captain America.

Also, note my postscript correction above.