Is Watchmen copaganda or a case for abolition?

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With its masked police officers, violent vigilantes and secret white supremacist societies, the HBO series has felt more timely and more prescient to some people than ever before in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing and protests. "With new consideration of the show, however, comes new questions," says Zeba Blay. "Long-running reality series like Live PD and Cops have been canceled. Even seemingly lighthearted comedies, such as Reno 911! and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, have been criticized for perpetuating the idea that the police are just 'good guys' who operate without racial bias. Amid calls to defund the police, where does Watchmen fall on the spectrum of 'copaganda'? It is true that many of the moving cogs and gears of Watchmen could fall under that category. After all, the character we’re being asked to root for, Angela Abar, is presented to us as a 'good cop,' although she often takes the law into her own hands with brutal violence and without impunity. As the masked Sister Night, she uncovers the clandestine racist plots at the center of the Tulsa police force and government and, with a little help from her friends, eradicates key members of the secret racist orders known as Cyclops and Seventh Kavalry. This arc seems to suggest that systemic racism in policing can be fixed when 'good cops' like Angela get rid of 'bad cops.' But Watchmen could also be read as a case for abolition. It sets up a world in which we’re repeatedly shown that 'good cops' and policing as we know it is not enough to fix the ills of white supremacy."

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• Watchmen should tap a new creator every season, like Spike Lee: "Spike Lee has somehow never been given a budget of more than $45 million (a travesty deserving of another column entirely)," says Brandon Katz. "As we previously explored with his recent Netflix film Da 5 Bloods, the moment is ripe for his voice and viewpoint on race relations in this country, a natural extension of Watchmen‘s first season. Give him a bundle of money and let him cook. It’s not as if he hasn’t expressed interest in the comic book genre before."
• Regina King reiterates she won't return for a second season unless Damon Lindelof sees "an entry point"
• Watch the Watchmen cast discuss the growing awareness of the Tulsa Race Massacre
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