MovieChat Forums > Watchmen (2019) Discussion > was anyone else bothered that Dr. Manhat...

was anyone else bothered that Dr. Manhattan was played by a black guy?

posted 5 years ago by exatera (3955)
36 replies | jump to latest

They never showed his face during his initial encounter with Angela, but you could tell from his voice that this is a black man (I am guessing still Yahya Abdul-Mateen?), and it totally didn't go with the little half-Jewish boy they showed in Germany.

Anyway, it did bother me. That was supposed to be Dr. Manhattan QUA Dr. Manhattan, not Dr. Manhattan in the human body Angela chose for him.

Also, when he transformed and Angela said he sounded different, it just wasn't different enough.

[–] nte1igentwon (956) 5 years ago

Dr. Manhattan is NOT Osterman and is Osterman at the same time.

[–] Geff (453) 5 years ago

I have a suspicion that Jon at the Vietnamese bar was played by Damon Lindelof, creator of this show, who is also Jewish.

[–] exatera (3955) 5 years ago

The guy sounded black.

[–] Kowalski (75537) 5 years ago

LMAO...WOW.

[–] exatera (3955) 5 years ago

Your point being?..

[–] Kowalski (75537) 5 years ago

NO POINT...THE GUY SOUNDED BLACK..YOU GOT SCARED...NO BIGGIE.

[–] exatera (3955) 5 years ago

Why on earth would I be scared??

All I thought was that his voice did not fit the role, that's all.

[–] Kowalski (75537) 5 years ago

YEAH,I HEARD HE "SOUNDED BLACK"

[–] exatera (3955) 5 years ago

This is a waste of time.

[–] Kowalski (75537) 5 years ago

I AGREE.YOU RATIONALIZING WHAT IS CLEARLY BONE DEEP RACISM IS A WASTE OF TIME.

[–] exatera (3955) 5 years ago

No, I just think you are incapable of intelligent conversation, and writing in all caps obviously doesn't help.

[–] Kowalski (75537) 5 years ago

YOU SURE IT ISNT BASED ON ME "SOUNDING BLACK"?

[–] Goliard (1421) 5 years ago

LMAOOOOOOO
/thread

[–] Burk48917 (11365) 5 years ago

He does the caps thing because he knows it's douchy, and people don't like it. Ignore him, it's just a way of subtle trolling.

[–] Geff (453) 5 years ago

He did not sound black to me.

[–] footlegger (1462) 5 years ago

He didn't sound Jewish either.

[–] Geff (453) 5 years ago

I know. I made my statement based on context. Lindelof thinks he's very clever, he is the God in this universe because he created the show. Apropos that he would play a God.

[–] exatera (3955) 5 years ago

I was right, it was still Yahya Abdul-Mateen:

Until Manhattan assumes Cal’s body, though, Abdul-Mateen has to sound like a man-turned-superhero who was born in Germany, fled to England, was torn apart particle-by-particle in a mid-century lab, and who treats it all with a level of remove. Even more difficult, he has to sound like someone experiencing all of time at once, but still falling in love. In figuring out Doctor Manhattan’s voice, Abdul-Mateen says he channeled the speaking patterns of the most intelligent people he could think of. “I identified Steve Jobs,” he explains. “I identified James Bundy, who is the dean of the drama school at Yale, and then Damon Lindelof himself.” Yahya workshopped the voices for Kassell and Lindelof, but had to take breaks as they filmed. “Hiding the tenor of your own vocal chords is very hard,” Kassell says. “It’s almost like singing, you know? It’s very physical work.”

https://www.vulture.com/2019/12/watchmen-hbo-doctor-manhattan.html

In my opinion he didn't succeed in that endeavor.

[–] papamihel (1616) 5 years ago

No as much as by the fact that the writers completely overwrote this character. The show's Doc has absolutely nothing in common with the original so why not change the face as well?

[–] exatera (3955) 5 years ago

How exactly does he have nothing in common with the original?

[–] papamihel (1616) 5 years ago

What is the defining trait of the Doc in the novel?

[–] exatera (3955) 5 years ago

Enlighten me.

[–] AndyKing1967 (38141) 5 years ago

Is it that he'll find any excuse to get naked?

[–] papamihel (1616) 5 years ago

No but thank you!

[–] AndyKing1967 (38141) 5 years ago

Is it that he's blue and glows in the dark?

[–] papamihel (1616) 5 years ago

Not a physical trait.

[–] AndyKing1967 (38141) 5 years ago

Is it that, although he possesses powers that are akin to a God, because of the way he views time, he is in effect powerless to exert his potential influence?

[–] papamihel (1616) 5 years ago

No. Because since the moment of his re-creation he had been losing his touch with humanity and by the end of the novel all of his humanity is gone. He left Earth because nothing held him here.
He is different, truly alien, unknowable. He no longer needs or knows love. He doesn't need human connection. He most definitely doesn't have any complexes that would require him to play God.

I can just about borderline buy Adrian Veidt turning into a petulant senile child hungry for credit - there are some indications that he might have had delusions of grandeur. I can also imagine how a distorted idea of Rorschach could become attractive to a bunch of racist cavemen in a world of identity politics.
But Doc as an insecure... I don't know, nerd? Please!

[–] Burk48917 (11365) 5 years ago

I'd add to that , that he was disintegrated to an atomic level, but his will and natural subconscious desire was to reform to the body that he was born with. Why in the world would he reassemble into a different person?

[–] RolloLee (50) 5 years ago

It's the kind of thing where you just roll you eyes and say "of course he is" tbh

[–] exatera (3955) 5 years ago

Yep, that's how I felt as well. Or the whole thing was to justify Regina King's involvement in the series or something.

[–] nte1igentwon (956) 5 years ago

Boo hoo.

[–] exatera (3955) 5 years ago

Okay?

I guess I have a more sensitive ear.

[–] TheArgentinian (7073) 5 years ago

You have sensitive eyes towards the black skin since you pick on the only two black actors.

[–] exatera (3955) 5 years ago

I knew some people wouldn't be able to understand this post, but whatever, I certainly don't care what you think.

Although what is sure to be a newsflash to you: merely mentioning someone does not automatically imply or equate mentioning them in a derogatory or hateful context.

[–] Alex (1503) 5 years ago

These SJW trolls really tried to trigger you but failed miserably, LOL.
Good Job, mate!