The Mindscape of Alan Moore
By Nick Manteris · 0 Comments · Leave a Comment
This review for The Mindscape of Alan Moore would not exist without the recent hype of the Watchmen movie, but this documentary has almost nothing to do with that project. There has been a lot of buzz concerning Zack Snyder’s movie adaptation of Alan Moore’s highly acclaimed graphic novel, Watchmen. Some of those accounts mention that Alan Moore has signed away any profits from the film and asked to have his name removed from the credits. Many of those reports also explain that Hollywood has mishandled Moore’s properties on several occasions, prompting his decision to have nothing to do with adaptations of his work. Almost none of these documents mention the fact that DC comics tricked Moore out of the rights to Watchmen, avoiding the reversion clause of their contract by never allowing the graphic novel to go out of print. How would you like to be subjected to over twenty years of people wanting to talk about your “greatest work” – a property synonymous with your name – that you don’t even own because the company that published it cheated you out of the rights?
The Mindscape of Alan Moore begins with Moore recounting the role that comics played in his early life, his decision to leave school and the string of terrible jobs that got progressively worse until he landed the comic writing gig. Moore states, “Quitting my day job and starting my life as a writer was a tremendous risk. It was a fool’s leap, a shot in the dark, but anything of any value in our lives – whether that be a career, a work of art, a relationship – will always start with such a leap. And in order to be able to make it you have to put aside the fear of failing and the desire of succeeding.”
Alan Moore’s comic book work is only briefly explored in Dez Vylenz’s documentary…the main focus seems to be Moore’s unusual worldview and his beliefs about magic. And just what does he mean by magic? “There is some confusion as to what magic actually is. I think that this can be cleared up if you just look at the very earliest descriptions of magic. Magic in its earliest form is often referred to as “the art.” I believe that this is completely literal. I believe that magic is art, and that art, whether that be writing, music, sculpture or any other form, is literally magic.” He claims that artists and writers are the closest thing to shamans that we have in the contemporary world and says, “The fact that in present times, this magical power has degenerated to the level of cheap entertainment and manipulation is, I think, a tragedy. At the moment, the people who are using shamanism and magic to shape our culture are advertisers.”
Moore’s audio work with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels is much more vital than this documentary, but he does share a few profound thoughts…even though The Mindscape of Alan Moore comes across like a single Psychedelic Salon podcast with mildly interesting visuals. Besides, Moore also says, “The substance that has most effect on our culture and on our lives is completely invisible. We can only see its effects. This substance is information.” There is definitely some information to be found on this documentary and any person that stayed with Promethea beyond issue number twelve will probably enjoy it quite a bit.
