Los Angeles (AFP)

Inspired by a comic-book from the 1980s but could not be more current, the series "Watchmen", which triumphed at the Emmy Awards, mixes violent superheroes and political satire to better confront American society with its racist past and to the demons who tear her apart.

With eleven awards to their credit, the authors of the series took advantage of their quarter of an hour of glory on Sunday evening to return to the historical traumas and social injustices that still plague the United States, while leaving the door open to a possible sequel to the HBO miniseries.

"Watchmen" opens with the racial massacre in Tulsa in 1921, a very real event in which at least 300 residents of a black neighborhood - nicknamed "Black Wall Street" because of its prosperity - in this Oklahoma city were killed by white rioters, with the complicity or even the encouragement of local authorities.

Most Americans ignored this sinister episode, which was almost absent from the history books.

“When the show premiered in October, it wasn't the word + Watchmen + that was trending on Twitter, but + Black Wall Street + or + Tulsa + massacre +," series writer Damon Lindelof told reporters.

"It only showed how eager people are to discover these missing bits of history. You just have to find ways a little outside the box to tell them," he said.

The series takes place in the alternate story imagined by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons for the comic book "Watchmen" in the 1980s. In this universe, superheroes are very real but too often violent and unscrupulous vigilantes, even far-right sociopaths hiding behind a mask and the blessing of the authorities to satisfy their impulses.

According to scholars, the original book, which is included in Time magazine's list of the 100 best modern works in the English language, has greatly contributed to the popularity and artistic credibility of graphic novels.

It was the subject of a cinema adaptation in 2009.

- Disturbing awareness -

The HBO miniseries created a new story inspired by this dark and chaotic universe by continuing to explore its favorite subjects, like police brutality and racial discrimination.

In addition to the destruction of "Black Wall Street" in Tulsa, an episode of "Watchmen" for example portrayed a young black policeman in New York from the 1930s narrowly escaped a lynching before finding himself battling a secret society within law enforcement.

So many themes which have been cruelly at the heart of American news for months and which will remain so at least until the presidential election of November 3.

"The police are still not to account", lamented Sunday Regina King, crowned best actress with "Watchmen".

She wore for the occasion a t-shirt with the effigy of Breonna Taylor, a black American killed by the police and become a symbol of the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

"It represents decades, hundreds of years of outright violence against black bodies," said the African-American actress.

“The things that we were exploring, that we were showing in + Watchmen + (...) it felt appropriate to represent them with Breonna Taylor,” said Regina King.

For Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the mini-series has been a "disturbing to many people" realization.

"Watchmen" may have been awarded as a "mini-series", a sequel to its nine episodes is no longer completely unthinkable after this Emmy success.

Damon Lindelof invited Sunday "all artists who wish to take over", saying he is very curious to see what a sequel could give but excluding to get involved himself.

"It would look like a huge betrayal to win for a miniseries and come back," insisted the author.

© 2020 AFP