Who Watches the Watchmen?: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''Who watches the watchmen?''|'''''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]], quoting Juvenal'''''}}
'''Who watches the watchmen?''' is a popular translation of ''Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?'', from the writings of [[Juvenal]], and which may be more literally translated as ''Who will guard the guards themselves?''. It was quoted as an epitaph in the Tower Commission Report into the Iran-Contra scandal
This is about what happens when the police are in need of some policing. Perhaps there's a [[Serial Killer]] preying on the cops. Maybe [[What the Hell, Townspeople?|the civilians are turning on the police, allowing the criminals to win.]] Or perhaps [[He Who Fights Monsters|the cops themselves have become the criminals,]] [[Police Brutality|Brutal,]] [[Dirty Cop|Dirty,]] [[Rabid Cop|Rabid,]] [[The Bad Guys Are Cops|or always (secretly) have been]], and need to be brought back in line.
Note that it isn't specifically about police; any group with power and/or responsibility for the lives and well-being of others, like [[Beware the Superman|superheroes]], can qualify, as long as the story concerns the events and repercussions when this group needs the kind of oversight and attention they normally bring to others.
[[Internal Affairs]] is a division within the main group whose specific purpose is indeed to watch the watchmen. A work with such a division may still bring in the trope if internal affairs itself becomes corrupt and needs some investigation, such as if it starts [[Frame-Up|framing innocent members]] to cover its tracks, or the [[Mutant Draft Board]] gets overzealous.
Ironically, the original quote concerned [[Values Dissonance|the problem of hiring guards to prevent your promiscuous wife from cheating on you]], with the implication that she will try to seduce or bribe the guards.
See also [[One of Our Own]]. Can lead to [[Super Registration Act]] in superhero comics.
{{examples}}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* ''[[Countdown to Final Crisis]]'' attempted this with Donna Troy saying "Who Monitors the Monitors?" It went over about as well as the rest of the comic.
* A very similar question is posed in the title of one of the comics in [[Marvel Universe|Marvel's]] [[Elseworld|"What If..." series]]: [http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/what-if/34-1.jpg What If No One Was Watching The Watcher?] In this case, though, it's meant more in the "people do funny things when they think nobody is looking" sense.
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== [[Film]] ==
* Disney's The Rescuers, Penny predicts circumstances to become just by utilizing her insane brattiness to overcome everyone around her. They become dainty with the little bully and have their faith unleashed.
* [[Playing with a Trope|Played With]] in ''[[Superman (film)|Superman]]: The Movie''
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== [[Literature]] ==
* In ''[[Digital Fortress]]'', it's one of the main themes.
* The idea cropped up in [[Plato]]'s ''Republic'', in regards to who will guard against the city guards turning on the population. Plato's solution is to tell the guards that they're so much better than everybody else that it is their sacred duty to protect them.
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* In the ''[[Vorkosigan Saga]]'', the Imperial Auditors are the Barrayarran answer to this question. They are handpicked by the Emperor to investigate any matter he thinks needs special attention, and are chosen for two qualities, incorruptibility, and the ability to stand up to very dangerous people without flinching.
* From ''[[Discworld]]'', Watch Commander Sam Vimes has the answer: "We all keep an eye on each other".
** ''[[
{{quote|'''The Guarding Dark''': "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who watches the watchmen? Me."}}
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* Paraphrased by Lard in "The Power of Lard":
{{quote|''who's gonna babysit the babysitters?''}}
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Referenced in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]] II'' in regards to the handmaidens supposedly policing
== [[Web Original]] ==
* In M.C.A. Hogarth's ''[[Kherishdar]]'' how does the Emperor make sure he himself doesn't abuse his own power? He assigns a casteless servant to the post of The Exception, [["The Reason You Suck" Speech|whose job it is to tell him]] when his actions might be harmful to his people.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Used on T-Rex's business cards in [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=970 this] ''[[Dinosaur Comics]]'' strip.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' referenced this in the episode 'Homer the Vigilante', when Homer becomes the leader of a neighbourhood watch group.▼
▲* [[The Simpsons]] referenced this in the episode 'Homer the Vigilante', when Homer becomes the leader of a neighbourhood watch group.
{{quote|'''Lisa:''' Dad, don't you see that you're abusing your power like all vigilantes? I mean, if you're the police, who will police the police?
'''Homer:''' I dunno. Coast Guard? }}
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{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Crime and Punishment Tropes]]
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