Heroes and VillainsHercules, Jesus, James Bond, Luke Skywalker, Gandalf, Frodo, Harry Potter, Buffy Summers, Spiderman, Batman, Captain Kirk, Dr. Who, Darth Vader, Sauron, Voldemort, Lex Luthor, Dr. Doom, the Daleks, the Borg. Almost anybody living in the developed West would be able to group these individuals into two camps: the heroes and the villains. However, what criteria they may use to do this is less clear. Mike Alsford introduces us to a range of heroic and villainous archetypes on a journey through film, television, comic books, and literature. On the way, he addresses questions such as: What is a true hero? What is a true villain? Have we misunderstood these terms? What kind of societal values do our mythical heroes and villains represent? In trying to understand the extremes of hero and villain we are made more aware of our own ethical standards and given a space in which to explore contemporary concerns over notions of right and wrong, good and bad. |
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... Captain America served as iconic symbols of the fight against fascism . In a time when the enemy was unambig- uous and the threat clear and present , heroes were on the frontline destroying Hitler's war machine in Europe and smash- ing ...
... CAPTAIN AMERICA : Forget about it . You're asking me to arrest people who risk their lives for this country every day of the week . AGENT HILL : No , I'm asking you to obey the will of the American people , Captain . CAPTAIN AMERICA ...
... Captain America - heroes who stop short at murder and brutality - the Wolverine , like the Batman and the Punisher , possesses a barely suppressed rage . Indeed it is this rage that paradoxically provides all of these anti - heroes with ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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