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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... Clark Kent . As Clark Kent , Kal - El hides his Superman persona both out of fear of his enemies targeting his vulnerable human friends as a way of getting at him but also to engage with the world as an ordinary human being . In Quentin ...
... Clark Kent is how Superman views us . Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race.13 In a very real sense while Superman is the adventurer it could be argued that it is Clark Kent who is truly heroic . It is Kent who has ...
... Clark Kent . It is as Kent that Kal - El becomes incarnate in the world , establishes his humanity , and prevents himself from becoming a distant and remote figure dwelling in his Fortress of Solitude . Kal - El could remain in his ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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