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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... Saruman . If any of the Wise should with this Ring overthrow the Lord of Mordor , using his own arts , he would then set himself on Sauron's throne , and yet another Dark Lord would appear ... as long as it is in the world it will be a ...
... Saruman's thinking - as reflected in his speech above and it is one that ultimately contributes to both his destructive excesses and his eventual undoing . Saruman , it would seem , mistakes ideological commit- ment for genuine ...
... Saruman 67 , 68 , 74 , 75 , 97 , 111 , 127 Sauron 36 , 67 , 68 , 74 , 91 , 111 , 123 Skywalker , Luke 2 , 51 , 55 , 123 Skywalker , Anakin 70 , 115 , 126 , 127 Superman 8 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 40 , 50-2 , 54-7 , 59 , 66 , 67 , 92 , 118 , 125 ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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