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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... Skywalker invading the Death Star with a smile on his face , a light saber in one hand and Princess Leia tucked neatly under one arm , or Spiderman invading the lair of Dr Octopus with a smile under his mask , a web shooter on his wrist ...
... Skywalker's blowing up of the evil Empire's Deathstar , or the Fantastic Four's defeat of the planet devouring Galactus or Sauron's defeat at the hands of Aragorn's forces . I should like to quote his famous runway speech here for two ...
... 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 , 134 , 137 , 139 , 143 , 144 , 151 Spiderman xi , 2 , 3 , 24 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 41 ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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