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. |
From inside the book
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... actually categories of thought , part of our reason- ing tool kit . In essence the world appears ordered because we as rational beings order it . Our reason sorts through the data gathered by our senses and puts it together in ...
... actually being redefined , vast areas of human data were being rejected as real knowledge as rigid criteria were laid down for establishing what constituted knowledge and what did not . At the heart of it all sat the Cartesian knowing ...
... general . Knowing that we can do a thing and actually doing it are two very different things as our utilisation of various - technologies has shown us . That we have the knowledge With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility 85.
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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