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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... belief that there is pattern and regularity to reality . A belief in order and routine , no matter how dull these words might initially sound , is essential to human existence . While chaos and disorder might very well be fun and ...
... belief that someone out there has both the power and the ethical certainty to judge and to punish with transcendental impartiality . To be the other , to stand outside of all human conventions , to judge them equally and redress the ...
... belief that a faction within the United States military has kidnapped this child and plans to use her to destroy us . We do not recommend this course of action . Either someone tell us where Jenny Quantum is being held or we broadcast ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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