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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... comes back from the mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.1 The beyond , or some aspect of otherness , as a necessary ingredi- ent for the heroic comes in many different forms but it seems to me that its ...
Mike Alsford. 3 With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility Of the infinite desires of man , the chief are the desires for power and glory.1 To say that a hero has to wield power would seem , on the face of it ... Comes Great Responsibility.
... comes from the compassionate heart of man and extends outward towards his fellow man.7 -- to take up arms against a sea of troubles Like it or not , it would seem that coercive power , the use of force , is very much part of the heroic ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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