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
Results 1-3 of 44
However , to what extent it might be legitimate to exercise coercive power in the
name of goodness , justice and the heroic ideal is a very serious question . In the
fight against evil and villainy is there ever room for the limiting statement ' this we
...
However , in the face of an almost insurmountable evil the forces of good stop
short of utilising ' the One Ring ' , the weapon of the enemy . While the Ring is
clearly understood to be a weapon of incredible power – certainly enough to ...
Villains , Monsters and Evil Masterminds While this is something we might not
like to acknowledge too freely or with too much enthusiasm the image of the
villain - at least at some levels – is not unattractive to us . The ' dark side of the
Force ' is ...
What people are saying - Write a review
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 35 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
3 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Bibliographic information
| Title | Heroes and Villains |
| Author | Mike Alsford |
| Publisher | Baylor University Press, 2006 |
| Original from | the University of California |
| Digitized | 7 Feb 2008 |
| ISBN | 1932792929, 9781932792928 |
| Length | 158 pages |
| Subjects | › Philosophy / Good & Evil Social Science / Popular Culture |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |