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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Page x
While we are driven to explore ourselves in the arts and sciences, through work
and play, through the way we engage with others and through introspection and
reflection we may never account for ourselves without remainder. Even those ...
While we are driven to explore ourselves in the arts and sciences, through work
and play, through the way we engage with others and through introspection and
reflection we may never account for ourselves without remainder. Even those ...
Page 11
That the world could be explored and indeed understood in this imaginative
mode was beyond question by those who produced such tales. That stories were
a legitimate and valuable way of engaging with fundamental existential and ...
That the world could be explored and indeed understood in this imaginative
mode was beyond question by those who produced such tales. That stories were
a legitimate and valuable way of engaging with fundamental existential and ...
Page 148
It is interesting to note here that in 2004 Marvel Comics introduced a new comic
series, Powerless, where they explore what it means to be a hero by re-imaging
some of their most significant superheroes, such as Spiderman as ordinary ...
It is interesting to note here that in 2004 Marvel Comics introduced a new comic
series, Powerless, where they explore what it means to be a hero by re-imaging
some of their most significant superheroes, such as Spiderman as ordinary ...
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Contents
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Villains Monsters and Evil Masterminds | 95 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
ability absolute alien Anakin Skywalker argues armour Batman beast become behaviour Boromir Buffy Summers Campbell Captain America Chapter character Christian Clark Kent classic concerning confronts consider course culture Daleks dark side DAVROS DC Comics death DELENN Descartes Doctor Doctor Doom dominate encounter Enlightenment ethical evil example existence existential experience explored face Fantastic Four fear feel Fichte fight film force freedom friends Galactus George Hegel heroes and villains heroic Hyde imagination individual issue Jedi Kant Kid Marvelman kill knowledge lives Lord Marvel Comics means moral nature never Nietzsche notion ourselves parents person philosopher Plato portrayed possess rational reason recognised responsibility rest of humanity Ring Saruman Sauron seen sense simply Skywalker social soul Spiderman Spike Stan Lee story stranger super hero super powered Superman theme things thinkers tradition transcendence truth Vampire Slayer
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 |