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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... freedom . It is this freedom that gives rise to both our uniqueness and capacity for self - giving and creative choice while at the same time permit- ting us to adopt a self - serving , destructive and dysfunctional path . It is the ...
... Freedom is something that we tend to value very highly whether it be political freedom or freedom of expression or freedom of choice , as a species we do not like to be caged or con- strained . In theological circles , for example , the ...
... freedom of humanity . Locke argues that in their natural state all human beings find themselves in a state of perfect freedom to order their actions , and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit , within the bounds of ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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