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. |
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... kind of aggres- sive power while their female companions are largely passive . Now while there have indeed been instances of heroic female characters throughout literature , I would suggest that it is only since the early 1980s that ...
... kind of reference points which make up one's existential map . If one has a set of values that prioritises others , considers human beings , even strangers , to be of value then the choice of a therapeutic career may well be stimulated ...
... kind or another . History , it would seem , is full of villainous butchers who thought themselves to be on a spiritual mission or holy crusade . Indeed , it is not just evil political or military despots who are susceptible to this kind ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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