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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... light saber in one hand and Princess Leia tucked neatly under one arm , or Spiderman invading the lair of Dr Octopus with a smile under his mask , a web shooter on his wrist and Mary Jane Watson tucked neatly under one arm . Now while ...
... light , ' in every way they would believe that the shadows of the objects we mentioned were the whole truth'.11 Now consider what would happen if one of these cave dwellers were released and permitted first to turn and gaze upon the ...
... light of Spike's soul that both destroys the Hellmouth while at the same time consuming Spike himself . The Buffy series is as much to do with living a normal life in a world that is always other and often antagonistic to us as it is to ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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