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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... matter how adept we might be at rendering ourselves unavailable to the stranger . We will generally dress in a manner we find pleasing , we will read what we find interesting , we will often be found in places which we find congenial ...
... matter how one does it , involves us in responsibility and choice and for every choice we make we exert power in some way . Even , as Sartre points out , being passive , avoiding active decision making , collapsing into apathy , even in ...
... matter upon which we stand contains intelligent life ! You must not destroy it ! GALACTUS : Of what import are brief , nameless lives ... to Galactus ? ... It is not my intention to injure any living being ! But ... I must replenish my ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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