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
Results 1-3 of 12
... one's time and energies . However , one might pursue such a course of training simply as a result of seeing someone on the TV shows ER or Holby City doing it , or because one's parents suggested it or because a friend did it . I ...
... one's superior - principally Adolf Hitler himself . One's duty to the Führer superceded any other claim that might be made on one by morality , religion , tradition and even the state itself . It was perfectly possible for a person ...
... one's abilities and powers over to the wider world then , by the same token , being a villain has to do with the withholding of oneself from that world . We have spoken of the villain as armouring themselves against the world , seeking ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
2 other sections not shown