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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... physical damage and both have had to resort to the use of high tech armour as a result of their accidents . Tony ... physically , from the people he loved and those he sought to protect . At one point in his career Stark gives up being ...
... physical and , regrettably , legal force . In commenting upon ex - US President Richard Nixon's involvement in the so - called Watergate political scandal the Christian ethicist Stanley Hauerwas makes this insightful observation : one ...
... physical size or charisma , is able to intimidate their peers . Indeed , eventu- ally reputation alone becomes enough of a power to induce fear and to dominate others . Part of the power of the villain , as we shall see later , is to do ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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