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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... seek anchor points , points of reference which might allow us to navigate , with some semblance of intention and confidence , towards some clearly perceived goals . These anchor points provide us with a sense of structure to our lives ...
... seek to achieve a balance between the exercise of supportive power on behalf of their children , and the often painful with- drawal of support in the interest of a child's developing autonomy . I wonder how often two parents stage the ...
... seek to be a law unto themselves . They usually have as their primary goal power over others , world domination , control of the entire universe or , in some really ambitious instances , godhood . Without exception this seems to be the ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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