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
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... significance of establishing a mode of behaviour in the world . Both hero and villain are often charac- terised as those who have a very clear agenda and system of values . Where do we gain our perspective on the world ? How do we ...
... significance . The question ' Is it right or good to be a soldier ? ' for example , requires a consideration of issues such as right for who ? and good for what ? Plato argued that the good life - a key theme in classical Greek ...
... significance . It is also an exercise of the imagination . As we shall see in subsequent chapters often the identification of a hero or villain is simply a matter of looking at someone in a different way . - The existentialist ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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