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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... thought , part of our reason- ing tool kit . In essence the world appears ordered because we as rational beings order it . Our reason sorts through the data gathered by our senses and puts it together in meaningful patterns like some ...
... thought ' What if he's lying ? ' I tried to get rid of it . I tried . But I couldn't . I thought ' What if he survived that blast ... and was still Kid Marvelman ? ' I tried to imagine what it would feel like ... to be the most powerful ...
... thoughts in our hearts , deploring maybe evils done by the way , but approving the higher and ultimate purpose ... thought themselves to be on a spiritual mission or holy crusade . Indeed , it is not just evil political or military ...
Contents
Myth and Imagination | 1 |
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Copyright | |
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