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 Luther, Dr Doom, the Daleks, the Borg.Almost anybody living within the developed West would be able to group these individuals into two camps: the heroes and the villains. However, what criteria they might use to do this is less clear.Mike Alsford introduces us to a whole 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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Page 36
... ability , but in terms of how the world is engaged with and how otherness is overcome . There are many instances when the above mentioned heroes , for example , are tempted to try and use their unique abilities to serve themselves , to ...
... ability , but in terms of how the world is engaged with and how otherness is overcome . There are many instances when the above mentioned heroes , for example , are tempted to try and use their unique abilities to serve themselves , to ...
Page 84
... ability to stand in the way of evil , to make of themselves a tool to confront it . The power of the villain , on the other hand , is often bound up with their ability to manipulate others , to use them as weapons . Knowledge is power ...
... ability to stand in the way of evil , to make of themselves a tool to confront it . The power of the villain , on the other hand , is often bound up with their ability to manipulate others , to use them as weapons . Knowledge is power ...
Page 89
... ability to point beyond so called ' primitive ' or erroneous interpretations of reality that constitutes his acts of salvation . DOCTOR : That gesture you did . ( Primitive tribal warrior does sequence of gestures across neck and chest ) ...
... ability to point beyond so called ' primitive ' or erroneous interpretations of reality that constitutes his acts of salvation . DOCTOR : That gesture you did . ( Primitive tribal warrior does sequence of gestures across neck and chest ) ...
Contents
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Villains Monsters and Evil Masterminds | 95 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
ability absolute alien Anakin Skywalker argues armour Batman beast become behaviour Boromir Buffy Summers Buffy the Vampire Campbell Chapter character Christian Clark Kent classic concerning confronts consider course culture Daleks dark side DAVROS DC Comics death DELENN Doctor Doctor Doom dominate encounter Enlightenment ethical evil example existence existential experience explored face Fantastic Four fear feel Fichte fight film force freedom friends Galactus George Hegel heroes and villains heroic Hyde ibid imagination individual issue Kant Kid Marvelman kill knowledge lives Lord Luke Skywalker Marvel Comics Matrix means moral nature never Nietzsche notion ourselves parents person philosopher Plato portrayed possess rational reason recognised responsibility Ring Saruman Sauron seen sense simply Skywalker social soul Spiderman Spike Stan Lee story stranger super hero super powered Superheroes Superman theme things thinkers transcendence truth Vampire Slayer