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 24
... course one of the central problems that has plagued religions with an adherence to a transcendent divinity is , how does one reconcile the necessary otherness of God with the equally important belief that God is somehow sympathetic to ...
... course one of the central problems that has plagued religions with an adherence to a transcendent divinity is , how does one reconcile the necessary otherness of God with the equally important belief that God is somehow sympathetic to ...
Page 31
... course is a classic example of heroic redemption . Starting out his adult life in the eighteenth century as a foppish and rather ineffectual romantic , he becomes a vampire and his undead existence is one of cruelty and brutality that ...
... course is a classic example of heroic redemption . Starting out his adult life in the eighteenth century as a foppish and rather ineffectual romantic , he becomes a vampire and his undead existence is one of cruelty and brutality that ...
Page 92
... course is one thing , to actively restrain them by use of overwhelming force when they fail to take the point is quite another . Occupancy of the so - called ' moral high ground ' is , in my view , a dangerous business even if it is a ...
... course is one thing , to actively restrain them by use of overwhelming force when they fail to take the point is quite another . Occupancy of the so - called ' moral high ground ' is , in my view , a dangerous business even if it is a ...
Contents
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Villains Monsters and Evil Masterminds | 95 |
Copyright | |
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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