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. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 35
Page 39
... Force - a semi - divine power - is split into two manifestations , the dark side and the light side . In the film The Empire Strikes Back the Jedi master Yoda explains the difference : ... YODA : A Jedi's strength flows from the Force ...
... Force - a semi - divine power - is split into two manifestations , the dark side and the light side . In the film The Empire Strikes Back the Jedi master Yoda explains the difference : ... YODA : A Jedi's strength flows from the Force ...
Page 73
... force and restraint that might contain them . Just war In the so called ' war against terror ' that followed on from the attack on the United States on 11 September 2001 debates con- cerning the appropriate use of force have become of ...
... force and restraint that might contain them . Just war In the so called ' war against terror ' that followed on from the attack on the United States on 11 September 2001 debates con- cerning the appropriate use of force have become of ...
Page 92
... 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 business that we are forced to undertake once in while . The tendency of ...
... 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 business that we are forced to undertake once in while . The tendency of ...
Contents
Heroes and Otherness | 23 |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility | 63 |
Villains Monsters and Evil Masterminds | 95 |
Copyright | |
1 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
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