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 23
Mike Alsford. 2 The Outsider : Heroes and Otherness One of the characteristic marks of the hero is what we might call their transcendental status . That is to say the hero , while in a very real sense being part of the world and caught ...
Mike Alsford. 2 The Outsider : Heroes and Otherness One of the characteristic marks of the hero is what we might call their transcendental status . That is to say the hero , while in a very real sense being part of the world and caught ...
Page 66
... hero is endlessly engaged in rescuing , defending , seeking and overcoming.6 Yet , in spite of the general uniformity of mission parameters the hero can be seen to have a variety of modes of power at their command ; not every hero , for ...
... hero is endlessly engaged in rescuing , defending , seeking and overcoming.6 Yet , in spite of the general uniformity of mission parameters the hero can be seen to have a variety of modes of power at their command ; not every hero , for ...
Page 129
... hero . His methods for extract- ing information are harsh and bloody and yet , it is hard not to view him as a hero . Part of this is due , I think , both to his motivation and his willingness to suffer in his quest for vengeance . Marv ...
... hero . His methods for extract- ing information are harsh and bloody and yet , it is hard not to view him as a hero . Part of this is due , I think , both to his motivation and his willingness to suffer in his quest for vengeance . Marv ...
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