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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... human being and humanity as a whole . Whether or not one takes a naturalistic , a metaphysical or religious perspective on human identity , whether or not one favours an essentialist or existential stance on the nature of human ...
... human being and humanity as a whole . Whether or not one takes a naturalistic , a metaphysical or religious perspective on human identity , whether or not one favours an essentialist or existential stance on the nature of human ...
Page 92
... humanity might be put at risk ? We commonly speak of inhuman behaviour and crimes against humanity and infringements of human rights , and yet without some clear notion of what we are as human beings these terms would appear to lose a ...
... humanity might be put at risk ? We commonly speak of inhuman behaviour and crimes against humanity and infringements of human rights , and yet without some clear notion of what we are as human beings these terms would appear to lose a ...
Page 112
... human identity - is governed by rational principles and the rule of the will while the flesh is dominated by its ... human nature , whether out of fear or the desire for control over the masses , has been extra- ordinarily influential ...
... human identity - is governed by rational principles and the rule of the will while the flesh is dominated by its ... human nature , whether out of fear or the desire for control over the masses , has been extra- ordinarily influential ...
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