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
... Once again , we seem to encounter the heroic not so much in the exercise of power and paranormal ability , but in terms of how the world is engaged with and how otherness is overcome . There are many instances when the above mentioned ...
... Once again , we seem to encounter the heroic not so much in the exercise of power and paranormal ability , but in terms of how the world is engaged with and how otherness is overcome . There are many instances when the above mentioned ...
Page 45
... once possessed ! But in his place , there shall be another wiser , stronger ! More brilliant , more powerful than ever before !! From this moment on , I shall be known as Doctor Doom ! 30 ... ... As we mentioned earlier on in this ...
... once possessed ! But in his place , there shall be another wiser , stronger ! More brilliant , more powerful than ever before !! From this moment on , I shall be known as Doctor Doom ! 30 ... ... As we mentioned earlier on in this ...
Page 46
... Once we have assimilated the image of the other as a physical presence we are then confronted by the threatening mysteriousness of the stranger . The stranger is not mine nor is he or she for me , there is no availability involved in ...
... Once we have assimilated the image of the other as a physical presence we are then confronted by the threatening mysteriousness of the stranger . The stranger is not mine nor is he or she for me , there is no availability involved in ...
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