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 27
Page
beyond doubt that as human beings we are as incapable of considering ourselves dispassionately and objectively as we are anything else in the world ...
beyond doubt that as human beings we are as incapable of considering ourselves dispassionately and objectively as we are anything else in the world ...
Page 46
By making ourselves unavailable to the other we leave only the fact of our presence in the world , our image or armoured shell if you will .
By making ourselves unavailable to the other we leave only the fact of our presence in the world , our image or armoured shell if you will .
Page 48
Although we may fear making ourselves too available to the other and thus opening ourselves up to abuse , we cannot stop being ourselves no matter how adept ...
Although we may fear making ourselves too available to the other and thus opening ourselves up to abuse , we cannot stop being ourselves no matter how adept ...
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
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 action actually Adolf Hitler appear argues Batman become believe Buffy called Chapter character Christian classic clearly comes comic concerning confronts consider course culture dark death DELENN desire develop Doctor dominate encounter establish ethical evil example existence experience face fact fear feel fight figure finally force freedom friends George give hand hero heroic human imagination important individual issue Kant kill knowledge less lives look Lord Marvel Comics matter means mind moral nature never notion observation ourselves parents particular person philosopher political possess question rational reason regarded relating responsibility rest Ring seems seen sense side significant simply social speak Spiderman stand story stranger super Superman things tradition true truth understand villain whole
Bibliographic information
| Title | Heroes and Villains |
| Author | Mike Alsford |
| Publisher | Darton, Longman & Todd, 2006 |
| ISBN | 0232525730, 9780232525731 |
| Length | 158 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |