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 28
... person or in the person of any other , never simply as a means , but always at the same time as an end . 8 Thus for Kant the true rational person , must acknowledge all others both as ends , as autonomous law - makers - this then is the ...
... person or in the person of any other , never simply as a means , but always at the same time as an end . 8 Thus for Kant the true rational person , must acknowledge all others both as ends , as autonomous law - makers - this then is the ...
Page 47
... person . In many respects this creation of a social image acts as an isolating armour in much the same ways as does ... persons , we clearly find ourselves in the presence of a tension . The resolution of this tension is the very act of ...
... person . In many respects this creation of a social image acts as an isolating armour in much the same ways as does ... persons , we clearly find ourselves in the presence of a tension . The resolution of this tension is the very act of ...
Page 48
... person sitting next to me in the library would be unlikely to approach me as a stranger and admit to a liking for ... persons are by no means as formal as the preceding comments tend to imply . However , despite this for- malism , which ...
... person sitting next to me in the library would be unlikely to approach me as a stranger and admit to a liking for ... persons are by no means as formal as the preceding comments tend to imply . However , despite this for- malism , which ...
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