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 45
... man at best , responds to his accident by turning in on himself and shunning the rest of humanity : My face ... no other eyes must ever gaze upon it !! I'll hide from the sight of mankind ... somewhere ... somehow.29 The armour he ...
... man at best , responds to his accident by turning in on himself and shunning the rest of humanity : My face ... no other eyes must ever gaze upon it !! I'll hide from the sight of mankind ... somewhere ... somehow.29 The armour he ...
Page 109
... humanity as residing purely and simply in our autonomous self somehow disconnected from the rest of the world is , in my view , a dangerous thing . History has shown us that villainous and inhuman acts are considerably easier to justify ...
... humanity as residing purely and simply in our autonomous self somehow disconnected from the rest of the world is , in my view , a dangerous thing . History has shown us that villainous and inhuman acts are considerably easier to justify ...
Page 132
... rest of humanity is a dangerous and potentially bloody thing indeed , yet to see oneself as different from the rest of humanity is , I believe , the basis for true villainy . One of the reasons that the likes of the cannibalistic ...
... rest of humanity is a dangerous and potentially bloody thing indeed , yet to see oneself as different from the rest of humanity is , I believe , the basis for true villainy . One of the reasons that the likes of the cannibalistic ...
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