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 33
... super hero , and the essential nature of their distinction from the world - then the above quote from Stan Lee – the original writer of the Spiderman stories – would be a serious candidate . Compare this with the definition of the hero ...
... super hero , and the essential nature of their distinction from the world - then the above quote from Stan Lee – the original writer of the Spiderman stories – would be a serious candidate . Compare this with the definition of the hero ...
Page 34
... heroes such as Buck Rodgers and Tarzan , the costumed super hero represented a new mythology which tapped into a war - weary cultures desire for protection , unassailable and unambiguous moral superiority - some- power thing , I believe ...
... heroes such as Buck Rodgers and Tarzan , the costumed super hero represented a new mythology which tapped into a war - weary cultures desire for protection , unassailable and unambiguous moral superiority - some- power thing , I believe ...
Page 43
Mike Alsford. hero and the villain respond to in such dramatically different ways . Take as an example two of Marvel comics ' most enduring characters : the super hero Iron Man and the super villain Doctor Doom . Both of these characters ...
Mike Alsford. hero and the villain respond to in such dramatically different ways . Take as an example two of Marvel comics ' most enduring characters : the super hero Iron Man and the super villain Doctor Doom . Both of these characters ...
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