Heroes and Villains

173 Pages·2007·0.38 MB·English

by  Mike Alsford

0011 Heroes & Villians BAYLOR 27/9/06 3:40 pm Page 1 (Black plate)
100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 5% 3% 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 5% 3%
H e r o e s
& H
Heroes VILLAINS
e
r
o
e
s
Hercules,Jesus,James Bond,Luke Skywalker,Gandalf,Frodo, &
&
Harry Potter,Buffy Summers,Spiderman,Batman,Captain Kirk,
Dr Who,Darth Vader,Sauron,Voldemort,Lex Luthor,Dr Doom, V
I
L
the Daleks,the Borg.Almost anybody living within the developed
L
A
West would be able to group these individuals into two camps: I
N
the heroes and the villains.However,what criteria they might S

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,
M
comic books and literature.On the way,he addresses questions
V I L L A I N S
such as:What is a true hero? What is a true villain? Have we I
K
misunderstood these terms? What kind of societal values do our
E
mythical heroes and villains represent? In trying to understand

A
the extremes of hero and villain we are made more aware of our
L
own ethical standards,and given a space in which to explore
S
contemporary concerns over notions of right and wrong,good
F
and bad. O
R
MIKE ALSFORD is Senior Lecturer in Theology at the
D
University of Greenwich,London,and the author of What If?
Religious Themes in Science Fiction (DLT).
Cover design by Judy Linard.
MIKE ALSFORD
Heroes and Villains

Heroes and Villains
MIKE ALSFORD
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY PRESS
First published in 2006 by
Darton,Longman and Todd Ltd
1 Spencer Court
140–142 Wandsworth High Street
London SW18 4JJ
Published in USA by
Baylor University Press
One Bear Place #97363
Waco,TX 76798
Texas,USA
© 2006 Mike Alsford
The right of Mike Alsford to be identified as the author
of this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1998
All Rights Reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in
a retrieval system,or transmitted,in any form or by any means,electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise,without the prior
permission in writing of Baylor University Press.
Designed and produced by Sandie Boccacci
Phototypeset in 11/12pt Bembo
Cover design by Judy Linard
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Alsford,Mike
Heroes and villains / Mike Alsford.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13:978-1-932792-92-8 (pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Heroes in mass media. 2.Villains in mass media.3. Mass media—
Moral and ethical aspects.
I. Title.
P96.H46A46 2006
302.2308—dc22
2006032549
Printed and bound in Great Britain
For Lauren and Amy
who tend to bring out the hero in me.
Huge thanks to
Grace and ‘The Ginger Twins’Sarah and Claire
for reading over the manuscript
‘just one more time please!’
You all went above and beyond,
you rock!

Contents
Preface ix
1 Myth and Imagination 1
2 The Outsider: Heroes and Otherness 23
3 With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility 63
4 Villains, Monsters and Evil Masterminds 95
5 Conclusion 123
Notes 141
Further Reading and Viewing 151
Index of Selected Thinkers and Authors 155
Index of Selected Heroes and Villains 157
Index of Selected Themes and Subjects 159

Preface
Elsewhere I have spoken of creating an interdisciplinary explora-
tory space within which to raise and discuss a variety of issues
relating to the human condition.1In this book I am committed to
the same endeavour. What I mean by this is that I am concerned
here to create an arena for raising issues, stimulating debates and
introducing a range of ideas and thinkers. While my own
opinions will inevitably come through – that can never be
avoided – I hope that readers will feel that they are part of an
exploration rather than simply the recipients of a body of
knowledge.
It has become something of a commonplace within our
increasingly postmodern culture to assert the elusiveness of
absolutes not least any absolute notion of what constitutes
human being. The anti-humanist tradition initiated by Nietzsche,
and brought into sharper focus by thinkers such as Martin
Heidegger and Michel Foucault, speaks of the inability of
humanity to look itself in the face, that is to be able to study itself
in a disinterested manner.
all human sciences advance towards the unconscious only
with their back to it.2
And again:
to all those … who refuse to think without immediately
thinking that it is man who is thinking, to all these warped
and twisted forms of reflection we can answer only with a
philosophical laugh – which means, to a certain extent, a
silent one.3
However far one wishes to go with Foucault in this it seems