2 Feb 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
AR 202 Lecture #1: Introduction
Tuesday, January 5th, 2016
Contact information:
- Office Hours: 202 Regina Street, Room R106A, Tuesdays
11:45-1:00.
Questions:
1. How do people use the term ‘hero’ in everyday life? What do we
mean?
a. Not as formal of a term, anyone can be called a hero
b. Associated with bravery, sacrifice and saving others.
c. Doctors, nurses, fire fighters, soldiers etc.,
d. Heroes are not necessarily born a hero like they were in
the traditional Greek mythological context, shows the
movement away from fatalism.
2. How does the concept of heroes/the hero function in modern
film and literature including superheroes & other heroic figures.
a. Heroes have special super-human powers of some sort,
however, there is also bravery, sacrifice and saving.
b. Heroes always save the world in some way and defeat an
ultimate evil.
c. Modern superheroes are often morally ambiguous and
flawed but in the end, good.
3. Why are heroes so appealing?
a. We want to be like them, daydreams.
b. A lot of modern heroes in literature and film are
underdogs and average people, makes us believe that we
can be heroes too. If you have goodness inside of you you do
not need to be big, strong or amazing.
i. Peter Parker, Harry Potter, Frodo & hobbits,