- Marco Favaro (1990) is Program Manager at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences in Berlin. He obtained his Ph... moreMarco Favaro (1990) is Program Manager at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences in Berlin. He obtained his PhD in cultural studies and human sciences at the Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg in cooperation with the Università degli Studi di Verona. He is the author of La Maschera dell’Antieroe (The Mask of the Antihero), published by Mimesis Edizioni for the series “Filosofie.” The book defines the structures of the contemporary superhero genre and its implicit philosophical concepts.
Since September 2022 he collaborates with the Online Magazine "Lo Spazio Bianco".
He obtained his bachelor’s degree at the Università Roma “Tor Vergata” with a thesis about Nietzsche’s Die fröhliche Wissenschaft, and his master’s degree at the Freie Universität Berlin with a thesis about Sartre’s L'Être et le Néant. In 2020 and 2021, he worked as a lecturer at Bamberg University, presenting a seminar on the “antihero”. In August 2022 his chapter “Dylan Dog’s Nightmares” was published by Routledge for the volume Critical Approaches to Horror Comic Books.
He speaks fluently German, English and Italian.edit
While much of the scholarship on superhero narratives has focused on the heroes themselves, Batman’s Villains and Villainesses: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Arkham’s Souls takes into view the depiction of the villains and their... more
While much of the scholarship on superhero narratives has focused on the heroes themselves, Batman’s Villains and Villainesses: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Arkham’s Souls takes into view the depiction of the villains and their lives, arguing that they often function as proxies for larger societal and philosophical themes. Approaching Gotham’s villains from a number of disciplinary fields, the essays in this collection highlights how the villains’ multifaceted backgrounds, experiences, motivations, and behaviors allow for in-depth character analysis across varying levels of social life. Through investigating their cultural and scholarly relevance across the humanities and social sciences, the volume encourages both thoughtful reflection on the relationship between individuals and their social contexts and the use of villains (inside and outside of Gotham) as subjects of pedagogical and scholarly inquiry.
Lexington Books
Pages: 352 • Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-66693-083-2 • Hardback • September 2023
978-1-66693-084-9 • eBook • September 2023
Subjects: Social Science / Popular Culture, Comics & Graphic Novels / General, Comics & Graphic Novels / Supervillains
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666930849/Batman%E2%80%99s-Villains-and-Villainesses-Multidisciplinary-Perspectives-on-Arkham%E2%80%99s-Souls
Lexington Books
Pages: 352 • Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-66693-083-2 • Hardback • September 2023
978-1-66693-084-9 • eBook • September 2023
Subjects: Social Science / Popular Culture, Comics & Graphic Novels / General, Comics & Graphic Novels / Supervillains
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666930849/Batman%E2%80%99s-Villains-and-Villainesses-Multidisciplinary-Perspectives-on-Arkham%E2%80%99s-Souls
Research Interests: Psychology, Film Studies, Popular Culture, Comics Studies, Video Games, and 15 morePop Culture, Graphic Novels, Comics and Graphic Novels, Popular Culture Studies, Superheroes, Batman, Popularculture, Dc Comics, Hero and Villain, Superhero Studies, Supervillains, Villains, Villainy and Felony, Phylosophy, and villainesses
La maschera dell’antieroe ripercorre l’evoluzione delle figure dell’universo supereroico – l’eroe, il villain, l’antieroe e l’eroina – indagando gli elementi chiave del genere e definendo gli aspetti filosofici che gli sono propri.... more
La maschera dell’antieroe ripercorre l’evoluzione delle figure dell’universo supereroico – l’eroe, il villain, l’antieroe e l’eroina – indagando gli elementi chiave del genere e definendo gli aspetti filosofici che gli sono propri.
Chiedersi chi sia il supereroe oggi non è una domanda circoscritta agli studi di cultura popolare, ma è un modo per comprendere meglio la società in cui viviamo; come nel mito antico ritroviamo archetipi familiari, similmente la moderna mitologia supereroica è uno specchio, più o meno deformato, del nostro mondo. Il riflesso che rimanda è quello di un Occidente in crisi, afflitto da catastrofi ecologiche, conflitti, scontri culturali, pandemie, nel quale verità e certezze vacillano. L’universo dei supereroi rispecchia tale crisi: i topoi dell’eroe puro e del mostro malvagio svaniscono e lasciano il posto a personaggi più ambigui e complessi. È l’era degli antieroi.
https://www.mimesisedizioni.it/libro/9788857590165
https://www.mimesisebookstore.it/en/products/la-maschera-dell-antieroe
https://www.ibs.it/maschera-dell-antieroe-mitologia-filosofia-ebook-marco-favaro/e/9788857594286
https://www.mondadoristore.it/maschera-dell-antieroe-Marco-Favaro/eai978885759016/
https://www.amazon.it/maschera-dellantieroe-Mitologia-filosofia-supereroe/dp/885759016X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3C97PODAMOMMP&keywords=la+maschera+antieroe&qid=1659078820&sprefix=%2Caps%2C431&sr=8-2
Chiedersi chi sia il supereroe oggi non è una domanda circoscritta agli studi di cultura popolare, ma è un modo per comprendere meglio la società in cui viviamo; come nel mito antico ritroviamo archetipi familiari, similmente la moderna mitologia supereroica è uno specchio, più o meno deformato, del nostro mondo. Il riflesso che rimanda è quello di un Occidente in crisi, afflitto da catastrofi ecologiche, conflitti, scontri culturali, pandemie, nel quale verità e certezze vacillano. L’universo dei supereroi rispecchia tale crisi: i topoi dell’eroe puro e del mostro malvagio svaniscono e lasciano il posto a personaggi più ambigui e complessi. È l’era degli antieroi.
https://www.mimesisedizioni.it/libro/9788857590165
https://www.mimesisebookstore.it/en/products/la-maschera-dell-antieroe
https://www.ibs.it/maschera-dell-antieroe-mitologia-filosofia-ebook-marco-favaro/e/9788857594286
https://www.mondadoristore.it/maschera-dell-antieroe-Marco-Favaro/eai978885759016/
https://www.amazon.it/maschera-dellantieroe-Mitologia-filosofia-supereroe/dp/885759016X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3C97PODAMOMMP&keywords=la+maschera+antieroe&qid=1659078820&sprefix=%2Caps%2C431&sr=8-2
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Mythology, Philosophy, Popular Culture, Comics Studies, and 15 moreComics, Heroism, Friedrich Nietzsche, Graphic Novels, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, René Girard, Comics and Graphic Novels, Movies, Superheroes, Masks, Batman, Carl Gustav Jung, Antihero, and Superhero Studies
Il successo di distopie, apocalissi e post-apocalissi è riscontrabile nel mondo videoludico, dove numerosi titoli propongono narrative ambientate in variopinti futuri distorti. Tra tutti questi The Last of Us (TLOU, 2013) è probabilmente... more
Il successo di distopie, apocalissi e post-apocalissi è riscontrabile nel mondo videoludico, dove numerosi titoli propongono narrative ambientate in variopinti futuri distorti. Tra tutti questi The Last of Us (TLOU, 2013) è probabilmente una delle serie di maggior impatto degli ultimi anni. La causa dell’apocalisse zombie nel mondo di TLOU sono da rintracciarsi, in ultima analisi, nella natura e nel rapporto dell’essere umano con essa. La serie è ancora più specifica rispetto al videogioco, e collega la causa dell’evoluzione del fungo direttamente al riscaldamento globale e alla catastrofe naturale, una minaccia reale per il nostro mondo. In questo modo TLOU si impone direttamente nel discorso ambientale come critica alla società attuale e avvertimento nei confronti della catastrofe ecologica e, in particolare, del cambiamento climatico.
https://www.francescotoniolo.com/2023/12/16/natura-in-pixel/
https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0CQFTXX3M
https://www.francescotoniolo.com/2023/12/16/natura-in-pixel/
https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0CQFTXX3M
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Environmental Education, Dystopian Literature, Popular Culture, Video Games and Learning, and 14 moreVideo Games, Videogames, Nature, Natural Disasters, Global Warming, Zombies, Ambiente, Videogiochi, Cordyceps, Italiano, Popculture, Utopia/Distopia, Apocalipse, and The Last of Us Part II
Dylan Dog, l’Indagatore dell’Incubo (the nightmare investigator), lives and works at 7 Craven Road in London. The comic book character is English, but he was created in Italy by Tiziano Sclavi in 1986, and it is still published today... more
Dylan Dog, l’Indagatore dell’Incubo (the nightmare investigator), lives and works at 7 Craven Road in London. The comic book character is English, but he was created in Italy by Tiziano Sclavi in 1986, and it is still published today monthly. Dylan had enormous success, not only in Italy but worldwide. His job is to investigate, together with his assistant, Groucho, the paranormal, the irrational, the nightmare that can assume different forms and aspects. Dylan fights against all types of monsters: vampires, zombies, werewolves, witches, even against Death itself. However, the horror that he faces is not always paranormal. The monsters are often extremely human. Maybe that is the reason why Dylan remains
extremely skeptical and rational. Everything in Dylan Dog’s world revolves around the absurd, the chaos without explanation, without sense, and the need to find meaning in it. This chaos can take different forms: the horror that Dylan fights, but also the satirical and nonsense humor of Groucho. This irrational dimension manifests itself also through Dylan’s love and sexual life: in almost every story, Dylan falls in love with a different woman, who usually will die or will break his heart. Love and sex are strongly connected with horror and death in Dylan Dog’s narrative: they are irrational forces, from which it is not possible to escape.
The purpose of this essay is to analyze the irrational and fearful
dimension in Dylan Dog: l’orrore, as he calls it, but also its connection
to sexuality and the comic relief provided by Groucho. This chaotic
and monstrous reality will be analyzed mainly—but not only—through the Nietzschean concepts of Apollonian and Dionysian related to the concept of absurd as described by Albert Camus. In this frame, the analysis of René Girard’s Violence and the Sacred will also be helpful. Violence is an irrational and uncontrollable force, and its manifestation is tightly linked with the horror and the monstrous reality that it unveils.
Complete book: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/horror-and-philosophy/
extremely skeptical and rational. Everything in Dylan Dog’s world revolves around the absurd, the chaos without explanation, without sense, and the need to find meaning in it. This chaos can take different forms: the horror that Dylan fights, but also the satirical and nonsense humor of Groucho. This irrational dimension manifests itself also through Dylan’s love and sexual life: in almost every story, Dylan falls in love with a different woman, who usually will die or will break his heart. Love and sex are strongly connected with horror and death in Dylan Dog’s narrative: they are irrational forces, from which it is not possible to escape.
The purpose of this essay is to analyze the irrational and fearful
dimension in Dylan Dog: l’orrore, as he calls it, but also its connection
to sexuality and the comic relief provided by Groucho. This chaotic
and monstrous reality will be analyzed mainly—but not only—through the Nietzschean concepts of Apollonian and Dionysian related to the concept of absurd as described by Albert Camus. In this frame, the analysis of René Girard’s Violence and the Sacred will also be helpful. Violence is an irrational and uncontrollable force, and its manifestation is tightly linked with the horror and the monstrous reality that it unveils.
Complete book: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/horror-and-philosophy/
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Philosophy, Popular Culture, Comics Studies, Italian Literature, and 15 moreFriedrich Nietzsche, René Girard, Irrationality, Dionysus, Comic books, Humour, Existentialism, Nightmares, Horror Studies, Horror, Dylan Dog, Popculture, Monsters and the Monstrous, Absurdity, and Horror Comics
Cartesian and Western religious and philosophical traditions distinguish the body from the mind, viewing the former as a prison or a burden. The mind (spirit, soul, rationality) is identified as good, while the body is devalued and... more
Cartesian and Western religious and philosophical traditions distinguish the body from the mind, viewing the former as a prison or a burden. The mind (spirit, soul, rationality) is identified as good, while the body is devalued and associated with evil. Some philosophers restored the body's value: humans are not imprisoned spirits, but they are their bodies. Husserl, for example, claims that human beings are not an immaterial substance in a Körper, a physical body, but Leib, a living body that solves within itself the two Cartesian res. Although the Cartesian legacy survives in the Existentialism in the distinction between In-itself (the passive Being) and For-itself (the human, transcendental freedom), the second does not use the object-body as the res cogitans did: "the very nature of the For-itself demands that it be body." Nevertheless, the body plays an ambivalent role, suspended between Körper's passivity and Leib's transcendence. The chapter's focus on Arkham's female characters is not random. Leder notices that "women have consistently been associated with the bodily sphere. They have been linked with nature, sexuality, and the passions, whereas men have been identified with the rational mind. This equation implicitly legitimizes structures of domination." By associating human categories like "lunatics," "savages," or women with the immanence of the body and nature, their transcendentality is denied, and, simultaneously, men's control and domination over them is justified.
Chapter 16.
Lexington Books
Pages: 352 • Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-66693-083-2 • Hardback • September 2023
978-1-66693-084-9 • eBook • September 2023
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666930849/Batman%E2%80%99s-Villains-and-Villainesses-Multidisciplinary-Perspectives-on-Arkham%E2%80%99s-Souls
Chapter 16.
Lexington Books
Pages: 352 • Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-66693-083-2 • Hardback • September 2023
978-1-66693-084-9 • eBook • September 2023
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666930849/Batman%E2%80%99s-Villains-and-Villainesses-Multidisciplinary-Perspectives-on-Arkham%E2%80%99s-Souls
Research Interests: Philosophy, Popular Culture, Comics Studies, The Body, Edmund Husserl, and 15 moreWomen, Feminism, Body Image, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Paul Sartre, Comics and Graphic Novels, Popular Culture Studies, Superheroes, Batman, Superhero Studies, Female body, Villains, Superheroines, and Harley Quinn
The mask's role is central to the superhero narrative. The mask is a non-human identity, which replaces the civilian, human one; sometimes forever. It is what happens to the majority of Gotham's villains. While Batman can take off his... more
The mask's role is central to the superhero narrative. The mask is a non-human identity, which replaces the civilian, human one; sometimes forever. It is what happens to the majority of Gotham's villains. While Batman can take off his mask and at least pretend to be Bruce Wayne, many of his enemies do not have the same privilege. For characters like Two-Face, Joker, Zsasz, and Clayface, the mask is carved directly into their bodies. Like masks, scars can replace one's identity, but deeply and sometimes irreversibly. Bodies and masks play a central role in ancient primitive cultures, especially during initiation rituals. The two elements are distinct, but closely linked. Wearing a mask always implies a modification of the body, or at least of the way it is perceived. Furthermore, marks left on the body, whether temporary like a face paint or definitive like a tattoo, perform a similar function to that of the mask: they replace the individual's identity and communicate a message. The initiation ceremonies destroy a previous identity to create a new one. While an individuum is a Leib, a living body that is becoming and escapes an ultimate meaning, by inflicting pain and scars, the initiation rituals aim to reduce the body to a stable dimension. First an ecstasy, induced by drugs and fasting, and through the infliction of physical pain, shatters the previous identity. The Leib is reduced to the passivity of flesh. Then a new identity is literally written on the body through scars or tattoos, thus receiving an "ultimate" sense and giving him/her a role and a place within society. The scar is a new identity, like a mask carved directly on the body.
Chapter 8
Batman’s Villains and Villainesses
Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Arkham’s Souls
Lexington Books
Pages: 352 • Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-66693-083-2 • Hardback • September 2023
978-1-66693-084-9 • eBook • September 2023
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666930849/Batman%E2%80%99s-Villains-and-Villainesses-Multidisciplinary-Perspectives-on-Arkham%E2%80%99s-Souls
Chapter 8
Batman’s Villains and Villainesses
Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Arkham’s Souls
Lexington Books
Pages: 352 • Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-66693-083-2 • Hardback • September 2023
978-1-66693-084-9 • eBook • September 2023
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666930849/Batman%E2%80%99s-Villains-and-Villainesses-Multidisciplinary-Perspectives-on-Arkham%E2%80%99s-Souls
Research Interests: Anthropology, Philosophy, Popular Culture, Initiation Practices (Anthropology), Comics Studies, and 15 moreThe Body, Comics, Graphic Novels, Body Modification Studies, Comics and Graphic Novels, Popular Culture Studies, Identity, Superheroes, Initiation Rituals, Body Modification, Dc Comics, Joker, Superhero Studies, Villains, and Angelo Brelich
Dylan Dog is l'Indagatore dell'Incubo. As his profession suggests, a distinctive and recurring aspect in Dylan Dog is the dreamlike dimension of his stories. He deals with nightmares. Like a dream, Dylan's London is populated by strange... more
Dylan Dog is l'Indagatore dell'Incubo. As his profession suggests, a distinctive and recurring aspect in Dylan Dog is the dreamlike dimension of his stories. He deals with nightmares. Like a dream, Dylan's London is populated by strange creatures: ghosts, goblins, vampires, zombies, and witches. However, these creatures are not just a horrific expression of supernatural and inhuman power. Instead, they can be seen as being symbols of the human psyche, masks behind which the subconscious hides, and Jungian shadows that conceal the most terrible aspects of the human being. These monsters hide among us-they are us. The monster is our double, our Doppelgänger, the part of us we refuse and reject. The encounter with the monster is then not just scary or terrifying but unheimlich, uncanny, as Freud and Jentsch describe the word. This essay aims to analyse the unheimlich in Dylan Dog's stories by considering, with the help of Freud and Jung's concepts, the monstrous creatures that inhabit Dylan's world as Doppelgänger, mirrored images of the human being. The purpose of this essay is the same as that of Dylan: investigate and find what hides behind the terrible creatures he must face. ISBN 9781032195704 Link: https://www.routledge.com/Critical-Approaches-to-Horror-Comic-Books-Red-Ink-in-the-Gutter/Darowski-Berns/p/book/9781032195704
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Popular Culture, Comics Studies, Comics, Sigmund Freud, and 15 moreJungian and post-Jungian psychology, The Monstrous and Otherness, Monstrosity, Comic books, Horror Literature, Carl Gustav Jung, Horror Studies, Horror, Monsters, Doppelgänger, Dylan Dog, Monsters and the Monstrous, das Unheimliche, Doppelganger/double, and Italian Comics
The future of humanity and nature in the video game series "Horizon" and "The Last of Us" Presentation given for the Electricdreams International Film Festival at the IULM University in Milano. (October 16-21 2023)... more
The future of humanity and nature in the video game series "Horizon" and "The Last of Us"
Presentation given for the Electricdreams International Film Festival at the IULM University in Milano. (October 16-21 2023) https://www.iulm.it/speciali/sogni-elettrici
In contemporary popular culture, we see a growing success of post-apocalyptic narratives. Video games are no exception: successful games such as Fallout, Deus Ex, Detroit: Become Human or The Division show a world in which society as we know it has ceased to exist, a narrative choice that allows players to find themselves in a new but at the same time familiar reality, thus giving them an uncanny experience. Among the many video games that recently depicted future utopian or dystopic worlds, two can be considered the most significant, both in terms of sales (they sold more than 32 million units worldwide) and impact of the stories told: Horizon and The Last of Us. In the first, the player takes on the role of Aloi in 31st-century North America, a distant future where human civilization – first completely destroyed, then artificially recreated – has returned to a tribal lifestyle. Peculiar to this world are the gigantic animal machines, a legacy of the previous era. The Last of Us, on the other hand, offers a peculiar zombie dystopia, in which the infected are controlled by the Cordyceps fungus and humankind struggles to survive. What does it mean to live in a post-apocalyptic or even dystopian future? Adopting an existentialist perspective, this presentation intends to explore the possibilities offered to the player's avatar and its relationship with the game world (gameplay, enemies, environment), with the aim of reading both video games as a criticism of our society and as a warning about the consequences of ecological disaster and climate change.
Presentation given for the Electricdreams International Film Festival at the IULM University in Milano. (October 16-21 2023) https://www.iulm.it/speciali/sogni-elettrici
In contemporary popular culture, we see a growing success of post-apocalyptic narratives. Video games are no exception: successful games such as Fallout, Deus Ex, Detroit: Become Human or The Division show a world in which society as we know it has ceased to exist, a narrative choice that allows players to find themselves in a new but at the same time familiar reality, thus giving them an uncanny experience. Among the many video games that recently depicted future utopian or dystopic worlds, two can be considered the most significant, both in terms of sales (they sold more than 32 million units worldwide) and impact of the stories told: Horizon and The Last of Us. In the first, the player takes on the role of Aloi in 31st-century North America, a distant future where human civilization – first completely destroyed, then artificially recreated – has returned to a tribal lifestyle. Peculiar to this world are the gigantic animal machines, a legacy of the previous era. The Last of Us, on the other hand, offers a peculiar zombie dystopia, in which the infected are controlled by the Cordyceps fungus and humankind struggles to survive. What does it mean to live in a post-apocalyptic or even dystopian future? Adopting an existentialist perspective, this presentation intends to explore the possibilities offered to the player's avatar and its relationship with the game world (gameplay, enemies, environment), with the aim of reading both video games as a criticism of our society and as a warning about the consequences of ecological disaster and climate change.
Research Interests:
Superheroes do not change the world. Their mission is to protect society and its people from an “evil” threat and to preserve and restore a status quo that is overall “good”. However, what happens if there are no innocents to protect? If... more
Superheroes do not change the world. Their mission is to protect society and its people from an “evil” threat and to preserve and restore a status quo that is overall “good”. However, what happens if there are no innocents to protect? If society is not “good” but corrupt, even dystopic? Is it possible to be heroes in a dystopic world? Can the superhero save humanity from itself?
Superhero narrative gives us numerous examples of dystopic realities in film, comics, and series: zombie apocalypses like DCeased or Marvel Zombies, fascistic or socialistic totalitarianism like V for Vendetta or Superman Red Son, but also “utopic” dystopias like the worlds of WandaVision or House of M created by Scarlet Witch.
How are these worlds connected? What have the V for Vendetta’s fascistic dictatorship and the small and perfect Town of Westview in common? They are dystopias, even if of a different kind, catastrophic realities in which the society as we know it ceased to exist. We can consider them to explore the common characteristic of a dystopic world and analyse the hero’s role in these kinds of reality – if we can still talk about heroes, of course. In fact, V of Moore, the socialist Superman of Millar and Scarlet Witch have heroics qualities, but they are also forced to take decisions and actions that we define as “evil”. Typical of the antiheroic narrative, these universes put us in front of impossible moral choices.
Can a superhero impose a utopia, saving men from themselves? If society collapsed and there is nothing left to save, what role does the hero have? Is it possible to be a hero in a condemned world? To survive a dystopia, the superhero (and the reader) must adopt a new moral compass and confront himself with different and extreme worldviews. How long can he stare into the abyss without becoming a monster himself? Which actions can be justified to save humanity? Where can we trace a line between justice and revenge? These questions lead this analysis, which finds its philosophical bases, especially but not only, on Albert Camus’ work. Conference Link: https://www.uni-due.de/balc/superhero_five.php
Superhero narrative gives us numerous examples of dystopic realities in film, comics, and series: zombie apocalypses like DCeased or Marvel Zombies, fascistic or socialistic totalitarianism like V for Vendetta or Superman Red Son, but also “utopic” dystopias like the worlds of WandaVision or House of M created by Scarlet Witch.
How are these worlds connected? What have the V for Vendetta’s fascistic dictatorship and the small and perfect Town of Westview in common? They are dystopias, even if of a different kind, catastrophic realities in which the society as we know it ceased to exist. We can consider them to explore the common characteristic of a dystopic world and analyse the hero’s role in these kinds of reality – if we can still talk about heroes, of course. In fact, V of Moore, the socialist Superman of Millar and Scarlet Witch have heroics qualities, but they are also forced to take decisions and actions that we define as “evil”. Typical of the antiheroic narrative, these universes put us in front of impossible moral choices.
Can a superhero impose a utopia, saving men from themselves? If society collapsed and there is nothing left to save, what role does the hero have? Is it possible to be a hero in a condemned world? To survive a dystopia, the superhero (and the reader) must adopt a new moral compass and confront himself with different and extreme worldviews. How long can he stare into the abyss without becoming a monster himself? Which actions can be justified to save humanity? Where can we trace a line between justice and revenge? These questions lead this analysis, which finds its philosophical bases, especially but not only, on Albert Camus’ work. Conference Link: https://www.uni-due.de/balc/superhero_five.php
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Philosophy, Dystopian Literature, Popular Culture, Comic Book Studies, and 15 moreComics, Popular Culture and Religious Studies, Heroism, Comics and Graphic Novels, Albert Camus, Superheroes, Utopia, Zombies, Marvel Comics, Superman, Dystopia, Utopia/dystopia, Catastrophes, Antihero, and Superhero Studies
What do have in common V for Vendetta’s fascistic dictatorship, the US on the verge of a nuclear conflict of Watchmen and The Last of Us’ zombie apocalypse? They are dystopias, even if of a different kind, catastrophic realities in which... more
What do have in common V for Vendetta’s fascistic dictatorship, the US on the verge of a nuclear conflict of Watchmen and The Last of Us’ zombie apocalypse? They are dystopias, even if of a different kind, catastrophic realities in which the society as we know it ceased to exist. We can consider them to explore the common characteristic of a dystopic world and analyse the hero’s role in these kinds of reality – if we can still talk about heroes, of course. In fact, both V created by Alan Moore and Joel and Ellie created by Naughty Dog have strong heroic qualities, but they are also forced to decisions and actions that we would define “evil” in a normal situation. Typical of the antiheroic narrative, both universes put us in front of impossible moral choices.
V for Vendetta and Watchmen’s choice is not random: Moore’s graphic novels are two of the best examples of (super)hero deconstruction. Through these works, it is possible to define the concept of “hero” and his role inside a dystopia. Marco Arnaudo writes that “in a world on the verge of collapse, scene of endless conflicts, massacres, genocides, threatened by ecological catastrophes with apocalyptic consequences, superheroes [...] [represent] a gross lie” (182). Is it true? If society collapsed and there is nothing left to save, what role does the hero have? Is it possible to be a hero in a condemned world?
The answers to those questions will be confronted with the post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us. Inside Joel and Ellie’s America, the player is also forced to immoral actions to survive and go on in the game. However, to what end if there is nothing left to save?
In order to survive a dystopia, the player is forced to adopt a new moral compass and confront himself with different and extreme worldviews. How long can we stare into the abyss without becoming monsters ourselves? Which actions can be justified to save humanity? Where can we trace a line between justice and revenge? These questions lead this analysis, which finds its philosophical bases, especially on Albert Camus’ works.
V for Vendetta and Watchmen’s choice is not random: Moore’s graphic novels are two of the best examples of (super)hero deconstruction. Through these works, it is possible to define the concept of “hero” and his role inside a dystopia. Marco Arnaudo writes that “in a world on the verge of collapse, scene of endless conflicts, massacres, genocides, threatened by ecological catastrophes with apocalyptic consequences, superheroes [...] [represent] a gross lie” (182). Is it true? If society collapsed and there is nothing left to save, what role does the hero have? Is it possible to be a hero in a condemned world?
The answers to those questions will be confronted with the post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us. Inside Joel and Ellie’s America, the player is also forced to immoral actions to survive and go on in the game. However, to what end if there is nothing left to save?
In order to survive a dystopia, the player is forced to adopt a new moral compass and confront himself with different and extreme worldviews. How long can we stare into the abyss without becoming monsters ourselves? Which actions can be justified to save humanity? Where can we trace a line between justice and revenge? These questions lead this analysis, which finds its philosophical bases, especially on Albert Camus’ works.
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Philosophy, Dystopian Literature, Popular Culture, Video Games, and 15 moreHeroism, Dystopian Fiction, Videogames, Albert Camus, Videogames and Philosophy, Superheroes, Zombies, Utopian, Dystopian, and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction, Alan Moore, Dystopia, Utopia/dystopia, Catastrophes, Antihero, Superhero Studies, and The Last of Us Part II
The antihero embodies competing values; he is the symptom of a crisis, and he exasperates it. During the 1980s these characters have their greatest success in superhero comics. The so-called Dark Age follows a profound crisis in American... more
The antihero embodies competing values; he is the symptom of a crisis, and he exasperates it. During the 1980s these characters have their greatest success in superhero comics. The so-called Dark Age follows a profound crisis in American society, marked by the Vietnam War, the fear of nuclear conflict, but also by alternative cultural and social movements. Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, together with Alan Moore’s Watchmen, are the graphic novels that represent this transformation.Today, the western world faces a new crisis. Economic uncertainty, mass migrations, encounters and clashes with different cultures, terrorism, pandemics: our worldview and our truths are wavering. Superhero universe mirrors all of these. Antiheroes become more and more numerous, and superheroes lose a clear definition. Marvel’s Civil War is probably the most emblematic example.We are witnessing a new proliferation of antiheroes, and even superheroes are changing. The classic superheroes have begun to kill. Their relationship with the mask, with society, becomes much more problematic and "anti-heroic".I will refer to Nietzschean concepts, such as the mask to distinguish the superhero and the antihero. Comparing Dark Age’s antiheroes with contemporary films and comics I will show how our perception of “heroes” has changed.
Link: https://figshare.arts.ac.uk/articles/presentation/Marco_Favaro_-_What_if_Superheroes_kill_Evolution_of_Superheroes_and_Antiheroes_during_the_Post-heroic_Age/12562214
Link: https://figshare.arts.ac.uk/articles/presentation/Marco_Favaro_-_What_if_Superheroes_kill_Evolution_of_Superheroes_and_Antiheroes_during_the_Post-heroic_Age/12562214
Research Interests:
Superheroines are paradoxical figures: they are empowering, and yet hypersexualized, strong and independent, and yet they fight for a society in which women are subordinate to men. “The female superhero originates in an act of criticism –... more
Superheroines are paradoxical figures: they are empowering, and yet hypersexualized, strong and independent, and yet they fight for a society in which women are subordinate to men. “The female superhero originates in an act of criticism – a challenge to the masculinist world of superhero adventures”, writes Lillian S. Robinson in Wonder Women. However, at the same time, as superheroines, they should embody the values of the society they are protecting, that means they embody the status quo and confirm its stereotypes; but in a prevalent male chauvinistic society, where men are in power and women must fight for their rights, how can they protect this kind of status quo?
Thus, an ambiguous situation is created in which the status quo comes at once protected and questioned. In the superheroine “stereotype and innovation work together” concludes Robinson. Even if they are objectified, drawn with hypersexualized bodies, provocative, with revealing clothes, superwomen always keep an antiheroic element, disruptive, potentially revolutionary – even monstrous when it appears in villainesses.
“The ambitious woman and the heroine are strange monsters”, writes Simone De Beauvoir in Le Deuxieme Sexe. Like antiheroes, superheroines are dangerous threats to the status quo; they challenge our stereotype about women and superheroes. Their hyper-sexualization appears then as a way to control them, to exorcise their potential threat.
“In this modem era, the hero is a heroine; however, this 21st Century heroine still more closely resembles the antiheroic archetype”, writes Cynthia Lyles-Scott. Is it true? Are superwomen, today, still extremely antiheroic? How are they challenging our concepts of “hero” and “heroine”? I will try to answer these questions: through the analysis of characters like Wonder Woman, Jessica Jones, the new Ms. Marvel and Catwoman, and referring to Simone De Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre philosophy, I will focus on this antiheroic aspect of superwomen in comic books and its dialectic with the most normative and stereotypical ones.
Thus, an ambiguous situation is created in which the status quo comes at once protected and questioned. In the superheroine “stereotype and innovation work together” concludes Robinson. Even if they are objectified, drawn with hypersexualized bodies, provocative, with revealing clothes, superwomen always keep an antiheroic element, disruptive, potentially revolutionary – even monstrous when it appears in villainesses.
“The ambitious woman and the heroine are strange monsters”, writes Simone De Beauvoir in Le Deuxieme Sexe. Like antiheroes, superheroines are dangerous threats to the status quo; they challenge our stereotype about women and superheroes. Their hyper-sexualization appears then as a way to control them, to exorcise their potential threat.
“In this modem era, the hero is a heroine; however, this 21st Century heroine still more closely resembles the antiheroic archetype”, writes Cynthia Lyles-Scott. Is it true? Are superwomen, today, still extremely antiheroic? How are they challenging our concepts of “hero” and “heroine”? I will try to answer these questions: through the analysis of characters like Wonder Woman, Jessica Jones, the new Ms. Marvel and Catwoman, and referring to Simone De Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre philosophy, I will focus on this antiheroic aspect of superwomen in comic books and its dialectic with the most normative and stereotypical ones.
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Feminist Theory, Comics Studies, Sexuality, Gender and Sexuality, and 15 moreHeroism, Feminism, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean Paul Sartre, Feminist Literary Theory and Gender Studies, Comics and Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Marvel Comics, Existentialism, Dc Comics, Antihero, Wonder Woman, Superheroines, antiheroines, and Postheroic Age
Unhappy is the land that needs an anti-hero: a land in crisis, without a clear moral, without truths. The anti-hero embodies competing values; on the one hand, he is born of a crisis, on the other exasperates it, leads it to the extreme... more
Unhappy is the land that needs an anti-hero: a land in crisis, without a clear moral, without truths. The anti-hero embodies competing values; on the one hand, he is born of a crisis, on the other exasperates it, leads it to the extreme consequences.
During the 1980s these characters have their greatest success in superhero comics. The so-called Dark Age follows a profound crisis in American society, marked by the Vietnam War, the fear of nuclear conflict, but also by alternative cultural and social movements. A profound social transformation that inevitably brings with it a crisis of certainties, morals and values. Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, together with Alan Moore’s Watchmen and V for Vendetta, are the graphic novels that more than any other represent this transformation.
Today, the western world faces a new crisis. Economic uncertainty, mass migrations, encounters and clashes with different cultures, terrorism: our worldview and our truths are wavering. Superhero universe mirrors all of these. Antiheroes become more and more numerous, and superheroes lose a clear definition. Marvel’s Civil War, saga directly linked to the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent PATRIOT Act, is probably the most emblematic example, an ideal beginning of this new Age.
The historical moment is comparable to the Dark Age. We are not just witnessing a new proliferation of anti-heroes: even superheroes and the way we perceive them are changing. The line between superhero and anti-hero becomes confused. The classic superheroes have begun to kill – the latest Batman and Superman films are emblematic. Superheroes’ relationship with the mask, with society, becomes much more problematic and "anti-heroic".
I will refer to Nietzschean concepts, such as the mask, the Apollonian and the Dionysian, the Übermensch, to distinguish the superhero and the anti-hero, in his relationship with the mask and the society, in his morality. Comparing Dark Age’s anti-heroes (Miller’s Batman, Rorschach, V) with contemporary films and comics like The Authority, Civil War, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight, I will show how our perception of anti-heroes and superheroes has changed.
https://www.uni-due.de/balc/superhero.php
During the 1980s these characters have their greatest success in superhero comics. The so-called Dark Age follows a profound crisis in American society, marked by the Vietnam War, the fear of nuclear conflict, but also by alternative cultural and social movements. A profound social transformation that inevitably brings with it a crisis of certainties, morals and values. Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, together with Alan Moore’s Watchmen and V for Vendetta, are the graphic novels that more than any other represent this transformation.
Today, the western world faces a new crisis. Economic uncertainty, mass migrations, encounters and clashes with different cultures, terrorism: our worldview and our truths are wavering. Superhero universe mirrors all of these. Antiheroes become more and more numerous, and superheroes lose a clear definition. Marvel’s Civil War, saga directly linked to the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent PATRIOT Act, is probably the most emblematic example, an ideal beginning of this new Age.
The historical moment is comparable to the Dark Age. We are not just witnessing a new proliferation of anti-heroes: even superheroes and the way we perceive them are changing. The line between superhero and anti-hero becomes confused. The classic superheroes have begun to kill – the latest Batman and Superman films are emblematic. Superheroes’ relationship with the mask, with society, becomes much more problematic and "anti-heroic".
I will refer to Nietzschean concepts, such as the mask, the Apollonian and the Dionysian, the Übermensch, to distinguish the superhero and the anti-hero, in his relationship with the mask and the society, in his morality. Comparing Dark Age’s anti-heroes (Miller’s Batman, Rorschach, V) with contemporary films and comics like The Authority, Civil War, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight, I will show how our perception of anti-heroes and superheroes has changed.
https://www.uni-due.de/balc/superhero.php
Research Interests:
In his essay The Myth of Superman, Umberto Eco claims that in superhero comics nothing really changes: this is one of the most characteristic aspects of the superhero who is a status quo defender. By the end of each story, everything is... more
In his essay The Myth of Superman, Umberto Eco claims that in superhero comics nothing really changes: this is one of the most characteristic aspects of the superhero who is a status quo defender. By the end of each story, everything is back to normal. It’s 1964 when Eco wrote it, 20 years before one of the biggest revolutions in the superhero comic books history, the beginning of the Dark Age.
Graphic novels like Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The Dark Knight Returns revolutionize the concept of "superhero". But we are not talking about superheroes anymore, we are in front of antiheroes. Something else is different too: in these stories, something really happens, there is not a return to the status quo, but a transformation, sometime a revolution.
The difference between superhero and antihero means also a difference between the kind of story, between comic and graphic novel. I argue that the antihero narrative is linked to the graphic novel format, while superheroes go on with their infinite battle to defend the status quo on the pages of comic books.
Graphic novels like Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The Dark Knight Returns revolutionize the concept of "superhero". But we are not talking about superheroes anymore, we are in front of antiheroes. Something else is different too: in these stories, something really happens, there is not a return to the status quo, but a transformation, sometime a revolution.
The difference between superhero and antihero means also a difference between the kind of story, between comic and graphic novel. I argue that the antihero narrative is linked to the graphic novel format, while superheroes go on with their infinite battle to defend the status quo on the pages of comic books.
Research Interests:
Batman and Joker are two of the most famous characters born on the pages of a superheroic comic book. Their popularity goes far beyond the paper world they are from: it reaches every mass culture’s corner. The symbolic strength of those... more
Batman and Joker are two of the most famous characters born on the pages of a superheroic comic book. Their popularity goes far beyond the paper world they are from: it reaches every mass culture’s corner. The symbolic strength of those characters and their resonance on the collective imagination is not restricted to entertainment phenomena but reaches psychological, literary, anthropological and philosophical themes and concepts. It is from the philosophical point of view that I intend to analyse the relationship between the dark knight and the clown prince of crime.
I will refer to Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy, namely his analysis of the Apollonian and Dionysian concept, in order to analyse the relationship between Batman and his nemesis. Joker as a chaotic and irrational force on the one side and Batman, who tries with all his strength to oppose the chaos and absurdity, marking his life since the murder of his parents on the other side. I will show how this fight embodies the eternal struggle between the two Nietzschean principles.
First, I will investigate Batman and Joker’s birth: why do they create a whole new identity? How is Joker’s reaction to suffering and irrationality different from Batman’s one? I will then dig deeper into the relationship and the fight between the two enemies, focusing mainly on the balance of their morbid relationship. Finally, taking into consideration the Nietzschean concept of the Übermensch, I will try to understand if one of the two characters comes to incarnate the Beyond-Man described by the German philosopher.
I will mainly refer to the most emblematic stories lived by the two characters, which are: Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum and The Death of the Family and End Game by Scott Snyder.
I will refer to Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy, namely his analysis of the Apollonian and Dionysian concept, in order to analyse the relationship between Batman and his nemesis. Joker as a chaotic and irrational force on the one side and Batman, who tries with all his strength to oppose the chaos and absurdity, marking his life since the murder of his parents on the other side. I will show how this fight embodies the eternal struggle between the two Nietzschean principles.
First, I will investigate Batman and Joker’s birth: why do they create a whole new identity? How is Joker’s reaction to suffering and irrationality different from Batman’s one? I will then dig deeper into the relationship and the fight between the two enemies, focusing mainly on the balance of their morbid relationship. Finally, taking into consideration the Nietzschean concept of the Übermensch, I will try to understand if one of the two characters comes to incarnate the Beyond-Man described by the German philosopher.
I will mainly refer to the most emblematic stories lived by the two characters, which are: Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum and The Death of the Family and End Game by Scott Snyder.
Research Interests:
Today superheroes have a huge success in movies and television series, but originally the superhero genre is born on the pages of comics. What are the comic’s characteristics that helped the superhero genre to obtain so much success? How... more
Today superheroes have a huge success in movies and television series, but originally the superhero genre is born on the pages of comics. What are the comic’s characteristics that helped the superhero genre to obtain so much success? How are these characteristics linked to the aspects that define this genre? How a different approach to the artistic potentialities of comics can change the perception we have of superhero, villains and antihero? These are the questions I will try to answer with this work. I analyse different comic media’s aspects like the colour, the symbolism, the “gutter” (the space between the panels) and the time of comic and graphic novels.
I will refer to Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, Reading comics by Wolk Douglas and to Umberto Eco’s essay The Myth of Superman. I argue that comics and graphic novels have spurred the success of the superhero not only for economic reasons but mostly because of their peculiar characteristics. I show how a different use of the potential offered by this medium modifies the characters themselves, sometimes breaking down the barriers that divide hero, villain and antihero.
I will refer to Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, Reading comics by Wolk Douglas and to Umberto Eco’s essay The Myth of Superman. I argue that comics and graphic novels have spurred the success of the superhero not only for economic reasons but mostly because of their peculiar characteristics. I show how a different use of the potential offered by this medium modifies the characters themselves, sometimes breaking down the barriers that divide hero, villain and antihero.
Research Interests:
The monster is usually seen as a symbol of absolute otherness. Since ancient times the heroes of the myth have been fighting against monsters to defend civilisation against the inhuman that threats it. Even today modern superheroes carry... more
The monster is usually seen as a symbol of absolute otherness. Since ancient times the heroes of the myth have been fighting against monsters to defend civilisation against the inhuman that threats it. Even today modern superheroes carry on this battle.
Yet, as noted by Angelo Brelich in “The Greek Heroes”, distinguishing between monsters and heroes is not as simple as it seems. In “Freaks. Myths and images of the secret ego", Leslie Fiedler describes the monsters as characterised by excess or defects. However, what most characterises the monstrous remains the Double, with creatures that cross the boundaries between the human and animal kingdom, between big and small, between man and divinity, life and death. Excess, dualism, hybrid man-animal: we are describing heroes. The heroes of the myth are themselves similar, if not the same, to the monsters that they fight. What about superheroes?
Even modern superheroes are often inhuman, alien, mutant. Why then do we call them heroes and not monsters? My analysis focuses on the modern superhero: has he monstrous aspects in common with the mythological hero? Is he different from his enemies? What are the differences? If even the superheroes reveal monstrous characteristics, why do we not perceive them as monsters themselves? Does it depend on their relationship with the villains?
Taking as example superheroes and villains like Batman, Joker, Daredevil, Spider-Man, Goblin and Superman and referring, in addition to the two authors already mentioned, also to “Violence and the Sacred" by René Girard, I will show that society needs monsters to sacrifice. However, these monsters sometimes are born inside the society, and maybe they are not so different from us as we would like to think.
Yet, as noted by Angelo Brelich in “The Greek Heroes”, distinguishing between monsters and heroes is not as simple as it seems. In “Freaks. Myths and images of the secret ego", Leslie Fiedler describes the monsters as characterised by excess or defects. However, what most characterises the monstrous remains the Double, with creatures that cross the boundaries between the human and animal kingdom, between big and small, between man and divinity, life and death. Excess, dualism, hybrid man-animal: we are describing heroes. The heroes of the myth are themselves similar, if not the same, to the monsters that they fight. What about superheroes?
Even modern superheroes are often inhuman, alien, mutant. Why then do we call them heroes and not monsters? My analysis focuses on the modern superhero: has he monstrous aspects in common with the mythological hero? Is he different from his enemies? What are the differences? If even the superheroes reveal monstrous characteristics, why do we not perceive them as monsters themselves? Does it depend on their relationship with the villains?
Taking as example superheroes and villains like Batman, Joker, Daredevil, Spider-Man, Goblin and Superman and referring, in addition to the two authors already mentioned, also to “Violence and the Sacred" by René Girard, I will show that society needs monsters to sacrifice. However, these monsters sometimes are born inside the society, and maybe they are not so different from us as we would like to think.
Research Interests:
The superhero wears a mask or a costume. The mask’s purpose is not only to hide who he/she is but also to show a completely new identity. The person behind the mask is forced to create a new identity after a tragic event, a trauma: the... more
The superhero wears a mask or a costume. The mask’s purpose is not only to hide who he/she is but also to show a completely new identity. The person behind the mask is forced to create a new identity after a tragic event, a trauma: the experience of absurdity. Batman lost his parents, Spider-Man his uncle Ben, Daredevil his father – there are hundreds of examples. I will also show that while the superhero stays in connection with his previous “human” identity (he has a double identity), the specific identity of the antihero becomes his mask – character. V (V for Vendetta) or Rorschach (Watchmen) are perfect examples thereof. Each of them finds itself in a new reality where the meaning the world has had until that moment gets lost. They must create a new meaning which involves a new identity and a new interpretation of the world. I will refer to F. Nietzsche's concept of the mask in connection with the pain and the absurdity of existence.
This new identity created by the superhero and the antihero is not a common one: it embodies a symbol, a supernatural force, an ideal. The superhero wants to be seen, but only in the way that he has chosen. With his disguise, he tries to deprive other people of the possibility to objectify him. He wants to be – and to be seen – only as what he has chosen to be. I will refer to J.P. Sartre and his concept of Subject (being-for-itself) and Object (being-in-itself), in connection of course with being-for-others.
Thanks to the connection of Nietzsche’s and Sartre’s philosophy I will show that the new identity taken on by the superhero creates a new meaning of the world.
This new identity created by the superhero and the antihero is not a common one: it embodies a symbol, a supernatural force, an ideal. The superhero wants to be seen, but only in the way that he has chosen. With his disguise, he tries to deprive other people of the possibility to objectify him. He wants to be – and to be seen – only as what he has chosen to be. I will refer to J.P. Sartre and his concept of Subject (being-for-itself) and Object (being-in-itself), in connection of course with being-for-others.
Thanks to the connection of Nietzsche’s and Sartre’s philosophy I will show that the new identity taken on by the superhero creates a new meaning of the world.
Research Interests:
What is the body’s future? Will humankind move away from its factual dimension, increasingly turning to a technological transcendence, or will we be reminded that, despite our scientific and technological power, we remain flesh and blood?... more
What is the body’s future? Will humankind move away from its factual dimension, increasingly turning to a technological transcendence, or will we be reminded that, despite our scientific and technological power, we remain flesh and blood? By focusing on The Last of Us and Horizon, two video games whose narratives take place in the future, the article investigates the role that the body assumes and how it is represented in future scenarios. The two virtual universes created by Naughty Dog and Guerrilla are artworks, through which we can try to sense the art’s future. Will it move away, from the factual dimension as the digital medium seems to suggest, or will it be forced to rediscover it?
- News: https://www.instituteforthefuture.it/futuri-19-corpi-performativi/
- Ebook: https://www.instituteforthefuture.it/prodotto/futuri-19-corpi-performativi-pdf/
- Cartaceo: https://www.instituteforthefuture.it/prodotto/futuri-19-corpi-performativi/
- News: https://www.instituteforthefuture.it/futuri-19-corpi-performativi/
- Ebook: https://www.instituteforthefuture.it/prodotto/futuri-19-corpi-performativi-pdf/
- Cartaceo: https://www.instituteforthefuture.it/prodotto/futuri-19-corpi-performativi/
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Future Studies, Philosophy, Dystopian Literature, Popular Culture, and 15 moreThe Body, Pop Culture, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Paul Sartre, Futures Studies, Dystopian Fiction, Popular Culture Studies, Videogames, Videogames and Philosophy, Sartre, Existentialism, Dystopia, Horizon, Utopia/Distopia, and The Last of Us Part II
In contemporary popular culture, we see a growing number of both antiheroic characters and dystopias in which society as we know it has ceased to exist. Antiheroes are not necessarily placed in dystopian narratives, but the combination of... more
In contemporary popular culture, we see a growing number of both antiheroic characters and dystopias in which society as we know it has ceased to exist. Antiheroes are not necessarily placed in dystopian narratives, but the combination of antihero-dystopias is significant. The dystopia forces us to adopt a new moral compass, one which does not allow a superficial dichotomy of good versus evil. Camus’ philosophical ideas, particularly those articulated in The Rebel, are vital to understanding the controversial morality of the dystopic narrative. If society collapses and there is nothing left to save, what role does the hero have? Is it possible to be a hero in a condemned world? The answers to these questions will be addressed in relation to three media fictions: V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and The Last of Us. This article explores the possibility that the only possible heroism inside a dystopian narrative is antiheroic.
Link: https://tidsskrift.dk/imaginingtheimpossible/issue/view/9701
Link: https://tidsskrift.dk/imaginingtheimpossible/issue/view/9701
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Dystopian Literature, Popular Culture, Comics Studies, Graphic Novels, and 15 moreDystopias, Dystopian Fiction, Comics and Graphic Novels, Videogames, Videogames and Philosophy, Alan Moore, Dystopia, Watchmen, Videogames research, Antihero, Antiheroes, Antihero Archetype, The Last Of Us, The Last of Us Part II, and Antiheroism
In contemporary popular culture, we see a growing number of both antiheroic characters and dystopias in which society as we know it has ceased to exist. Antiheroes are not necessarily placed in dystopian narratives, but the combination of... more
In contemporary popular culture, we see a growing number of both antiheroic characters and dystopias in which society as we know it has ceased to exist. Antiheroes are not necessarily placed in dystopian narratives, but the combination of antihero-dystopias is significant. The dystopia forces us to adopt a new moral compass, one which does not allow a superficial dichotomy of good versus evil. Camus’ philosophical ideas, particularly those articulated in The Rebel, are vital to understanding the controversial morality of the dystopic narrative. If society collapses and there is nothing left to save, what role does the hero have? Is it possible to be a hero in a condemned world? The answers to these questions will be addressed in relation to three media fictions: V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and The Last of Us. This article explores the possibility that the only possible heroism inside a dystopian narrative is antiheroic. LINK: https://tidsskrift.dk/imaginingtheimpossible/article/view/129923
Research Interests: Dystopian Literature, Popular Culture, Comics Studies, Video Games, Totalitarianism, and 15 moreHeroes, Comics, Heroism, Friedrich Nietzsche, Dystopias, American Popular Culture, Dystopian Fiction, Comics and Graphic Novels, Videogames, Albert Camus, Videogames and Philosophy, Rebellion, Alan Moore, Dystopia, and Antihero
03/07/2020 11:00 Room 2 #whahspThe antihero embodies competing values; he is the symptom of a crisis, and he exasperates it. During the 1980s these characters have their greatest success in superhero comics. The so-called Dark Age follows... more
03/07/2020 11:00 Room 2 #whahspThe antihero embodies competing values; he is the symptom of a crisis, and he exasperates it. During the 1980s these characters have their greatest success in superhero comics. The so-called Dark Age follows a profound crisis in American society, marked by the Vietnam War, the fear of nuclear conflict, but also by alternative cultural and social movements. Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, together with Alan Moore’s Watchmen, are the graphic novels that represent this transformation.Today, the western world faces a new crisis. Economic uncertainty, mass migrations, encounters and clashes with different cultures, terrorism, pandemics: our worldview and our truths are wavering. Superhero universe mirrors all of these. Antiheroes become more and more numerous, and superheroes lose a clear definition. Marvel’s Civil War is probably the most emblematic example.We are witnessing a new proliferation of antiheroes, and even superheroes are changing. The ...
Research Interests:
The 1980s: The Superhero genre experiments the most significant transformation since the creation of Superman in 1939. A new age of superheroes begins, in which the funny characters for children become darker, violent, brutal, more and... more
The 1980s: The Superhero genre experiments the most significant transformation since the creation of Superman in 1939. A new age of superheroes begins, in which the funny characters for children become darker, violent, brutal, more and more realistic, disenchanted and adult. In Supergods Grant Morrison will call it Dark Age, when the antihero takes the superhero’s place. The Dark Age is considered the biggest revolution in superheroes comics – and yet it is possible to see many warning signs during the Silver Age: a man – The Man – had already started to revolutionize the superheroes world: Stan Lee. Stan created dozens of characters: his superheroes are more complex and human than ever before. They are anticipating the Dark Age, twenty years before it. Thanks to some of the most iconic creations of The Man, this article will show the characteristic of these characters who anticipate the Dark Age’s revolution. LINK: https://revistas.unilasalle.edu.br/index.php/Dialogo/article/view/5788
Research Interests:
A década de 1980: O gênero Superhero experimenta a transformação mais significativa desde a criação do Superman em 1939. Começa uma nova era de super-heróis, na qual os personagens engraçados ficam mais escuros, violentos, brutais, mais e... more
A década de 1980: O gênero Superhero experimenta a transformação mais significativa desde a criação do Superman em 1939. Começa uma nova era de super-heróis, na qual os personagens engraçados ficam mais escuros, violentos, brutais, mais e mais realistas, desencantados e adultos. Em Supergods, Grant Morrison vai chamar de Dark Age, quando o anti-herói toma o lugar do super-herói. A Idade das Trevas é considerada a maior revolução nos quadrinhos dos super-heróis - e ainda é possível ver muitos sinais de alerta durante a Era de Prata: um homem - O Homem - já havia começado a revolucionar o mundo dos super-heróis: Stan Lee. Stan criou dezenas de personagens: seus super-heróis são mais complexos e humanos do que nunca. Eles estão antecipando a Idade das Trevas, vinte anos antes. Graças a algumas das criações mais icônicas do The Man, este artigo mostrará a característica desses personagens que antecipam a revolução da Idade das Trevas.
Research Interests:
Qual è il compito degli eroi in una catastrofe? Quando la società entra in crisi e c'è bisogno di criticarla e cambiarla, forse persino distruggerla e rivoluzionarla, la figura dell'eroe e del supereroe - difensore dello status quo par... more
Qual è il compito degli eroi in una catastrofe? Quando la società entra in crisi e c'è bisogno di criticarla e cambiarla, forse persino distruggerla e rivoluzionarla, la figura dell'eroe e del supereroe - difensore dello status quo par excellence - perde il suo significato. Sorge invece, dalle ceneri della catastrofe, l'antieroe. Questo non propone soluzioni, ma piuttosto porta la crisi alle estreme, catastrofiche conseguenze. Eppure, da questa distruzione, può essere creato qualcosa di nuovo. Un nuovo significato può essere ritrovato anche tra le rovine rimaste dopo la catastrofe.
https://045publishing.bigcartel.com/product/essere-catastrofe-issue-n-3
https://www.malorarivista.it/2021/01/24/un-mondo-senza-eroi-catastrofi-per-futuri-incerti/
https://045publishing.bigcartel.com/product/essere-catastrofe-issue-n-3
https://www.malorarivista.it/2021/01/24/un-mondo-senza-eroi-catastrofi-per-futuri-incerti/
Research Interests:
The 1980s: The Superhero genre experiments the most significant transformation since the creation of Superman in 1939. A new age of superheroes begins, in which the funny characters for children become darker, violent, brutal, more and... more
The 1980s: The Superhero genre experiments the most significant transformation since the creation of Superman in 1939. A new age of superheroes begins, in which the funny characters for children become darker, violent, brutal, more and more realistic, disenchanted and adult. In Supergods Grant Morrison will call it Dark Age, when the antihero takes the superhero’s place. The Dark Age is considered the biggest revolution in superheroes comics – and yet it is possible to see many warning signs during the Silver Age: a man – The Man – had already started to revolutionize the superheroes world: Stan Lee. Stan created dozens of characters: his superheroes are more complex and human than ever before. They are anticipating the Dark Age, twenty years before it. Thanks to some of the most iconic creations of The Man, this article will show the characteristic of these characters who anticipate the Dark Age’s revolution.
https://revistas.unilasalle.edu.br/index.php/Dialogo/article/view/5788
https://revistas.unilasalle.edu.br/index.php/Dialogo/article/view/5788
Research Interests:
What remains of the mythological hero's legacy in the superhero? In this work I analyze the relationship between the modern superhero and the ancient mythological hero. The work is divided into three main parts: in the first one I use the... more
What remains of the mythological hero's legacy in the superhero? In this work I analyze the relationship between the modern superhero and the ancient mythological hero. The work is divided into three main parts: in the first one I use the analysis of J. Campbell " The hero with a thousand faces " and " Gli eroi greci " of A. Brelich. For Campbell, the hero is defined by his journey that is divided in three moments: Departure, Initiation and Return. I argue that the superhero, unlike the mythological heroes, never completes this journey. Batman, Spider-Man, Daredevil: they are prisoners of the " Initiation " , they never return to the community, they stay in the " liminal status ". I refer to Brelich to show the aspects of the ancient mythology which are still strong in the superhero's world such as the relationship with the cities, the fight, the mysteries and the ritual of passage. In the second part, I deepen one important aspect of the mythological hero: his hubris. It manifests itself in all his monstrous aspects, especially in the violence. Referring to R. Girard's "La violenza e il sacro", I show how violence and suffering not only survive in the modern superhero but are necessary to define its relationship with society. Finally, in the third part, reconnecting to the hubris, the monstrous aspect of the hero, I deepen his relationship with the monsters he fights. I show that monsters and heroes are not so different and they present many traits in common. Both in ancient mythology and in modern comics the hero often becomes a monster to fight against other atrocities. In the superhero universe, despite a clearer division between heroes and villains, between Good and Evil, the superheroes preserve the monstrous aspects present in the hero of myth and a strong connection with their enemies. Each of these elements will be studied in connection with the most iconic superheroes.
Research Interests:
Per l´uscita del proseguo de "Le Terrificanti scoperte del Dottor Kraus" Ilenia Loddo ci parla del suo lavoro e di leggende e storie di fantasmi della sua terra. Esce, pubblicato da Camena Edizioni, le Panas, il secondo volume della... more
Per l´uscita del proseguo de "Le Terrificanti scoperte del Dottor Kraus" Ilenia Loddo ci parla del suo lavoro e di leggende e storie di fantasmi della sua terra.
Esce, pubblicato da Camena Edizioni, le Panas, il secondo volume della serie Le terrificanti scoperte del dottor Kraus. L’autrice, Ilenia Loddo, prosegue il suo racconto grafico di alcune delle leggende meno conosciute della sua terra natia, la Sardegna. Come nasce questo progetto? E quali sono le peculiarità dell´horror sardo? Ecco le risposte di Ilenia alle nostre domande.
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/sardegna-horror-stories-intervista-a-ilenia-loddo/
Esce, pubblicato da Camena Edizioni, le Panas, il secondo volume della serie Le terrificanti scoperte del dottor Kraus. L’autrice, Ilenia Loddo, prosegue il suo racconto grafico di alcune delle leggende meno conosciute della sua terra natia, la Sardegna. Come nasce questo progetto? E quali sono le peculiarità dell´horror sardo? Ecco le risposte di Ilenia alle nostre domande.
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/sardegna-horror-stories-intervista-a-ilenia-loddo/
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, Folklore, Italian Studies, Comics Studies, Ghosts, and 15 moreCultural History Of Ghosts, Italian Literature, Folk legends, Graphic Novels, Comics and Graphic Novels, Horror Literature, Interview, Sardinia, Horror Studies, Sardegna, Horror, Letteratura sarda, Witches, Ghost stories, and Italian Folklore
Per l´uscita di Fino a 21, la seconda graphic novel di Cristina "Ki" Casini, ho avuto l'opportunità di parlare con l’autrice.
Link: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/raccontare-supernove-intervista-a-cristina-ki-casini/
Link: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/raccontare-supernove-intervista-a-cristina-ki-casini/
Research Interests:
Reportage-intervista di un incontro di Zerocalcare a Berlino dedicato a "No sleep till Shengal", ovvero cronache di una serata “molto italiana”.
LINK:
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/zerocalcare-come-si-traduce-aho-in-tedesco/
LINK:
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/zerocalcare-come-si-traduce-aho-in-tedesco/
Research Interests:
What makes an anti-hero a true anti-hero? Why is a mask so important for the superhero? Do heroines still wear high heels? These are some of the questions I try to answer in this interview published on A2 kulturní čtrnáctideník.... more
What makes an anti-hero a true anti-hero? Why is a mask so important for the superhero? Do heroines still wear high heels? These are some of the questions I try to answer in this interview published on A2 kulturní čtrnáctideník.
https://www.advojka.cz/archiv/2021/2
https://www.advojka.cz/archiv/2021/2
Research Interests:
Jak se v posledních letech změniltradiční komiksový narativo boji dobra se zlem a čím je tozpůsobeno? Proč se v představěsuperhrdinky vždy odehrávákonfl ikt mezi stereotypizacía inovací narativu a proč jekvůli tomu vždy tak... more
Jak se v posledních letech změniltradiční komiksový narativo boji dobra se zlem a čím je tozpůsobeno? Proč se v představěsuperhrdinky vždy odehrávákonfl ikt mezi stereotypizacía inovací narativu a proč jekvůli tomu vždy tak trochuantihrdinkou? I o tom jsmemluvili s doktorandem bamberskéuniverzity, který zkoumá podobykomiksového antihrdinství.
https://www.advojka.cz/archiv/2021/2
https://www.advojka.cz/archiv/2021/2
Research Interests:
Un volume per conoscere Kang Il Conquistatore, prossima grande minaccia del Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kang il Conquistatore, un supervillain del futuro in grado di viaggiare nel tempo la cui presenza implica inevitabilmente paradossi... more
Un volume per conoscere Kang Il Conquistatore, prossima grande minaccia del Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kang il Conquistatore, un supervillain del futuro in grado di viaggiare nel tempo la cui presenza implica inevitabilmente paradossi temporali. Marvel e Panini comics pubblicano un massiccio volume su questo personaggio estremamente complesso probabilmente anche nel tentativo di far familiarizzare il pubblico con il prossimo Thanos (scandali permettendo) del MCU .
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/variants-paradossi-e-viaggi-temporali-la-saga-di-kang/
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/variants-paradossi-e-viaggi-temporali-la-saga-di-kang/
Research Interests:
Si può giocare solo se fatto seriamente, questo insegna "Filosofia del gaming", pubblicato da Tlon e ultima opera di Tommaso Ariemma.
Research Interests:
Pubblicato da NPE "Ventenni Paperoni" di Mattia del Core ci offre una nuova prospettiva su un mondo Disney che merita di essere riscoperto Recensione di Ventenni Paperoni – Ma leggi ancora Topolino? di Mattia Del Core, pubblicata su Lo... more
Pubblicato da NPE "Ventenni Paperoni" di Mattia del Core ci offre una nuova prospettiva su un mondo Disney che merita di essere riscoperto
Recensione di Ventenni Paperoni – Ma leggi ancora Topolino? di Mattia Del Core, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 14 Giugno 2023.
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/only-a-poor-old-man-che-ancora-legge-topolino/
Recensione di Ventenni Paperoni – Ma leggi ancora Topolino? di Mattia Del Core, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 14 Giugno 2023.
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/only-a-poor-old-man-che-ancora-legge-topolino/
Research Interests:
Topolino e i grandi esploratori, pubblicato da Panini, raccoglie cinque avventure Disney incentrate sulle grandi esplorazioni geografiche. Recensione di Topolino e i grandi esploratori di Romano Scarpa, Vito Stabile, Paolo Mottura, AA.... more
Topolino e i grandi esploratori, pubblicato da Panini, raccoglie cinque avventure Disney incentrate sulle grandi esplorazioni geografiche.
Recensione di Topolino e i grandi esploratori di Romano Scarpa, Vito Stabile, Paolo Mottura, AA. VV., pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 5 Giugno 2023.
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/paperi-topi-e-cartografi/
Recensione di Topolino e i grandi esploratori di Romano Scarpa, Vito Stabile, Paolo Mottura, AA. VV., pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 5 Giugno 2023.
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/paperi-topi-e-cartografi/
Research Interests:
Recensione di Martino Ciano pubblicata su Border Liber il 5 Maggio 2023.
https://www.borderliber.it/saggio-antieroe-maschera-favaro/
https://www.borderliber.it/saggio-antieroe-maschera-favaro/
Research Interests:
Esce, pubblicato da Panini Comics, il volume Fortnite X Marvel che raccoglie la saga Guerra Zero. Firma di Gage e Mustard, disegni di Davila e Luis. Recensione di Fortnite X Marvel. Guerra Zero di Gage e Mustard, con i disegn di Davila e... more
Esce, pubblicato da Panini Comics, il volume Fortnite X Marvel che raccoglie la saga Guerra Zero. Firma di Gage e Mustard, disegni di Davila e Luis.
Recensione di Fortnite X Marvel. Guerra Zero di Gage e Mustard, con i disegn di Davila e Luis, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco l’8 Aprile 2023.
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/guazzabuglio-marvel-in-salsa-fortnite-guerra-zero/
Recensione di Fortnite X Marvel. Guerra Zero di Gage e Mustard, con i disegn di Davila e Luis, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco l’8 Aprile 2023.
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/guazzabuglio-marvel-in-salsa-fortnite-guerra-zero/
Research Interests:
Sedici Paperi in cerca di un protagonista "Il Grande Splash", iconico giallo nonsense scritto da Silvia Ziche sul finire del millennio, viene ristampato da Panini Comics. Recensione de Il Grande Splash di Silvia Ziche, pubblicata su Lo... more
Sedici Paperi in cerca di un protagonista
"Il Grande Splash", iconico giallo nonsense scritto da Silvia Ziche sul finire del millennio, viene ristampato da Panini Comics.
Recensione de Il Grande Splash di Silvia Ziche, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 21 Marzo 2023. Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/sedici-paperi-in-cerca-di-un-protagonista/
"Il Grande Splash", iconico giallo nonsense scritto da Silvia Ziche sul finire del millennio, viene ristampato da Panini Comics.
Recensione de Il Grande Splash di Silvia Ziche, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 21 Marzo 2023. Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/sedici-paperi-in-cerca-di-un-protagonista/
Research Interests:
NPE ristampa una storia del cosiddetto "Filone fantastico toppiano", creata dal maestro Sergio Toppi nel 1987: "Isola Gentile". Recensione di Isola Gentile di Sergio Toppi, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 10 Marzo 2023. Recensione... more
NPE ristampa una storia del cosiddetto "Filone fantastico toppiano", creata dal maestro Sergio Toppi nel 1987: "Isola Gentile".
Recensione di Isola Gentile di Sergio Toppi, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 10 Marzo 2023.
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/il-realismo-magico-di-sergio-toppi/
Recensione di Isola Gentile di Sergio Toppi, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 10 Marzo 2023.
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/il-realismo-magico-di-sergio-toppi/
Research Interests:
Panini pubblica un altro pregiato volumetto monografico incentrato su un famoso personaggio di Topolino. Questa volta è il turno di Paperinik. Recensione di Io, Paperinik, pubblicata da Lo Spazio Bianco il 6 Marzo 2023. Recensione... more
Panini pubblica un altro pregiato volumetto monografico incentrato su un famoso personaggio di Topolino. Questa volta è il turno di Paperinik.
Recensione di Io, Paperinik, pubblicata da Lo Spazio Bianco il 6 Marzo 2023.
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/io-paperinik-paperopolis-knights/
Recensione di Io, Paperinik, pubblicata da Lo Spazio Bianco il 6 Marzo 2023.
Recensione completa: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/io-paperinik-paperopolis-knights/
Research Interests:
Pubblicato da Fanucci Comics "La caduta di Macbeth" ripropone la celebre tragedia shakespeariana, riletta attraverso l’arte di Federico Mele. Recensione pubblicata per Lo Spazio Bianco il 28 Febbraio 2023. Recensione completa:... more
Pubblicato da Fanucci Comics "La caduta di Macbeth" ripropone la celebre tragedia shakespeariana, riletta attraverso l’arte di Federico Mele.
Recensione pubblicata per Lo Spazio Bianco il 28 Febbraio 2023. Recensione completa:
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/la-caduta-di-macbeth-sangue-potere-e-follia/
Recensione pubblicata per Lo Spazio Bianco il 28 Febbraio 2023. Recensione completa:
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/la-caduta-di-macbeth-sangue-potere-e-follia/
Research Interests: Shakespeare, Comics Studies, Comic Book Studies, Comics, Graphic Novels, and 13 moreGraphic Novels Study, Comics and Graphic Novels, Literature Review, Comic books, Review, Macbeth, Shakespeare adaptation, Italian, William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare Studies, Shakespeare Macbeth, and Shakespearean literature
Recensione pubblicata per Lo Spazio Bianco il 9 Febbraio 2023. Recensione completa:
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/le-epoche-del-papero-guido-martina-e-paperone/
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/le-epoche-del-papero-guido-martina-e-paperone/
Research Interests:
Recensione di "Dylan Dog. Nel segno di Cavazzano" Pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 25.01.2023. Dylan Dog: "Nel segno di Cavazzano" ci regala una brillante interpretazione dell’indagatore dell’incubo che rivela il suo lato più... more
Recensione di "Dylan Dog. Nel segno di Cavazzano" Pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 25.01.2023. Dylan Dog: "Nel segno di Cavazzano" ci regala una brillante interpretazione dell’indagatore dell’incubo che rivela il suo lato più umoristico.
Link: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/lo-spirito-di-dylan-dog-nel-segno-di-giorgio-cavazzano/
Link: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/lo-spirito-di-dylan-dog-nel-segno-di-giorgio-cavazzano/
Research Interests:
Edito da Feltrinelli, "Per Amore di Monna Lisa" di Marco Rizzo e Lelio Bonaccorso ci racconta del furto più assurdo del XX secolo. Recensione di: “Per Amore di Monna Lisa. Il più grande furto del XX secolo”, pubblicata per Lo Spazio... more
Edito da Feltrinelli, "Per Amore di Monna Lisa" di Marco Rizzo e Lelio Bonaccorso ci racconta del furto più assurdo del XX secolo.
Recensione di: “Per Amore di Monna Lisa. Il più grande furto del XX secolo”, pubblicata per Lo Spazio Bianco il 17.01.2023.
Link recensione completa:
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/per-monna-lisa-vuoi-vedere-che-perderai-anche-me/?_thumbnail_id=317614
Recensione di: “Per Amore di Monna Lisa. Il più grande furto del XX secolo”, pubblicata per Lo Spazio Bianco il 17.01.2023.
Link recensione completa:
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/per-monna-lisa-vuoi-vedere-che-perderai-anche-me/?_thumbnail_id=317614
Research Interests:
Un'affascinante prova di stile di Cristina “Ki” Casini che, applicando la tecnica del mash-up, crea una graphic novel solamente utilizzando le opere di Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec. Recensione di "Fino a 21" per Lo Spazio Bianco. Link:... more
Un'affascinante prova di stile di Cristina “Ki” Casini che, applicando la tecnica del mash-up, crea una graphic novel solamente utilizzando le opere di Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec. Recensione di "Fino a 21" per Lo Spazio Bianco.
Link: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/fino-a-21-fumetto-su-tela/
Link: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/fino-a-21-fumetto-su-tela/
Research Interests:
Con “La costellazione del cane” Sergio Tisselli, nel nuovo volume della collana a lui dedicata da NPE, ci riporta nella Bologna del 1630, l’anno della Peste. Recensione de La Costellazione del Cane, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il... more
Con “La costellazione del cane” Sergio Tisselli, nel nuovo volume della collana a lui dedicata da NPE, ci riporta nella Bologna del 1630, l’anno della Peste.
Recensione de La Costellazione del Cane, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 18.11.2022.
Link: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/la-costellazione-del-cane-annuncia-il-morbo/
Recensione de La Costellazione del Cane, pubblicata su Lo Spazio Bianco il 18.11.2022.
Link: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/la-costellazione-del-cane-annuncia-il-morbo/
Research Interests:
Recensione de La Maschera dell'Antieroe, pubblicata per Birdmen Magazine, Décadrage, 6 Novembre 2022, scritta da Nicolò Villani.
LINK: https://birdmenmagazine.com/2022/11/06/marco-favaro-antieroe-mimesis/
LINK: https://birdmenmagazine.com/2022/11/06/marco-favaro-antieroe-mimesis/
Research Interests:
"The Joker presents: A Puzzlebox" è una storia insolita con protagonisti i più famosi villains di Gotham, firmata da Matthew Rosenberg e pubblicata da DC Comics. Link:... more
"The Joker presents: A Puzzlebox" è una storia insolita con protagonisti i più famosi villains di Gotham, firmata da Matthew Rosenberg e pubblicata da DC Comics.
Link: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/il-rompicapo-del-joker-chi-e-lassassino-dellenigmista/
Link: https://www.lospaziobianco.it/il-rompicapo-del-joker-chi-e-lassassino-dellenigmista/
Research Interests:
Recensione scritta da Lorenzo Barberis su La Maschera dell'Antieroe, pubblicata per Lo Spazio Bianco il 2.10.2022.
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/comeunromanzo/smascherando-lantieroe/
https://www.lospaziobianco.it/comeunromanzo/smascherando-lantieroe/
Research Interests:
Recensione di Luca Cangianti su "La Maschera dell'Antieroe" pubblicata su Carmilla On Line il 30 Settembre 2022. https://www.carmillaonline.com/2022/09/30/filosofia-dei-supereroi/
Research Interests:
Three Jokers reviewed by Marco Favaro, In: Casper C.-C., Ingold J., Lungershausen G., Schwertfeger S. (eds.), CLOSURE. Kieler e-Journal für Comicforschung #8. Nicht-narrative Comics. 12.2021. ISSN 2363-7765,... more
Three Jokers reviewed by Marco Favaro, In: Casper C.-C., Ingold J., Lungershausen G., Schwertfeger S. (eds.), CLOSURE. Kieler e-Journal für Comicforschung #8. Nicht-narrative Comics. 12.2021. ISSN 2363-7765, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kunsthistorisches Institut.
https://www.closure.uni-kiel.de/closure8/start
https://www.closure.uni-kiel.de/closure8/start
Research Interests:
Di Joker ne esistono numerose, numerosissime versioni. Ma qual è il “vero” Joker? In Three Jokers Geoff Johns gioca con questo concetto e con le differenti versioni del Clown Principe del Crimine. Johns pone la domanda “chi è il vero... more
Di Joker ne esistono numerose, numerosissime versioni. Ma qual è il “vero” Joker? In Three Jokers Geoff Johns gioca con questo concetto e con le differenti versioni del Clown Principe del Crimine. Johns pone la domanda “chi è il vero Joker?” alla base della sua narrativa.
Research Interests:
„Freiheit“ ist ein Wort, das so oft geschrien und missbraucht wird, dass es fast scheint, keinen Inhalt mehr zu haben. Konzepte wie „Der freie Wille“, „Freidenker“, „Recht zur Freiheit“ sind allgemein geworden. Es wird ohne viel... more
„Freiheit“ ist ein Wort, das so oft geschrien und missbraucht wird, dass es fast scheint, keinen Inhalt mehr zu haben. Konzepte wie „Der freie Wille“, „Freidenker“, „Recht zur Freiheit“ sind allgemein geworden. Es wird ohne viel Überzeugung behauptet, dass alle Menschen frei geboren werden, oder dass sie für die Freiheit kämpfen sollen. Freiheit soll erobert werden, oder geschützt, als ob sie ein Wert oder ein Ziel oder irgendwelche Güter wäre. Zu viel als Symbol benutzt oder als Waffe begriffen, ist „Freiheit“ eine leere Hülle geworden, oberflächlich, entkräftet, ein abgerundetes Schwert. Was also ist die Freiheit?
Im letzten Jahrhundert wurde der Begriff „Freiheit“ insbesondere von den sogenannten Existenzialisten definiert und vertieft; Jean-Paul Sartre ist wahrscheinlich der wichtigste Vertreter dieser philosophischen Bewegung. Eigentlich sind die Existenzialisten als Strömung atypisch. Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir oder Albert Camus haben sich nie als „Existenzialisten“ bezeichnet. Sie haben sogar sich nicht als Mitglieder eine Bewegung gefühlt. Trotzdem sind ihre Philosophien und ihre Studien so nahe, dass sie „gegen ihren Willen“ zusammen ein Zeitalter der Philosophie definieren. Das „Manifest“ des Existenzialismus ist zweifellos „L'Être et le néant“ von Sartre. Obwohl Sartre selbst später in seinem Leben manche Ideen und Konzepte seines Hauptwerkes widerlegen und verändern wird, repräsentiert „Das Sein und das Nichts“ vielleicht den höchsten und sozusagen „reinsten“ Punkt seiner ganzen Philosophie, noch nicht von politischen und gesellschaftlichen Notwendigkeiten konditioniert. Manche Philosophen haben sogar angenommen, dass Sartre nach „Das Sein und das Nichts“ gegen seine eigenen Überzeugungen geschrieben hat, um einer Philosophie willen, die seinen politischen Mühen mehr von Nutzen sein könnte.
Diese Arbeit hat drei Hauptanliegen: Erst soll das Konzept von „Freiheit“ definiert werden, um alle seine falschen Konzeptionen zu vermeiden. Was ist die Freiheit für mich? Wie kann ich ohne Zweifel behaupten, dass ich frei bin? In der Reflexion begreift der Mensch sich unvermeidbar als frei, aber diese gedankliche Bewegung kommt nur, nachdem er schon intuitiv seine Freiheit begriff. Wenn die Reflexion durchgeführt wird, erkennt das Subjekt sich selbst schon als frei: Es fühlt seine eigene Freiheit durch die Angst. Zu Beginn fühlt sich das Subjekt, das in die Welt geworfen ist, komplett frei, was es ist und was es sein wird, ist nur von ihm abhängig; nur später durch die Reflexion kann das Subjekt verschiedene Verhaltensweisen zu seiner Freiheit haben. Also wird die Freiheit nicht als eine bewusste Entscheidung – ein Wille – definiert, sondern als ein Sein des Subjektes, oder besser als ein „Nicht-Sein“: Das freie Subjekt stellt sich nämlich vor das Sein, als sein Gegenteil, das Nichts. Wie können also seine Faktizität und seine Handlungen in der Welt erklärt werden? Wie können seine Verhältnisse mit anderen Subjekten möglich sein? Sind also die Faktizität, die Welt, die Anderen, Grenzen der Freiheit? Oder machen sie ohnmächtig – oder sogar unmöglich? Dies sind die Themen und die Fragen des ersten Kapitels, die erklären und bestimmen sollen, was „Freiheit“ für Sartre ist.
Der zweite Punkt betrifft das Verhältnis zwischen Freiheit und Wunsch. Dieses Kapitel ist der Kern dieser Arbeit und stellt ihre Hauptthese auf: Nicht nur Freiheit und Wunsch sind eng verbunden und setzen einander voraus, sondern sie sind zwei Aspekte, die das Wesen des Menschen definieren – zwei Seiten einer Münze. Die Freiheit setzt notwendigerweise eine zeitliche Dimension voraus: Das freie Subjekt projiziert sich in die Zukunft, es setzt ein Ziel, es erschafft ein Projekt – es sieht einen Mangel in der Gegenwart und eine Totalität, die in der Zukunft erreicht werden soll. Es fühlt sich unvollständig, es strebt nach einer Totalität – es wünscht, vollständig zu sein. Andererseits, wenn der Mensch komplett wäre, ohne Wünsche, wäre er An-sich – das heißt er könnte nicht frei sein. Der Konzept von Wunsch wird behandelt durch die Analyse der konkreten Wünsche: Appetit, sexuelle Begier, Wille etwas zu sein oder zu haben können helfen, die Struktur des Wunsches selbst und seine Verbindungen mit der Freiheit zu verstehen. Alle Wünsche scheinen am Ende auf ein anfängliches Projekt zurückzuführen zu sein: Das Begehren An-sich-für-sich zu werden, der Wille Gott zu sein. Dieses anfängliche Streben der Menschen kann sowohl in dem Verhältnis „Bewusstsein-Welt“ als auch in dem Konflikt mit den Anderen gesehen werden. Es gibt zwei grundsätzliche Arten, sich auf eine andere Freiheit zu beziehen: Entweder ich bleibe Subjekt, und der Andere wird dann als Objekt begriffen, oder die andere Freiheit wird als unangreifbar gespürt: Der Andere wird dann als Subjekt erfahren und ich entdecke mich selbst als Objekt. Liebe, Hass, Sprache, Masochismus, Sadismus, Gleichgültigkeit zeigen, wie zwei Freiheiten sich zueinander beziehen. Alle diese Weisen, sich mit den anderen Subjekten zu beziehen, können wieder auf das originale Projekt, An-sich-für-sich zu sein, zurückgeführt werden: Ich versuche zum Beispiel den anderen als Objekt zu besitzen (Sadismus), oder ich versuche durch den Anderen An-sich mich zu fühlen (Masochismus). Wegen derselben Struktur der „Anderen“, sind alle möglichen Verhältnisse mit ihm zum Scheitern verurteilt.
Die sinnlose Welt: das dritte und letzte Thema dieser Arbeit. Einerseits das Sein, die Welt an-sich, andererseits das Subjekt, die Freiheit, das Nichts. Die Welt an-sich ist in dieser Anschauung absurd: Nur eine Freiheit kann einen Sinn erschaffen und geben. Wie interagieren also das Sein und das Nichts, die Freiheit und die Welt? Der Subjekt kann zwei mögliche und gegenüberliegende Haltungen zu der Welt haben: Entweder verkörpert es den <<Geist der Ernsthaftigkeit>>, das heißt betrachtet unaufrichtig das Sein als sinnvoll an-sich, oder bleibt in der Dimension des Spiels als freie Erschaffung des Sinns der Welt.
Der existenzialistische Mensch ausgemalt von Sartre scheint eine tragische Existenz zu führen: Verurteilt frei zu sein, ewig unvollkommen, verpflichtet die Verantwortung für den Sinn seiner Welt zu tragen. Der Hauptcharakter von den Romanen von Sartre zeigt diese unvermeidbare Tragödie. Die Wörter von dem Silen können fast gehört werden:
„>>Elendes Eintagsgeschlecht, des Zufalls Kinder und der Mühsal, was zwingst du mich dir zu sagen, was nicht zu hören für dich das Ersprießlichste ist? Das Allerbeste ist für dich gänzlich unerreichbar: nicht geboren zu sein, nichts zu sein, nichts zu sein. Das Zweitbeste aber ist für dich – bald zu sterben. <<”
Aber wie die Philosophie Nietzsches nicht eine Philosophie der Schwäche und Schmerzes, sondern der Stärke und des fröhlichen Spiels der Erschaffung ist, so rettet die Sartres am Ende den Menschen und verurteilt ihn nicht zu einem dramatischen Unglück. Die Herausforderung dieser Arbeit ist, zu zeigen, wie der sartreanische Mensch sein Glück und seinen Sinn finden kann.
Im letzten Jahrhundert wurde der Begriff „Freiheit“ insbesondere von den sogenannten Existenzialisten definiert und vertieft; Jean-Paul Sartre ist wahrscheinlich der wichtigste Vertreter dieser philosophischen Bewegung. Eigentlich sind die Existenzialisten als Strömung atypisch. Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir oder Albert Camus haben sich nie als „Existenzialisten“ bezeichnet. Sie haben sogar sich nicht als Mitglieder eine Bewegung gefühlt. Trotzdem sind ihre Philosophien und ihre Studien so nahe, dass sie „gegen ihren Willen“ zusammen ein Zeitalter der Philosophie definieren. Das „Manifest“ des Existenzialismus ist zweifellos „L'Être et le néant“ von Sartre. Obwohl Sartre selbst später in seinem Leben manche Ideen und Konzepte seines Hauptwerkes widerlegen und verändern wird, repräsentiert „Das Sein und das Nichts“ vielleicht den höchsten und sozusagen „reinsten“ Punkt seiner ganzen Philosophie, noch nicht von politischen und gesellschaftlichen Notwendigkeiten konditioniert. Manche Philosophen haben sogar angenommen, dass Sartre nach „Das Sein und das Nichts“ gegen seine eigenen Überzeugungen geschrieben hat, um einer Philosophie willen, die seinen politischen Mühen mehr von Nutzen sein könnte.
Diese Arbeit hat drei Hauptanliegen: Erst soll das Konzept von „Freiheit“ definiert werden, um alle seine falschen Konzeptionen zu vermeiden. Was ist die Freiheit für mich? Wie kann ich ohne Zweifel behaupten, dass ich frei bin? In der Reflexion begreift der Mensch sich unvermeidbar als frei, aber diese gedankliche Bewegung kommt nur, nachdem er schon intuitiv seine Freiheit begriff. Wenn die Reflexion durchgeführt wird, erkennt das Subjekt sich selbst schon als frei: Es fühlt seine eigene Freiheit durch die Angst. Zu Beginn fühlt sich das Subjekt, das in die Welt geworfen ist, komplett frei, was es ist und was es sein wird, ist nur von ihm abhängig; nur später durch die Reflexion kann das Subjekt verschiedene Verhaltensweisen zu seiner Freiheit haben. Also wird die Freiheit nicht als eine bewusste Entscheidung – ein Wille – definiert, sondern als ein Sein des Subjektes, oder besser als ein „Nicht-Sein“: Das freie Subjekt stellt sich nämlich vor das Sein, als sein Gegenteil, das Nichts. Wie können also seine Faktizität und seine Handlungen in der Welt erklärt werden? Wie können seine Verhältnisse mit anderen Subjekten möglich sein? Sind also die Faktizität, die Welt, die Anderen, Grenzen der Freiheit? Oder machen sie ohnmächtig – oder sogar unmöglich? Dies sind die Themen und die Fragen des ersten Kapitels, die erklären und bestimmen sollen, was „Freiheit“ für Sartre ist.
Der zweite Punkt betrifft das Verhältnis zwischen Freiheit und Wunsch. Dieses Kapitel ist der Kern dieser Arbeit und stellt ihre Hauptthese auf: Nicht nur Freiheit und Wunsch sind eng verbunden und setzen einander voraus, sondern sie sind zwei Aspekte, die das Wesen des Menschen definieren – zwei Seiten einer Münze. Die Freiheit setzt notwendigerweise eine zeitliche Dimension voraus: Das freie Subjekt projiziert sich in die Zukunft, es setzt ein Ziel, es erschafft ein Projekt – es sieht einen Mangel in der Gegenwart und eine Totalität, die in der Zukunft erreicht werden soll. Es fühlt sich unvollständig, es strebt nach einer Totalität – es wünscht, vollständig zu sein. Andererseits, wenn der Mensch komplett wäre, ohne Wünsche, wäre er An-sich – das heißt er könnte nicht frei sein. Der Konzept von Wunsch wird behandelt durch die Analyse der konkreten Wünsche: Appetit, sexuelle Begier, Wille etwas zu sein oder zu haben können helfen, die Struktur des Wunsches selbst und seine Verbindungen mit der Freiheit zu verstehen. Alle Wünsche scheinen am Ende auf ein anfängliches Projekt zurückzuführen zu sein: Das Begehren An-sich-für-sich zu werden, der Wille Gott zu sein. Dieses anfängliche Streben der Menschen kann sowohl in dem Verhältnis „Bewusstsein-Welt“ als auch in dem Konflikt mit den Anderen gesehen werden. Es gibt zwei grundsätzliche Arten, sich auf eine andere Freiheit zu beziehen: Entweder ich bleibe Subjekt, und der Andere wird dann als Objekt begriffen, oder die andere Freiheit wird als unangreifbar gespürt: Der Andere wird dann als Subjekt erfahren und ich entdecke mich selbst als Objekt. Liebe, Hass, Sprache, Masochismus, Sadismus, Gleichgültigkeit zeigen, wie zwei Freiheiten sich zueinander beziehen. Alle diese Weisen, sich mit den anderen Subjekten zu beziehen, können wieder auf das originale Projekt, An-sich-für-sich zu sein, zurückgeführt werden: Ich versuche zum Beispiel den anderen als Objekt zu besitzen (Sadismus), oder ich versuche durch den Anderen An-sich mich zu fühlen (Masochismus). Wegen derselben Struktur der „Anderen“, sind alle möglichen Verhältnisse mit ihm zum Scheitern verurteilt.
Die sinnlose Welt: das dritte und letzte Thema dieser Arbeit. Einerseits das Sein, die Welt an-sich, andererseits das Subjekt, die Freiheit, das Nichts. Die Welt an-sich ist in dieser Anschauung absurd: Nur eine Freiheit kann einen Sinn erschaffen und geben. Wie interagieren also das Sein und das Nichts, die Freiheit und die Welt? Der Subjekt kann zwei mögliche und gegenüberliegende Haltungen zu der Welt haben: Entweder verkörpert es den <<Geist der Ernsthaftigkeit>>, das heißt betrachtet unaufrichtig das Sein als sinnvoll an-sich, oder bleibt in der Dimension des Spiels als freie Erschaffung des Sinns der Welt.
Der existenzialistische Mensch ausgemalt von Sartre scheint eine tragische Existenz zu führen: Verurteilt frei zu sein, ewig unvollkommen, verpflichtet die Verantwortung für den Sinn seiner Welt zu tragen. Der Hauptcharakter von den Romanen von Sartre zeigt diese unvermeidbare Tragödie. Die Wörter von dem Silen können fast gehört werden:
„>>Elendes Eintagsgeschlecht, des Zufalls Kinder und der Mühsal, was zwingst du mich dir zu sagen, was nicht zu hören für dich das Ersprießlichste ist? Das Allerbeste ist für dich gänzlich unerreichbar: nicht geboren zu sein, nichts zu sein, nichts zu sein. Das Zweitbeste aber ist für dich – bald zu sterben. <<”
Aber wie die Philosophie Nietzsches nicht eine Philosophie der Schwäche und Schmerzes, sondern der Stärke und des fröhlichen Spiels der Erschaffung ist, so rettet die Sartres am Ende den Menschen und verurteilt ihn nicht zu einem dramatischen Unglück. Die Herausforderung dieser Arbeit ist, zu zeigen, wie der sartreanische Mensch sein Glück und seinen Sinn finden kann.
Research Interests:
For the volume “Batman’s Villains and Villainesses: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Arkham’s Souls” we are looking for 1-2 extra chapters on the following villains: Mad Hatter, Joker, Zsasz, Riddle, Penguin, Scarecrow, Kite Man, Black... more
For the volume “Batman’s Villains and Villainesses: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Arkham’s Souls” we are looking for 1-2 extra chapters on the following villains:
Mad Hatter, Joker, Zsasz, Riddle, Penguin, Scarecrow, Kite Man, Black Mask, The Ventriloquist, Man-Bat, Hush, Deathstroke.
The volume will be published by Lexington Books at the beginning of 2023.
Mad Hatter, Joker, Zsasz, Riddle, Penguin, Scarecrow, Kite Man, Black Mask, The Ventriloquist, Man-Bat, Hush, Deathstroke.
The volume will be published by Lexington Books at the beginning of 2023.
Research Interests:
With Arkham’s Souls: A multidisciplinary Analysis of Batman’s Villains and Villainesses, we want to give the villains their merit, investigating their psychology, morality, motivations, symbolism, and philosophy. We are looking for... more
With Arkham’s Souls: A multidisciplinary Analysis of Batman’s Villains and Villainesses, we want to give the villains their merit, investigating their psychology, morality, motivations, symbolism, and philosophy.
We are looking for papers that specifically analyse one of Batman’s enemies. The approach you choose can be of various types, philosophical or psychological, anthropological or literary. You can focus on gender studies as well as cultural studies. It is essential that your proposal is original and possibly not yet specifically considered by other studies on the genre. Chapters should be between 3000-4000 words inclusive of references, tables, and endnotes.
The aim for the volume is to be a part of the Comicstudien series for De Gruyter. For this reason, we ask our authors to consider especially (but not only) the comic version of the mentioned characters. Final essays in German or English will be 3000-4000 words in length.
Please send a brief abstract in German or English of 400 words (together with a short bio) by November 15th, 2021, to the editors, Justin Martin (just.f.martin@gmail.com) and Marco Favaro (marco-favaro@outlook.it).
We are looking for papers that specifically analyse one of Batman’s enemies. The approach you choose can be of various types, philosophical or psychological, anthropological or literary. You can focus on gender studies as well as cultural studies. It is essential that your proposal is original and possibly not yet specifically considered by other studies on the genre. Chapters should be between 3000-4000 words inclusive of references, tables, and endnotes.
The aim for the volume is to be a part of the Comicstudien series for De Gruyter. For this reason, we ask our authors to consider especially (but not only) the comic version of the mentioned characters. Final essays in German or English will be 3000-4000 words in length.
Please send a brief abstract in German or English of 400 words (together with a short bio) by November 15th, 2021, to the editors, Justin Martin (just.f.martin@gmail.com) and Marco Favaro (marco-favaro@outlook.it).