Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Manga hero and villain'

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This thesis is built on the assumption that the erasure of the female body to interpret the male is a mean of acquiring voice and power. The objective is to demonstrate, through the analysis of the verbal-visual discourse of the performances of crossplayers when interpreting male characters, that the figures of the hero and the villain in works of female authors, have power and show that for crossplayers to assume the representation of such figures, the conditio sine qua non is the silencing of the feminine. The corpus of analysis consists of two performances presented by Brazilian crossplayers: the first concerns a clipping from the manga Clover authored by the CLAMP group (composed entirely of women) focusing on the hero Kazuhiko Fay Ryu, and the second an excerpt from the manga Inuyasha, authored by Rumiko Takahashi, aiming at the villain, Sesshoumaru. The work is divided into four chapters. The first discusses concepts of Japanese pop culture, focusing on the manga (comic books). The second presents the world of cosplay practice (activity that involves representing characters derived from popular media, including the manga) and crossplay (segment in which cosplay practitioners interpret characters of the opposite sex). The third is based on the theoretical framework, in which I elaborate on a literature review of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Visual Grammar, gender studies, fundamentals of Takarazuka Theater (theater company composed entirely of women) and studies on performance. The fourth chapter includes: a) the transformation of crossplayers described from supplementary materials available in a video and tutorials that illustrate the preceding steps of stage performance; b) analysis methodology, based on the model of the pentad of Burke (1973), composed of agent, act, scene, agency and proposal, to which selected categories among the other theoretical axes are added; c) the analysis of the two performances, available in DVD. In order to broaden the informative horizon tangent to the practice of performances resulting from intertextual movements with manga I include an attachment with the testimony of Brazilian crossplayers and an appendix with an account of my own experience in cos/crossplay. Along with the test results, this material is also considered in the search for an answer to the question that imposes itself from the title of the work: "Silence or subversion? The representation of the social role of women in the performative discourse of manga crossplayers
Esta tese é construída a partir da hipótese de que o apagamento do corpo feminino para interpretar o masculino é um meio de adquirir voz e poder. O objetivo é demonstrar, por meio da análise do discurso verbo-visual de performances de crossplayers ao interpretarem personagens masculinas, que as figuras do herói e do vilão, em obras de autoria feminina, possuem poder e evidenciar que, para as crossplayers assumirem a representação de tais figuras, a condição sine qua non é a do apagamento do feminino. O corpus de análise é composto por duas performances apresentadas por crossplayers brasileiras: a primeira diz respeito a um recorte do mangá Clover de autoria do grupo CLAMP (composto integralmente por mulheres) com enfoque no herói Kazuhiko Fay Ryu, e a segunda um excerto do mangá Inuyasha, da autora Rumiko Takahashi, enfocando o vilão, Sesshoumaru. O trabalho encontra-se dividido em quatro capítulos. O primeiro aborda conceitos da cultura pop japonesa, com foco nos mangás (histórias em quadrinhos). O segundo apresenta o universo da prática do cosplay (atividade que consiste em representar personagens oriundas de mídias populares, entre as quais, os mangás) e do crossplay (segmento do cosplay no qual as/os praticantes interpretam personagens do sexo oposto). O terceiro tem por base o referencial teórico, em que realizo uma revisão bibliográfica da Análise Crítica do Discurso (ACD), da Gramática Visual, dos estudos de gênero, dos fundamentos do Teatro Takarazuka (companhia teatral composta inteiramente por mulheres) e dos estudos acerca de performance. O quarto capítulo contempla: a) o processo de transformação das crossplayers, descrito a partir de materiais complementares veiculados em um vídeo e em tutoriais que ilustram esta fase anterior à apresentação no palco; b) a metodologia de análise, baseada no modelo do pentad de Burke (1973), composto por agente, ato, cena, agência e proposta, ao qual são acrescidas categorias selecionadas entre as que compõem os demais veios teóricos; c) a análise das duas performances, disponibilizadas em DVD. Com o fim de ampliar o horizonte informativo que tangencia a prática de performances resultantes de movimentos intertextuais com mangás, incluo um anexo com depoimentos de crossplayers brasileiras e um apêndice com o relato de minha experiência em cos/crossplay. Juntamente com o resultado das análises, este material é também considerado na busca de uma resposta para o questionamento que se impõe desde o título do trabalho: Silenciamento ou subversão? A representação do papel social da mulher no discurso performático das crossplayers de mangás

A neglected area of research within criminality has been that of the actual experience of the offence for the offender. The social science literature contains only scattered evidence of what it means, feels, sounds or looks like to commit a particular crime. Katz (1988) in his work Seductions of Crime proposed that empirical research has to focus on the foreground, rather than the background of crime and that the emotional significance of crimes needs to be considered more fully in order to understand the psychological processes that sustain and encourage cnme. This research examines and proposes a model of Criminal Narrative Experience (CNE) by exploring the emotions that criminals experience and the narrative roles that they act out across a broad range of crimes. Hypotheses and a series of questions were derived from the Circumplex of Emotions (Russell, 1997), Frye (1957), Narrative Theory (McAdams, 1988) and its link with Investigative Psychology (Canter, 1994). The analysis was based on 120 cases. Convicted for a variety of crimes, incarcerated criminals were interviewed and the data were subjected to Smallest Space Analysis (SSA). Results showed that the emotions reflected the circumplex structure of emotions postulated by Russell (1997) for non-criminal experiences. Thus, it was possible to identify four themes in relation to emotions: Elation. Calm. Distress. and Depression. However, they showed a stronger distinction between pleasure and displeasure than for the normal range of noncriminal experiences. with Russell's 'arousal' dimension being less clearly differentiated. In addition, criminals' emotions were found to be more intense than these of a "normal" population. Concerning criminal narrative roles four distinct themes were identified. These themes are: Adventurer. Professional. Revenger and Victim that reflect Frye's (1957) four story forms (Mythoi): Comedy, Irony, Romance and Tragedy. Further analysis showed that the emotional experiences are thematically significantly associated to the narrative roles, a finding that was supported both by statistical tests and Smallest Space Analysis. When both emotions and narrative roles were subjected to SSA four themes of Criminal Narrative Experience (CNE) were identified: Elated Adventurer, Calm Professional, Distressed Revenger and Depressed Victim from which scales with very high alpha reliability scores could be derived. Offenders' criminal history using the 042 Self-Report Offending Questionnaire (Youngs, 2001) was examined in relation to their Criminal Narrative Experience. Smallest Space Analysis showed that the d42 offending behaviours could be differentiated according to four themes: Violence, Dishonesty, Antisocial and Planning. Statistical tests revealed that the Elated Adventurer theme is significantly correlated with the offending behaviours of Planning, Dishonest and Antisocial while the Calm Professional with Planning. By examining differences between the index cnme and Criminal Narrative Experience analysis showed that different subsets of crimes were more likely to be associated with different emotions and narrative roles. The themes that reflect Criminal Narrative Experience were found to differentiate between different types of crimes. In broad terms, Elated Adventurer and Calm Professional were found to be associated with property offences (theft, burglary and robbery) and be experienced more pleasant than Distressed Revenger and Depressed Victim that were found to be associated with crimes against the person (sex offences, violence and murder) and experienced unpleasant. The implications of these findings for understanding crime on the basis of the Criminal Narrative Experience (CNE) are discussed. Important future directions for the study of crime are outlined.

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing dramatically worldwide. Type 2 diabetes is a major health and socio-economic burden. Genetic predisposition and the obesity epidemic, due to sedentary life style and high caloric food intake, are associated with development of type 2 diabetes. Circulating free fatty acids (FFAs), in particular saturated FFAs, are linked with insulin resistance and β cell dysfunction. Following this background we performed RNA sequencing of human pancreatic islets treated with the saturated FFA palmitate to acquire a global image of the islet response to this insult. We identified several stress pathways induced by palmitate with a major induction of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. The ER stress response, in particular the PKR-like ER kinase (PERK) branch, has been shown to be induced by saturated FFA. It leads to increased β cell apoptosis both in fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) purified rat β cells and human islets. We further clarified the role of this pathway by studying the involvement of the constitutive repressor of eIF2α phosphorylation (CReP) in a monogenic form of diabetes. CReP is a repressor of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) phosphorylation. A direct target of PERK, eIF2α is involved in translational attenuation and induction of apoptosis. We have shown that CReP loss-of-function leads to a new syndrome of young onset diabetes, intellectual disability and microcephaly. The identified R658C mutation abrogated CReP activity leading to increased eIF2α phosphorylation and β cell apoptosis. To further demonstrate the importance of eIF2α dysregulation in β cell demise, we used guanabenz, a chemical inhibitor of growth arrest DNA damage inducible 34 (GADD34). GADD34 is an ER stress-induced repressor of eIF2α phosphorylation. Guanabenz potentiated FFA-mediated ER stress and apoptosis in clonal and primary rat β cells and in human islets through the activation of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein (CHOP), downstream of eIF2α. Guanabenz administration in mice impaired glucose tolerance and led to β cell dysfunction. In ex vivo experiments guanabenz also induced β cell dysfunction in mouse and rat islets.In conclusion our data demonstrate that the dysregulation of signaling in the PERK/eIF2α pathway is crucial for β cell demise. Together with previously reported monogenic diabetes caused by loss-of-function mutations in PERK in man and the eIF2αS51A mutation in mice, our findings suggest that a narrow regulation of PERK/eIF2α signaling is central for proper β cell function and survival.
Doctorat en Sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques (Médecine)
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

My research is a literary study which primarily examines previously unstudied best-selling action-thriller fiction primary material from the US, Britain and Russia (published in the decade following the 11 September 2001 attacks) in the contexts of hegemonic masculinity and Self and Other stereotyping. I analyse thirteen works by the following popular fiction authors: Vince Flynn, Daniel Silva, Nelson DeMille, Frederick Forsyth and Danil Koretskiy. Drawing on masculinity studies and archetypal psychology, I formulate the model of the archetypal hero – a character type which the above authors‘ works capitalise on. I trace the employment of this model in these primary works within the framework of constructing a positive and heroic image of the Self, of which the action-thriller hero is the chief representative. The archetypal hero‘s principal traits include courage, honour, individualism and just violence among others. Heroes such as Mitch Rapp, Gabriel Allon, John Corey, Mike Martin, Max Kardanov and Alexei Mal‘tsev embody this archetypal model and confirm it as positive and dominant in their respective narratives. The authors also utilise a variety of framing strategies to enhance their heroes‘ authoritativeness and characterisation. Among these strategies, the use of historical facts and figures to anchor the narrative, enemy acknowledgement of the hero‘s qualities and female characters‘ fulfilment of traditional gender roles are the most prominent. First-person narration also plays a role in enhancing authenticity, such as in DeMille‘s novels. While the heroes and the side they represent are characterised as inherently positive and superior, their terrorist antagonists fulfil the role of the essentialised and diametrically opposite Other. I demonstrate through further analysis how these characters are positioned as archetypal terrorists, embodying traits which are antithetical to the hero‘s: backwardness; hatred of modernity and ‗civilisation‘; religion (Islam) as their source of hatred; desire for arbitrary revenge and unjustified violence; hypocrisy and disloyalty. Having analysed the main archetypal heroes and villains in the primary action-thriller works, I proceed to examine two mainstream literary authors: American John Updike and Algerian Francophone Yasmina Khadra. I study those of their novels which foreground terrorist characters instead of archetypal heroes, thus analysing one novel by Updike (Terrorist) and two by Khadra (Les Sirènes de Bagdad and L’Attentat). I find that, despite an increased focus on the character of the budding teenage suicide bomber from New Jersey, Updike‘s characterisation follows a pattern similar to the archetypal terrorist in the action-thriller sources. On the other hand, Khadra achieves a more balanced and complex portrayal, presenting his terrorists as human beings motivated by their various personal, social and political grievances rather than blind religious hatred. In sum, only Khadra‘s narratives transcend stereotypical views of terrorism, while the other post-9/11 primary works (including Updike) focus on perpetuating binary oppositions of the Self and Other, masculinity and emasculation. My original contribution to knowledge is the identification, definition and comparative textual analysis of archetypal hero and terrorist characters in post-9/11 action-thriller and mainstream fiction in three languages (English, Russian and French) within a framework combining several elements: aspects of the system of representation of the terrorist Other, masculinity studies and archetypal psychology as well as the context of political and media post-9/11 views of Arabs and/or Muslims in the US, Britain and Russia.

Amyloid proteins are a distinct class of proteins that can misfold into β-sheet rich structures that later mature to form the characteristic species known as amyloid fibrils, and accumulate in tissues in the human body. The misfolding event is often caused by mutations (or outer factors such as changes in pH) that destabilize the native protein structure. The mature amyloid fibrils were initially believed to be associated with diseases connected to protein misfolding such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease, transthyretin amyloidosis and lysozyme amyloidosis. However, now it is known that many different factors are involved in these diseases such as failure in protein clearance, lysosomal dysfunction and formation of intermediate misfolded protein species, which possess cytotoxic properties, preceding the formation of mature fibrils. In this thesis the amyloidogenic protein lysozyme has been examined in vivo by using Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) as a model organism. The effects of over-expressing human lysozyme and amyloidogenic variants in Drosophila have been investigated both in the absence and presence of the serum amyloid P component (SAP), a protein known to interact with amyloid species. In addition, the role of lysozyme in AD has been investigated by  co-expressing human lysozyme and amyloid β in Drosophila. The lysozyme protein is an enzyme naturally found in bodily fluids such as tears, breast milk and saliva. It is engaged in the body’s defense and acts by hydrolyzing the cell wall of invading bacteria. Certain disease-associated point mutations in the gene encoding lysozyme destabilize the protein and cause it to misfold which results in systemic amyloidosis. To investigate the in vivo misfolding behavior of lysozyme we developed and established a Drosophila model of lysozyme amyloidosis. SAP is commonly found attached to amyloid deposits in the body; however, the role of SAP in amyloid diseases is unknown. To investigate the effect of SAP in lysozyme misfolding, these two proteins were co-expressed in Drosophila. The amyloid β peptide is involved in AD, building up the plaques found in AD patient brains. These plaques trigger neuroinflammation and since lysozyme is upregulated during various inflammation conditions, a possible role of lysozyme in AD was investigated by overexpressing lysozyme in a Drosophila model of AD. Interaction between lysozyme and the amyloid β protein was also studied by biophysical measurements. During my work with this thesis, the dual nature of lysozyme emerged; on the one hand a villain, twisted by mutations, causing the lysozyme amyloidosis disease. On the other hand a hero, delaying the toxicity and maybe the neurological damage caused by the amyloid β peptide.

This is a case study of a popular shōnen manga, My Hero Academia, written andillustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. The study’s aim is to determine the personality typesof five characters, while utilizing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The secondaryaim is finding out which details help in the MBTI analysis and which do not. Thethird aim is to look into what are the difficulties of executing this kind of study. Theinitial focus of the analysis was the characters’ actions, dialogue, body language,facial expressions, use of role language and how the manga artist utilizes theJapanese scripture. The final results show that the characters are INFJ, ENTP, ENFP,INTJ and ESTJ types, and that the most helpful methods are to look at acombination of the characters’ actions, speech, body language, behavior, andexpressions. In addition, the method of analysis occasionally depends on thecharacter in question. While the scripture does not help in gaining the results, thechoice of language for the characters gives additional affirmation for the resultsbut does not work by itself to affirm any MBTI types. The main challenge is decidingwhich of the MBTI type pair polarities has more value to the character’s personalityto become the preference.

The debate regarding the advantages and disadvantages of using DDT for IRS has divided the scientific community. The health benefits of reducing malaria spreading are weighed against the potential health and environmental consequences of the chemical, and opinions also differ regarding the cost-effectiveness of the use of DDT. Global recommendations regarding use of DDT for IRS have been issued by the WHO, and the receipt of these on the local level is determined by the intended beneficiaries’ perception of legitimacy of the organisation. The WHO recommendations on DDT as well as interviews conducted with residents of a South African village and representatives for two South African NGOs have been reviewed using qualitative content analysis. This method was used to highlight different perceptions of and views on DDT use, as well as for examining the potential effect that the interviewees’ perception of international institutions’ legitimacy has on their views on DDT. This study shows that the controversy regarding DDT is not as prominent on the local level as on the global level, and that the perceptions of IRS with DDT differ between the WHO, the NGOs and the residents of the village. Further, this study shows that assessing legitimacy is dependent on a definition of “the people” in question, and that the accountability of authoritative actors on different levels needs to be evaluated further.

Mötet mellan människor är något som kan vara spännande och få en att upptäcka något nytt i livet, likaså i film. Dessa möten mellan karaktärer gör att handlingen drivs framåt och skapar ett spännande interagerande mellan karaktärer. I detta kandidatarbete har vi valt att fokusera på mötet mellan hjälten och skurken, oftast två starka och viktiga karaktärer inom film. Karaktärsrollerna är hämtade från Voglers The writer’s Journey (1997). För att få en bredare bild av hur rollerna kan se ut i film har vi valt att analysera två olika filmer i olika genre, filmerna vi valt är Die Hard (1988) och Alien (1979). Vi har tagit hjälp av analysmodellen som presenteras i From Antz to Titanic - A students guide to film analysis (2000) och format modellen till vårt passande. En av delarna i analysen fokuserar på hur de tekniska aspekterna i scener kan hjälpa till att föra berättelsen vidare. Grundat i undersökningen har en kompletterande gestaltning i form av en film skapats där vi har använt oss av karaktärsrollerna som vi analyserat.
Meetings between people can be exciting and make you discover something new, also in movies. Meetings between the characters drives the plot forward, and create exciting interaction between the characters. We have chosen to focus on meetings between the hero and the villain, two strong and important character roles in the film. The character roles are taken from Vogler, The Writer's Journey (1997). To get a broader picture of how roles may appear in film, we have chosen to analyze two different films in different genres, the films we have chosen are Die Hard (1988) and Alien (1979). We have used the analytical model presented in From Antz to Titanic - A student's guide to film analysis (2000) and formed the model to our fitting. One of the parts of the analysis focuses on the technical aspects of the scenes that can help move the story forward. Based on our survey of character roles and meetings between them, we have created a movie to portray this.

Oliver Twist is a novel loved by many, read by more. It is a classic novel by Charles Dickens, portraying the life and hardships of a young boy named Oliver Twist, who was born in a work house. Oliver is bright and righteous, the exact opposite of his brother Edward “Monks” Leeford. This essay will follow Oliver and Monks and analyse their characters in the light of the literary hero and the literary villain and in doing so see how Dickens use the characters as literary tools to convey his view of a dark, uncaring Victorian society as well as his hopes for a brighter future. Their strong characteristics make way for a fascinating story, a story that do not only tell us about Oliver’s bravery and Monks’ egoism, but one that do also prove that they are characters created by Dickens to show both the Victorian society that he lived in as well as the society that it could become.

Uppsatsen analyserar maskuliniteter i tre populära mangasserier: Kohei Horikoshis My hero academia (2014), One och Yusuke Muratas One-punch man (2012) samt Hirohiko Arakis Jojo’s bizarre adventure: part 1 phantom blood (1986). Syftet med föreliggande studie är attsynliggöra vilka maskuliniteter som representeras i mangorna och på så sätt kunna diskutera och problematisera de manliga ideal som ungdomar möter i populärkulturen. För att besvara uppsatsens syfte utgår studien från en kvalitativ metod och materialet tolkas utifrån ett genusperspektiv med inriktning på maskuliniteter. Resultatet visar att samtliga verk innehåller representationer av ideala samt icke-önskvärda maskuliniteter. Den självuppoffrande, uthålliga, starka och moraliskt drivna hjälten utgör verkens maskulina ideal. De icke-önskvärda maskuliniteterna underbygger sina handlingar med egoism. Vidare synliggör resultatet att mangornas konstruktioner av maskulinitet och femininitet både reproducerar och utmanar samhällets föreställningar om vad som är manligt och kvinnligt. I samtliga verk görs exempelvis femininet till något passivt och vackert och maskulinitet till något starkt och aktivt. Verken tar dock avstånd från tanken att män till sin natur är aggressiva. Resultatet visar också att mangorna skiljer sig i sina maskulina representationer. I My hero academia och Jojo’s bizarre adventure utgör protagonisterna verkens maskulina ideal medan protagonisten i One-punch man kan betraktas som en skrattspegel till ett traditionellt hjälte-ideal.

The literature on J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter is prolific. People have written on various topics dealing with issues such as translation, etymology and diverse areas concerning the language. In this essay, I examine whether linguistic features such as reporting verbs, adverbs of manner and adjectives contribute to the depiction of heroic and villainous characters. Before conducting this research, my assumptions were that there would be a great difference in the value of the words depending on the character they were associated with. I wanted to see if the heroic characters used verbs and adverbs with positive connotations, and the villainous characters verbs and adverbs with negative connotations. I also wanted to know if the adjectives describing the characters could, in themselves, clearly indicate whether a character was a hero or a villain.

The results of my research suggested that the choice of particular verbs and adverbs contributed only indirectly to the depiction of the characters. Without context, it was not possible to know if the character was a hero or a villain simply by identifying the verbs and adverbs used to describe their speech. By contrast, the choice of particular adjectives did appear to indicate more clearly whether a character was hero or villain. Finally, the results of my research indicated that context, rather than the use of particular linguistic features was often the most important factor in contributing to the portrayal of characters in the novel.

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This study has as its theme the build of the hero and the villain in a political discourse, most especially in the discourse of Fernando Collor de Mello, based mainly on the semiotic theory of French line and the methodology developed by Algirdas J. Greimas and in Brazil by Diana Luz Pessoa de Barros and José Luiz Fiorin. The purposes are to examine the narrative and discursive strategies applied as persuasion mechanisms in a political discourse; among these strategies, show the resources used in the creation of the figure of the hero; check the intertextual and interdiscursive relations present in the text, which builds the ideological and socio-historical context of the discourses; to examine the role of the setting of the hero in a political discourse; and checking how Collor set up himself as a hero and how the media supported to create the hero picture taken by the political, until to the achievement of the presidency of the country, and the villain picture when he begun to be investigated by the crimes of corruption. The material analyzed consists of Fernando Collor discourse as president in 1990 and as a senator in 2007, beside of this and two magazine where the politician was masthead, and some records of the main printed communication press of the time. With the linguisticdiscursive analysis, it was possible to draw the line of the hero powerful as opposed to the hero suffered , used as persuasion techniques in political discourse.
Este trabalho tem como tema a construção do herói e do vilão no discurso político, mais especialmente no discurso de Fernando Collor de Mello, com base, principalmente, na teoria semiótica de linha francesa e a metodologia desenvolvidas por Algirdas J. Greimas e, no Brasil, por Diana Luz Pessoa de Barros e José Luiz Fiorin. Os objetivos são: examinar as estratégias narrativas e discursivas utilizadas como mecanismos de persuasão no discurso político; entre essas estratégias, mostrar os recursos utilizados na construção da figura do herói; verificar as relações intertextuais e interdiscursivas presentes nos textos e que constroem o contexto sóciohistórico e ideológico dos discursos; examinar o papel da construção do herói no discurso político; e verificar como Collor se construiu como herói e como a mídia contribuiu para criar a imagem de herói adotada pelo político até chegar à presidência, e de vilão, quando passou a ser investigado por crime de corrupção. O material analisado é constituído dos discursos deposse de Fernando Collor como presidente da República, em 1990, e como senador, em 2007, além de duas capas da revista Veja, em que o político foi destaque, e de alguns registros dos principais meios de comunicação impressa da época. Com a análise linguístico-discursiva, foi possível traçar o percurso do herói poderoso em oposição.

This study addressed the question: “Does Western media framing of different actors in ethnic conflict influence the likelihood of intervention being advocated in the media?” In order to answer this question, this study used a content analysis of USA, UK and Australian print media, and explored the media framing of conflicts in Rwanda, Kosovo, and East Timor. The study examined newspaper articles prior to intervention and, using Piers Robinson’s media framing model (2000), measured the quantity of “empathetic” and “distancing” coverage in relation to suggestions for intervention. The results of this study show that simplified representations of these complex conflicts often lead to a dangerous polarisation in Western media. Ethnic conflicts are discussed either within a “barbaric” frame, where readers are presented with well-defined heroes, victims and villains and are encouraged to support intervention; or with a “native” narrative, where the situation is reported as a distant problem between “squabbling tribes”, and the media consumer is encouraged to support non-intervention.

Qu’est-ce qu’un héros de bande dessinée ? Comment fonctionne-t-il ? Pourquoi est-il ainsi ? Ce sont là les trois questions principales que nous entendons traiter dans les pages de cette thèse. C’est principalement l’étude de la relation entre le lecteur et le héros qui va nous permettre de répondre. Cette relation, nous la nommons identification, elle est à la fois reconnaissance et projection. C’est dans ce double mouvement – du héros vers le lecteur, du lecteur vers le héros – que nous trouverons notre objet. Notre cheminement nous amènera à définir le héros tant de façon diachronique, en nous attardant sur son origine et son évolution historique (avec une attention particulière pour les productions et les réflexions de Rodolphe Töpffer), que de façon synchronique en le comparant aux héros d’autres médiums. Définissant le héros par son fonctionnement identificatoire, nous étudierons celui-ci en analysant les stratégies graphiques mises en œuvre par les auteurs de bandes dessinées pour que celui-ci se produise. Cela nous permettra enfin de tirer des conclusions esthétiques et éthiques de ce fonctionnement, et de préciser la nature de l’expérience de la bande dessinée. Ce travail de recherche fera donc appel, pour être mené à bien, à des outils provenant des domaines variés que sont l’analyse plastique, la sémiologie, l’esthétique, la philosophie, les études littéraires, etc
What is a comic book hero? How does it work? Why is it so? These are the three main issues that we intend to cover in the pages of this thesis. This is mainly the study of the relationship between the reader and the hero that will allow us to respond. This relationship, we call identification, it is both recognition and projection. It is in this double movement - the hero to the reader, the reader to the hero - that we find our purpose. Our journey will take us to define the hero so diachronically, but to focus on its origin and historical development (with particular attention to the production and reflections Rodolphe Töpffer) as synchronically by comparing the heroes of other mediums. Defining the hero by identificatory function, we will study it by analyzing the graphic strategies implemented by the authors of comics for it to happen. This will allow us finally to draw aesthetic and ethical conclusions of this operation, and to specify the nature of the experience of the comic. This research will therefore appeal to be completed, tools from various fields such as plastic analysis, semiotics, aesthetics, philosophy, literary studies, etc

Esta dissertação pretende analisar o storytelling televisivo contemporâneo norte-americano, considerando os eventos históricos e políticos que conduziram a uma aparente revolução criativa no final do século XX. Esta evolução na programação televisiva de qualidade ficou conhecida como a terceira “Golden Age” da televisão americana, cujo centro passou a estar ocupado por um novo tipo de protagonista, sugerindo uma mudança no arquétipo do herói. Através de exemplos significativos de algumas séries de televisão, tais como Oz (1997-2003), The Sopranos (1999-2007), The Wire (2002-2008), Dexter (2006-2013) e House of Cards (2013-presente), e analisando as características dos vilões, serial killers, cowboys e gangsters, assim como a sua relevância na criação da figura do herói nas narrativas contemporâneas, esta dissertação tentará demonstrar que heróis, anti-heróis e vilões partilham traços cada vez mais comuns e diferenças cada vez mais ténues. A personagem de Walter White, protagonista da série Breaking Bad (2008-2013), simultaneamente herói e vilão numa América desencantada, foi o exemplo escolhido para aprofundar o que torna este tipo de personagem tão complexa e cativante. Através desta personagem, cuja jornada reflecte a criação de um vilão, um dos principais objectivos desta dissertação é o de demonstrar o modo como as fronteiras do paradigma do herói foram sendo redefinidas para englobar medos, inquietações e realidades contemporâneas
This dissertation intends to analyse the shift in North-American television storytelling by considering the historical and political events that laid the groundwork for a creative revolution at the end of the 20th century. This boom in quality television programming became known as the third “Golden Age” of American television, whose centre became populated by a new type of protagonist, suggesting a shift in the archetype of the hero. Through significant examples of American television series, such as Oz (1997-2003), The Sopranos (1999-2007), The Wire (2002-2008), Dexter (2006-2013) and House of Cards (2013-present), and analysing the characteristics of villains, serial killers, cowboys and gangsters as well as their significance in the creation of the hero figure in contemporary narratives, this dissertation will attempt to show how heroes, anti-heroes and villains all share ever more common traits and ever more tenuous differences. The protagonist Walter White from the series Breaking Bad (2008-2013), both hero and villain in a disenchanted America, was the example chosen to delve into what makes this type of character so enticing and complex. Focusing on this protagonist, whose journey reflects the making of a villain, one of the main objectives of this dissertation will be to demonstrate how the boundaries of the hero paradigm have been redefined to encompass contemporary fears, concerns and realities.

A ficção audiovisual parece estar em transformação: transita-se do paradigma do protagonista-herói – cuja jornada e ideias são enquadradas pela moldura ideológica estrita do monomito de Campbell (2004) e Vogler (2007) – para um paradigma que parece assentar não só num, mas em vários conceitos de moralidade, em que não há verdades absolutas, nem um só conceito de certo ou errado. Um paradigma que vem introduzir personagens como Walter White (Breaking Bad, 2008), Frank Underwood (House of Cards, 2013) ou Arthur Fleck (Joker, 2019), indivíduos desconcertantes, moralmente ambíguos ou mesmo maus, que vão assumindo o protagonismo das novas narrativas de ficção. Nesta investigação estudam-se as possíveis origens e causas desta transformação. Analisam-se diferentes narrativas audiovisuais de diferentes períodos – desde os anos trinta a 2019 – de modo a perceber se ela é resultado de um capricho de guionistas, ou se é um processo de avanços e recuos umbilicalmente ligados a mudanças importantes no contexto histórico, político e sociocultural em que essas transformações acontecem. Conclui-se que, tal como os heróis de outras décadas, os novos protagonistas são um produto direto do seu tempo, marcado pelo medo, por crises económicas, pela incerteza na credibilidade das instituições e por um novo tipo de espectador, que parece procurar experiências de entretenimento menos formulaicas, mais personalizadas e mais humanas. Esta investigação visa suportar Os Filhos de Apolo, um projeto de minissérie televisiva que incide sobre as temáticas da música, da transformação e da velhice e em que o protagonista – um homem que já velho entra em rotura com a sua família – se pretende representante desta mudança de paradigmas.
Audio-visual fiction is changing: there seems to be a transition from the heroprotagonist paradigm – whose journey and ideas are framed mainly by the works of Campbell (2004) and Vogler (2007) – to a paradigm that seems to be based on various concepts of morality, in which there are no absolute truths and no unitary concept of right and wrong. This paradigm is conducive to the introduction of characters such as Walter White (Breaking Bad, 2008), Frank Underwood (House of Cards, 2013) or Arthur Fleck (Joker, 2019), disconcerting, morally ambiguous or even admittedly evil individuals who today play the main roles of many fictional narratives. In this investigation, we examine the possible origins and causes of this transformation. By analysing different fiction narratives from different periods – namely from the thirties to 2019 – we aim to understand how this transformation is not the result of a whim, but of a process of advances and retreats, closely linked to important changes in the historical, political and socio-cultural context in which these transformations happen. We conclude that, like the heroes of other decades, these new protagonists are a direct product of their times. Times marked by fear, by economic crises, by uncertainty in the credibility of institutions and by new type of spectator. One who seems to look for new – less formulaic and more humane – entertainment experiences. This research aims to support "Os Filhos de Apolo", a television miniseries project that focuses on the themes of music, transformation and old age and in which the protagonist - an old man that separates from his family - is intended to be a representative of this change of paradigms