Nostalgia and Heroism: Theoretical Convergence of Memory, Motivation, and Function

This article seeks to develop theoretical convergences between the science of nostalgia and the science of heroism. We take four approaches in forging a conceptual relationship between these two phenomena. First, we examine the definitions of nostalgia and heroism from scholars, laypeople, and across cultures, noting how the history of defining the two phenomena has shaped current conceptualizations. Second, we demonstrate how nostalgic experiences consist of reminiscences about our own personal heroism and about cultural role models and heroes. A review of heroism research, moreover, shows also that our recall of our heroes and of heroism is tinged with nostalgia. Third, we make linkages between heroism and nostalgia research focusing on functions, inspiration, sociality, and motivation. Nostalgia researchers have illuminated the functions of nostalgia implicating the self, existential concerns, goal pursuit, and sociality. Our review shows that heroism researchers invoke similar categories of hero functionality. Finally, we propose three areas of future research that can profit from the merging of nostalgia and heroism science, involving the mechanisms by which (a) heroism can fuel nostalgia, (b) nostalgia can promote heroic action, and (c) wisdom results from nostalgic reverie.

Thomas Carlyle and Stoicism

Recent studies have pointed to the importance of Thomas Carlyle’s engagement with classical thought, especially Epicureanism and Cynicism. However, in these recent studies, Carlyle’s debts to Stoicism have received only passing attention. Previous scholars hardly considered the question at all, and those who did argued that Carlyle could never have accepted the passive withdrawal and indifference of the Stoics. By way of corrective, the current article offers a comprehensive account of Carlyle’s engagement with Stoicism, showing that he subscribed to an active interpretation of the latter that emphasized will, duty, and heroic action. Indeed, contemporaries were well aware of Carlyle’s debts to Stoicism, pointing out that his thought stood in stark contradiction to Christian doctrines of original sin. Thus, while Carlyle’s Stoicism was compatible with his hereditary Calvinism insofar as divine providence and duty were concerned, there was a significant contradiction regarding the question of sin. In this sense, Carlyle’s Stoicism made an important contribution to the ‘meliorist’ revolt against orthodox Christianity.

Discovering new dimensions: Affect and the heroic in Doctor Who

The British television series Doctor Who often depicts the discovery of new dimensions that provoke both affective experiences and heroic moments. Every discovery of a new dimension in Doctor Who is overwhelming, sudden and transformative, a moment of wonder and inspiration. This article considers three episodes, featuring discoveries of a new dimension of space (‘The Rings of Akhaten’ 2013), agency (‘Dark Water’ 2014) and imagination (‘Vincent and the Doctor’ 2010), which all combine affect and the heroic, albeit in different ways. Acknowledging the difficulty of grasping moments of affecting and being affected due to their dynamic and pre-reflexive nature, the article uses close readings of selected scenes to narrow down the descriptive gap as far as possible. The case study of ‘Dark Water’ also includes an analysis of the episode’s reception in reviews and on social media platforms to highlight the actual affective response of the audience. The episodes’ narratives of discovering new dimensions of space, agency and imagination, medialized through specific audio-visual means, closely intertwine affective experiences with heroic moments: affective experiences can trigger heroic action, a heroic claim of agency can have an affective dimension and the ability to affect and be affected can in itself be heroized.

THE HEROIC CHARACTER DECONSTRUCTION OF BHARATAYUDHA WAR IN MAHABHARATA EPIC

The Mahabharata is an epic story written by Vyasa. The story tells about the heroism of Pandavas which ended in their victory at the battle of Bharatayudha against the Kauravas. People believes that the Pandavas are heroes who become the core of the epic story. The interpretation of heroism of Pandavas are believed by people because they are the children of God. In addition the Pandavas are believed as the protagonist characters who are powerful than ordinary human, they are good and honest. Through decnstructin theory the writer reveals the other side of the Pandavas that is hidden behind their heroic action. By reading and looking for the minor texts in the story, the writer finds that the Pandavas are not as heroic as people think. There are many things that make them look as ordinary human that are far from heroic attitude. Whereas Kauravas who are considered as the cowards and they have a bad character, but they have the attitudes as a hero more than Pandavas. The writer finds the binary oppositions in the text to search for the faults of Pandavas and the of goodness Kauravas that will change the view of the two main characters in the story. By using the theory of deconstruction the writer can find other truths in the story of the epic Mahabharata. Keywords: deconstruction analysis, hero, heroism, Derrida, Mahabharata.

Geistesheld und Heldengeist

Heroic spirit and heroic action can be connected in many ways – when intellect and heroism compete, when poet and ruler complement each other or when spirit and act are synthesized to form one heroic character. Drawing on recent concepts of heroism and agency, this volume brings together articles from various disciplines. They shed light on the long history and broad intercultural relevance of the topic in order to determine its potential for future cultural studies. With contributions by Ronald G. Asch, Sabina Becker, Barbara Beßlich, Ulrich Bröckling, Emma Louise Brucklacher, Nicolas Detering, Monika Fludernik, Ralph Häfner, Hanna Klessinger, Wilhelm Kühlmann, Dieter Martin, Franziska Merklin, Isabell Oberle, Frédérique Renno, Günter Schnitzler, Anna Schreurs-Moret, Ralf von den Hoff, Mario Zanucchi, Bernhard Zimmermann

‘I do not like moral horror’: Spooks and the Ethical Challenge of the Secret Services in Twenty-first Century Britain

Spooks (BBC, 2002–11) is a success story of British television that has been noted for the way in which it responded to political and social concerns of the United Kingdom during the time it was produced. In the course of ten seasons, the programme presented the heroism of MI5 officers who defend the realm against the many threats of the twenty-first century. However, its displays of heroic action are always entangled with negotiations of serious ethical questions: Spooks's heroes can perform their duty only because they constantly stretch and transgress the morality of ordinary life. As spy fiction, Spooks also scrutinised political ethics at a time when, during the ‘war on terror’, the practice of politicians was as openly criticised as the work of the intelligence services. This article investigates how Spooks functioned as a morality play for the first decade after 9/11, and how it epitomises the claim that television creates for its viewers a cultural space in which moral ideas can be shared and debated.