Heroism as a Global Phenomenon in Contemporary Culture

Barbara Korte is Professor of English Literature at the University of Freiburg and principal investigator at the Freiburg Collaborative Research Center on Heroes, Heroizations and Heroisms.

The case studies in this volume explore how processes of cultural translation and adaptation shape contemporary notions of the heroic across the globe. The book provides fresh perspectives on heroism studies and offers a new angle for global and postcolonial studies.

Introduction: Studying Heroism from a Global Perspective 1. "Like a Cinema When the Last of the Audience Has Gone and Only the Staff Remain": Biggles and (Post-)Imperial Heroism 2. Y'a Bon?: Popularizing the Tirailleurs as Heroes of (Anti-)Colonialism 3. Princess of a Different Kingdom: Cultural Imperialism, Female Heroism, and the Global Performance of Walt Disney's Mulan and Moana 4. One Hero Fits All?: Cultural Translations in Doctor Strange (2016) as "Global Hero" Movie 5. Zashchitniki (Guardians): A Failed Russian-Soviet Answer to Superman and Batman 6. "This Beast in the Shape of a Man": Right-Wing Populism, White Masculinity, and the Transnational Heroization of Donald Trump 7. Axe and Helmet: The Widening Range of New York Firefighters as (Super-)Heroes 8. Unlikely Tragic (Anti-)Heroes: Gangsters Translated into Hindi Films 9. Heroism and the Pleasure and Pain of Mistranslation: The Case of The Act of Killing 10. Shaolin Martial Arts Heroes in Industrial Hong Kong: Between Colonialism, Postcolonialism and Globalism 11. Interhuman. Interspecies. Global: Heroism in Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs (2018) 12. Global Heroism as a Discursive Tradition: A Critical Response