Recalibrating ‘Heroes and Villains’: Ancient Greek Literature through the Camera Lens

Abstract

Audiences’ expectations of how a hero should behave are shaped by how they measure up against characters coded as villainous. This chapter examines the interdependence of these two concepts with reference to two screen case studies with direct and indirect connections to the Trojan War as an archetype for all wars. Juxtaposing William Scofield, the accidental hero of the World War One movie 1917 (DreamWorks Pictures, 2019) with the villainous Ajax in Troy: Fall of a City (BBC/Netflix, 2018) allows us to reflect on how radically the labels of hero and villain have been recalibrated in the second decade of the new millennium. What has, however, not changed, is the ongoing role that ancient Greek literature, characters, and themes play in such conversations in our popular culture.