YorkSpace has migrated to a new version of its software. Access our Help Resources to learn how to use the refreshed site. Contact diginit@yorku.ca if you have any questions about the migration.
 

Justice Doers: The Vigilante as a Mythic Figure and its Role in Creating a More Violent Culture in America

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorRedding, Arthur F.
dc.contributor.authorMortensen, Erik William
dc.date.accessioned2021-07-06T12:54:43Z
dc.date.available2021-07-06T12:54:43Z
dc.date.copyright2021-01
dc.date.issued2021-07-06
dc.date.updated2021-07-06T12:54:42Z
dc.degree.disciplineHumanities
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation builds off the work of Richard Slotkin in examining the relationship between myth-making and violence in American culture. The specific myth this dissertation focuses on is the myth of the vigilante hero and its role in creating a more violent culture in America. The vigilante is a unique American term and figure, and while the figure has been connected to the myth of the American frontier, it has not been recognized as a mythic figure in its own right. This dissertation defines, outlines, and demonstrates the origin of myth of the vigilante hero; it then proceeds to examine how the myth gained cultural power through replication and revisions. The dissertation argues that a vigilante cannot be understood outside of a narrative that the figure is placed within. It is the narrative pattern and formula for the vigilante that creates the myth of the vigilante hero. This narrative formula begins in historical and news narratives about vigilantes, but over time is widened into fictional narratives across diverse media forms. The narrative formula also allows for any political and cultural position, such as class, ethnicity, and gender, to be mapped into the myth. This will legitimate the vigilante figure as a hero, and in turn legitimate their extra-legal violent tactics. As a result, any violent actors pursuing their sense of justice can be made into heroes and have their violence legitimated once mapped into the myth. Therefore, this myth creates an unending cycle of violence in the culture so long as it is not being critically engaged, deconstructed, and exposed.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/38501
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectAfrican literature
dc.subject.keywordsvigilantes
dc.subject.keywordsviolence
dc.subject.keywordsAmerican culture
dc.subject.keywordspopular culture
dc.subject.keywordsAmerican history
dc.subject.keywordscultural history
dc.subject.keywordsmyth and history
dc.subject.keywordsAmerican myth
dc.subject.keywordsvigilantes and comics
dc.subject.keywordsvigilantes and film
dc.subject.keywordsvigilantes and literature.
dc.titleJustice Doers: The Vigilante as a Mythic Figure and its Role in Creating a More Violent Culture in America
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Mortensen_Erik_W_2021_PhD.pdf
Size:
1.18 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.87 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
YorkU_ETDlicense.txt
Size:
3.39 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download

Collections

Humanities

All items in the YorkSpace institutional repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved except where explicitly noted.