The dual hero in late capitalism. Myth’ new languages in V for Vendetta and Mr. Robot

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Paula Requeijo Rey
Eva Aladro Vico

Abstract

This research analyzes the presence and characteristics of the so-called dual or ambivalent hero in two critical dystopias that open and close late capitalism: the comic V for Vendetta (1982-1990) and the Mr. Robot series (2015-2019). The dual hero is already present in archaic myths. However, it was blurred to give way to more defined archetypes. The narratives of late capitalism, in which critical dystopia and science fiction have proliferated, recover this duplicitous hero. Using a complete bibliographic review that allows us to connect the theories of different scholars specialized in myth study and through the detailed analysis of these two critical dystopias influenced by science fiction, we verify how myths adapt to the dysfunctions and complications of current life. Through a critique of the social and economic incongruities of neoliberalism and the digital society, the duplicitous heroes of V for Vendetta and Mr. Robot point to a liberating sense concerning the current context. Both texts offer a kind of revenge or compensation and reflect the confusion in values in late capitalism.

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How to Cite
Requeijo Rey, Paula, and Eva Aladro Vico. 2022. “The dual hero in late capitalism. Myth’ new languages in V for Vendetta and Mr. Robot”. Vivat Academia. Journal of Communication 155 (January):219-39. https://doi.org/10.15178/va.2022.155.e1416.
Section
Research Articles
Author Biographies

Paula Requeijo Rey, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Information Sciences of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. UCM Teaching Excellence Award during the 2018-2021 triennium. Accredited as an Assistant Professor by Aneca. Secretary of the journal Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación and member of the Feminist Research Institute. She is a visiting researcher at the University of California (USA) and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Consolidated research group Estructuras Comunicativas e Interacciones en los distintos niveles de la Comunicación Interpersonal of the Universidad Complutense. She has participated in more than a dozen research projects including three Europeans and several R+D. 50 published works, indexed in first positions and editorials. Writer of two poetry books.

Eva Aladro Vico, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Associate Professor of the Faculty of Information Sciences of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She was accredited to Full University Professor in 2020. She is the director of the journal Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación and the Consolidated Research Group Estructuras Comunicativas e Interacciones entre los distintos niveles de la Comunicación (940820) of the UCM. Teaching Excellence Award for the 2015-2016 academic year and the Docentia Award for the 2017-2020 triennium. Her publications constitute 160 texts with dozens of scientific articles in international impact journals and our country, and some fifty book chapters and complete monographs in leading international publishers in her sector. Among her books: Teoría de la Información y la Comunicación Efectiva, La Información Determinante, or Las Diez Leyes de la Teoría de la Información. Visiting Professor at the Universities of Frankfurt (Germany), Melbourne (Australia), Thessaloniki (Greece), Athens (Greece), Crete (Greece), Cagliari (Italy), and Monterrey (Mexico). She is the spokesperson for the Albéniz Theater Aid Platform, of the Restructuring Platform at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, as well as a blogger and writer of six poetry books.   

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