‘Vengeance is Mine.’ Heroes from the Movie-Powerhouse of Emotions

Abstract

In this text I am guided by an interest in cinema as a well-understood machine of emotions which creates a common sense. From this perspective I approach the subject matter of heroism, using the emotions linked to vengeance as a connection between heroism and the cinematic production of common sense. In so doing, I put forward several theses for discussion: that film – like art in general – is a medium which founds community; that such a founding of community essentially occurs via the dimensions of emotion, in our case the dimension of a specific aesthetic emotion; that the hero is a figure emerging from the founding of community; and, finally, that feelings of vengeance – like figures of heroism – are made present in cinema in a representative way.