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A vigilante is someone who takes enforcement of law or moral code into his or her own hands. The term vigilante stems from the name "Vigiles Urbani" given to the nightwatchmen of Ancient Rome who were tasked with fighting fires and keeping a lookout for runaway slaves and burglars. In modern Western society, the term is frequently applied to those citizens who "take the law into their own hands," meting out "frontier justice" when they perceive that the actions of established authorities are insufficient. Vigilantism is sometimes vilified when it gives way to criminal behavior on the part of the vigilante. Vigilantism has existed in some form for as long as there have been societies with weak law enforcement. In some cases, like Neo-Nazis or the Sombra Negra discussed below, the desire to impose the groups own values on individuals in society leads to vigilantism. In the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century, vigilantism took the form of lynch mobs. More recent examples of criminal vigilantism include the Neo-Nazis and other hate groups.
Examples of vigilantism Films TV series Literature Vigilantes in comic books Vigilantism is the basic concept from which many contemporary fictions are derived, including stories published in dime novels and comic books. Many of the heroes of pulp fiction, such as Doc Savage and The Shadow, and comic book superheroes such as Batman and Daredevil have at various times been considered to be vigilantes due to their actions being self-motivated, and while generally aimed at the "good" result of bringing evil-doers to justice, being done outside the scope of what is permitted under the law. In fact, virtually any super-hero, even Superman, Spider-Man, Captain America, and any other respected super-hero may be considered a vigilante if he or she is not acting under the direct authority of a law enforcement agency or other government body. An extreme of the vigilante-type superhero is Marvel Comics' character The Punisher, who uses flagrantly illegal methods such as mass murder and torture to fight criminals. Another key example is Watchmen, a DC Comics limited series of the late 1980s written by Alan Moore, in which superheroes are portrayed by society and government as illegal vigilantes. Also of note is the DC comic book character of the 1980s, himself named Vigilante, a district attorney who "took the law into his own hands" in a disguise when the justice system failed to bring the wrongdoers to account. Another film with very strong links to vigilantism is the "Boondock Saints" (1999)starring Billy Connolly and William Dafoe in which two Catholic brothers become vigilante after a near-death experience and kill off local gang members. See also | ||||||||
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