Romance seduces us into believing in romantic heroes, the sort of men who will come riding in on their white horses and save us.

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The founder of a company producing features for cable television stations, who is obsessed with film noir -- murder mysteries shot in black and white "with warped gangsters and neurotic heroes and dangerous women, shiny wet streets and big black cars with their headlights on" -- has disappeared.

FORBES: Fact and Comment

"In football, fans adore their heroes for their talent and character, whether they are black or white, " he says.

BBC: Nick Clegg targets racial 'ceiling' in banks and sport