Evil is that which does not value life, good is that which does.
Have you seen the new Dune yet? I had no expectations or care, really, but I went to bond with my new Jiu Jitsu academy to a showing of Dune 2, and it was fabulous, and now I’ve watched the first one (Dune) from 2021 twice. The storytelling, visuals, and acting of both are fantastic. Worth a trip to theaters. The pacing is refreshing; it doesn’t rush to a new scene every thirteen seconds.
(from Dune, 2021)
I’m in love with the positive masculine elements after so much bullshit around women being as good fighters as men that’s felt shoved down my throat by modern movies. Yes, there are women fighters in Dune/Dune 2, but not many, and women are still powerful (not-too-arguably THE MOST powerful) but for other reasons.
There is a scene in the first movie, Dune, in which Duke Leto Atreides is flying a helicopter-like-thing present at a scene unfolding with equipment failure and a giant worm incoming that’s gonna eat everybody. You might say he has a choice between saving the men onboard the giant harvesting vehicle or not, though as I type this I realize there wasn’t really an option to save the harvester so he would have just let them die if he didn’t try to save them…, but the story is presented as if it’s a “save the product/money or save the humans”. Basically the script is set up for us to see Duke Leto Atreides make a firm and completely unwavering decision to choose life over money, putting it simply. The men he is committed to valuing are faceless; we do not know them except as workers in the field and under his command.
This and a few other portions of Dune cast the Duke as a distinctly principled and moral character and I thought the actor portrayed it impeccably. I even googled silly fangirl things like “why is Duke Leto perfect” and looked for all the agreement I could find on Reddit.
I haven’t read the books. There. You already knew that probably.
But it also got me thinking about why the scenes he is in are so gosh darn powerful. Why I was so convinced that he was the principled and glorious pillar of masculinity at its finest.
And the helicopter scene perfectly portrayed it. This man values life, therefore we may think of him as Good. When presented with a choice of life or objects, the choice is life. Had his character cared about the loss of spice, or money, more than the men harvesting it, we would have seen it as a flaw.
What do you think of that definition of “the good guy?”
If you want to be remembered, care about people.
I’m deep in a vision of the future that has us humans valuing life and connection and other things I may discuss here or maybe not.
To have a better future you need to build connections where you are.
Listening is by far the simplest and most effective way to help someone feel valued. You don’t have to agree. You just have to have a quiet mind that listens with attention.
Too often we, or our friends, are either scrolling, defensive, jumping the gun, or thinking about our response and then attaching ourselves to it when someone is talking. None of these things help someone feel listened to.
We do it because we feel insecure, desperate to demonstrate our value, or maybe disinterested.
I was startled by the first time I was listened to well. I’ll never forget the person, and this is just something that they do, probably with everyone.
I think listening is one of those things that when done well secures our position in people’s memories after we die.
Interestingly, the skill takes development on both sides. How comfortable you are expressing yourself authentically influences how comfortable you are in your body which then makes it easier or harder to sit still and listen to a human pouring themselves out to you, making a bid to connect with you and a deeper place within themselves. Without good listening, emotions get cut off and people learn that they occupy a place of less value than they could.
I’m running the first of three listening-based online workshops I will run this year. Beginning April 13, this one will have four 90-minute sessions with a limit of 8 people. This format has worked amazingly in the past. It’s designed to push your edges in order to grow and experience both listening and being listened to authentically. I’ll provide journal prompts, the group including me collectively writes our real thoughts down, and then we share what we wrote aloud, while others listen. Only listen. There is no obligation to analyze or do anything else. You will just be listened to, and it will change you for the better. I seek to bring people into spaces of depth, where they can know themselves better. Because what matters is what you think, more than what anyone else who hears you may believe.
Register before my birthday, March 24, and it’s only $120/single or $200/2 slots.
All 4 dates are Saturdays:
April 13, April 20, April 27, and May 4 for 90 minutes starting at 7pm EST/4pm PST
The more you attend the more you get out of it, but the journaling entries will not be sequenced or dependent on one another. (Someone asked me about missing one of the dates.)
I think, to me, that scene was about Duke Atreides viewing his elevated status as an obligation to do what he can in service of the people he leads in contrast to the Harkonens, who view their elevated status as an opportunity to exploit those under them, & protect themselves from consequences.
&, ultimately, I think that goodness is EXACTLY WHY the Emperor & Baron Harkonen conspire to kill him & his house -> It's meant to show that good leader like Atreides is such a threat to exploitative leaders that they'd rather lose all the benefits he offers as the leader of a strong and growing house than tolerate the threat his style of leadership poses to them.