creatorofarcadia

[creatorofarcadia]

anatomy 👁️

[creatorofarcadia]

The Bull and the Old Duke

Disclaimer: I'm on my first re-read of dune and haven't read any of the sequels yet so if anything is wrong or inaccurate sorry about that.

On my first read of Dune, I didn't really understand why the reader kept being told about the Old Duke and how he died in a matador fight. I could tell it was something we were supposed to think about, but was too busy grappling with the world building and plot to really give it much thought. However, on re-read, I have some thoughts as to why it might be referenced the way it is.

1. Foreshadowing the death of Leto

I think the first and most significant reason for learning about the Old Duke is to foreshadow how Leto is fated to die. The first time the death of the Old Duke is discussed is also the first scene in Arrakis, when the Atreides' fate is truly sealed. At this point, the tragedy awaiting Leto has been established and I think seeing the bull horns stained with ducal blood, is such a stark reminder that these people are only fragile humans despite their high status and in some cases, incredible powers.

I also think the foreshadowing runs deeper than just, oh look, the old Duke died in a grisly way, and soon so will you. I think the manner of the Old Duke's death could foreshadow how and why Leto dies. Through the killing of the bull and the assumption of power over Arrakis, both Father and son attempt to subdue a powerful force of nature and are swiftly punished. Taking this idea even further, they both attempt to manipulate and corral an innocent party (the fremen/the bull) for their own selfish ends and to a certain extent, put on a show. Leto had the option of going renegade and attempting to flee, but instead he wants to seize more power and demonstrate that power to the Landsraad.

Ultimately, both Father and son display incredible hubris in attempting to manipulate much greater forces into doing their bidding, and both are killed at the hands of beasts as a result.

2. Propaganda and the Atreides mythos

Herbert repeatedly informs us HOW the old Duke dies. However, I think more interesting information can be gleaned from the method he uses to tell us of the old Duke's death, namely the portrait and the bull's head.

I said previously the blooded horns remind us of the Atreides' fragility and I think this is true. However, I think the in-story reason for them having kept the head and the portrait is actually the opposite. They keep these things to memorialise and glorify the Old Duke, to give him some grand mythos of how only a great beast was able to bring him down. The Shadout Mapes even expresses when she sees the head "what a great beast it must have been to carry such a head". We know the Atreides utilise propaganda effectively in their pursuit of power and I think the bull's head acts an effective demonstration of this. Despite the negative implications the old Duke's death has for his character, the Atreides twist it into a glorious end for a glorious leader.

Interestingly, we receive several hints outside of his manner of dying that suggest the glorious Old Duke wasn't as good as his mythos suggests. Namely, Jessica seems to have an incredibly low opinion of him, suggesting that every negative trait of Leto's, (coldness, callousness, selfishness etc) is "the man shaped by the father". She even goes so far as to wish he had died when Leto was born.

Finally, similarly to the manner of death, the manner of remembrance of Leto and the Old Duke is the same. Both are used even after they're death to further the Atreides mythos of supremecy, the old Duke with his bull, and Leto with (excuse the rhyme) his skull.

[creatorofarcadia]

I keep hearing a general sentiment of "oh woe it is the awful writers fault" when it comes to Dean being misogynistic, and this is true to a certain extent. There are certainly moments when Dean and the show generally come across as misogynistic because it's an early 2000s show written by men. For example, in the early seasons everrrryyy episode there's a new hot woman who despite her horrifying situation, is still making heart eyes at one of the brothers because that's obviously a women's top concern in every situation.

HOWEVER!

There are also times when Dean's misogyny feels like purposeful characterisation instead of "oh the writers are exposing their own bias". Even in the pilot when he's gross to Jess, to me, she's always looked vaguely uncomfortable, but like she doesn't want to cause a problem, rather than "oh you! So funny and charming! What a bad boy!". There are plenty of moments were Deans comments are met with disgust from Sam/other characters (e.g., the infamous cheerleader moment) which suggests to me the writers know what he's saying is gross and that's the point.

Idk, maybe I'm being too optimistic about the standard of early 2000s TV and his misogyny really is always an attempt to be funny that fails. But I've always felt sweeping Dean's misogyny away as "the writers being mean" ignores moments were imo they're very much painting him that way on purpose, with Sam there as a foil.

(Disclaimer: that's not me saying Sam is never misogynistic, just that when Sam/others express discomfort with Dean's comment's it indicates to me that the audience is also supposed to find Dean's misogyny uncomfortable rather than funny)

[creatorofarcadia]

likeeeeeeeee. dean sets these impossible masculinity standards and he constantly makes fun of sam being too "girly" but then as time goes on every once in a while he'll do something that doesn't meet these standards and when sam raises his eyebrow at him like "really. you make fun of me for that. well well well" dean girls count that as sam hate criming dean. girl he built this house.

[creatorofarcadia]

Lord knows I'm gonna regret this because people go buckwild about ships, but look. You can love destiel, I'm happy for you. You don't even need to give me any evidence. Ship characters who haven't even met if you want, I'm not bothered.

But please, I'm begging, stop using the siren thing as evidence for destiel. The siren being Sam isn't even subtext it's just text, what with the 'I gave him what he needed. And it wasn't some bitch in a G-string. It was you' line so there are exactly two ways you can take it.

1. Dean's greatest desire is to have a good relationship with his brother (the siren can take on the shape of platonic desires)

2. Dean's greatest desire is to fuck his brother (the siren can only take on the shape of sexual desires)

You don't have to like option 2, that's fine. But in that case, take option 1 and run with it people. Because if you start trying to argue that:

The siren is evidence that Dean has sexual feelings towards a man, so Dean is bi, therefore destiel. What you're really arguing is Dean has sexual feelings for the illusory, perfect version of Sam.

Like idk guys, I see people joking about how not heterosexual Dean's siren being a man is and... you can totally watch it that way. But the siren isn't just a man he is a very specific man.... his brother.... soooo.

[creatorofarcadia]

Just throwing this out there:

In Sam’s early life, before he read John’s journal, he was not protected from the hunting lifestyle.

He was dragged around the country. He was dumped in motels with Dean left to be his parent. He was taught to fight. He knew Dean could shoot a gun (though I’m not real sure when Sam learned). He saw his dad stagger in beaten and bloody.

Dean and Sam were “protected” from the hunting lifestyle in the same way - they didn’t go on hunts. That didn’t stop them from being targeted (striga), or from hunters coming after Sam (John’s journal is fringe canon, but from what I understand, a hunter saw him as fair game and accused him of ripping someone else apart; John recorded it all, and Sam read his father’s journal). They were kept away from the actual hunts - that doesn’t mean the lifestyle itself was in any way, shape, or form ‘good’ for them. Dean, at least, knew why. All Sam knew was that Dean and John were lying to him.

Sam was not protected the way everyone likes to claim. Sam was lied to, dragged around, and suffered from poverty, lack of an adequate caretaker, and gaslighting for the first eight years of his life.

And then you wonder why he has problems trusting people.

[creatorofarcadia]

thinking about sam as a kid who was small and bullied and fought back against bigger children who used size to intimidate and harm. and sam as an adult who’s big and makes himself seem nonthreatening in his posture and stance. he rarely ever yells, he speaks gently, he rarely if ever touches women first. in fallen idols he sits beside the upset witness immediately to speak to her softly while dean stands over her. he puts himself on her eye level so he doesn’t look like a threat. growing up and gaining a physical power that was used against you as a small kid who was friends with the bullied. and choosing not to use it unless it’s to protect.

[creatorofarcadia]

Hey I read through a bunch of your original posts and it is EXACTLY what I have been looking for!! My rewatch (if I ever get back to it lol) was supposed to be focused on seeing spn from Sam's POV and I think your blog gives me that much needed insight since a lot of people I follow are so boring about him lol. So hope you don't mind the follow!! I'm excited to see more 😊

Hi, thank you I'm glad you've found them interesting :) and you're more than welcome to hang out here.

[creatorofarcadia]

Literally replace hunting with any other risky profession and the idea Sam is selfish for not wanting to hunt kind of collapses. No one would ever suggest someone who doesn't want follow the family tradition of joining the military is selfish because hypothetically, them joining could result in someone not dying. It's absurd.

Season 1 John and Dean are really like, you don't want to die painfully in your 20s/30s after a life of constant fighting with no outside connections? Is this? The height of selfishness?

[creatorofarcadia]

I'm not sure I like the idea that Dean is eldest daughter coded actually.

I know it's not that serious, so excuse me reading so much into it. I even sort of understand where it comes from because Dean is intensely parentified. However, for me, a really important component of the 'eldest daughter' concept is the painful transition from child and daughter to just woman in the father's eyes. That inevitable point when the eldest daughter starts to be dismissed like all other women or starts to be intimidating when they question authority because it's an affront. If anything, I think that experience of dismissal out of the gate or being derided for asking questions is better reflected by Sam?

Idk I think Dean being a son is just really crucial to the dynamic he has with John. I know Dean doesn't really push back on his Dad, but John trusts him very deeply. A kind of trust, respect and mutual understanding that I just don't think would be the same if Dean was a daughter.

I'm really overthinking it but whats new?

[creatorofarcadia]

Pov: you’re Sam

[creatorofarcadia]

Beholding—

Jon is my comfort drawing :7

[creatorofarcadia]

After posting about Dean's self-hatred and how it reaches the point of narcissism, it really hit me that Dean is such an INTERESTING character. I knew that obviously, but I feel like sometimes, the fandom really smooths over his edges and he sort of just flattens into this 'bad boy with a heart of gold', when he's so much more complicated than that.

He's deeply empathetic and dedicated to protecting people, but his morality is very black and white, making him brutal with non-humans sometimes. He deeply loves his family and will do anything to protect his brother, yet because of his myriad of issues, he treats Sam very poorly at times. He's good with kids, misogynistic, funny, quick to violence, self-loathing, and yet narcissistic. Overall, he's complicated.

I'm not super fandom active, so I hesitate to comment at all and know it's a sweeping generalisation. However, I do think this dichotomy occurs within the fandom, where Dean's worst traits are gentled and Sam's worst traits are exacerbated/his motives are always viewed in the worst light. This is annoying as a Sam fan as I feel it does a disservice to his character and what makes it interesting. But I'm realising it also does a massive disservice to Dean's character because he's a hero but he's also a fucking dick and that's WHY he's so interesting.

[creatorofarcadia]

Genuine question here, because in a show with two brothers as leads, people are gonna pick favourites. To what extent is the pretty sizeable disparity in Dean's favour a consequence of the halo effect?

[creatorofarcadia]

And at last, the Archivist looks up.

[creatorofarcadia]

It's been a while since I watched Supernatural, so don't take my opinions as gospel or anything. But I think Dean is self-hating to the point of narcissism in some ways. Don't get me wrong, I empathise with Dean and understand why fans largely do too. But his self-loathing warps his perception and becomes the centre of EVERYTHING and at times that really has ripple effects on those around him - particularly Sam.

Take their childhood, Sam has a right to mourn the fact that he didn't get a normal childhood. He's allowed to be angry that he didn't get a home, a present father, a stable community, and consistent education. But whenever Sam attempts to express his complicated feelings about his childhood, Dean immediately interprets it as ' oh I was supposed to look out for you. Are you saying I failed? Are you confirming I'm worthless?' which grinds the conversation to a complete halt. Because of Dean's intense self-criticism, Sam can never really be 100% honest with him or ask for support with his own issues, especially regarding their childhood. As anything outside of 100% gratitude just becomes another stick for Dean to beat himself with, and the conversation is immediately derailed.

Not only does Deans self-hatred mean that Sam's expression of his own experiences are pretty consistently shut down. In some ways, I think Dean strips Sam of his autonomy - he's so self-loathing, he sees every decision Sam makes as being about/a reaction to him. A good example of this is Stanford. Rather than understanding Stanford for what it was, an attempt by Sam to carve out a better life from himself and escape hunting. Dean views it as betrayal or abandonment, some re-affirmation of his own belief that he's not worth caring about. Rather than understanding it's a rejection of hunting, he sees it as Sam rejecting him. To Dean, Sam isn't attempting to find a better life, he's punishing the family.

Overall, it's interesting that people largely and rightfully sympathise with Dean due to his self-hatred. However, I don't see as much discussion about how his self-hatred doesn't just hurt him, it hurts those he's close to, as it colours his interpretation of their every action. Dean's self-loathing is always the biggest thing in the room and that has consequences.

[creatorofarcadia]

stargazing.