1. I ‘Dune ’ Want to Grow Up:
Analyzing Frank Herbert’s Dune in Response to The Death of Adulthood in American Culture.
Introduction
This presentation enters the discussion of the “Death of Adulthood in American Culture” using Frank Herbert’s Dune. Many sources have participated in this discussion, but the discussion has largely remained unquantified. A model must be established by which A. O. Scott’s arguments can be tested.
“Death of Adulthood in American Culture”
When: The “Death of Adulthood in American Culture” discussion began in the summer of 2014.
What: A. O. Scott’s New York Times article on the startling deaths of, in his opinion, male adult role models in many American television shows sparked this discussion.
Why: A. O. Scott’s analysis of contemporary American narratives inspired many sources to analyze our current entertainment choices.
Model
All sources involved in this discussion would agree that a good adult is a good leader, and a good leader is a good adult. Subsequently, a leadership model can be used to analyze significations of adulthood in contemporary narratives.
Geeks and Geezers
Who: Geeks and Geezers is a book, released in 2002, written by Warren G. Bennis and Robert J. Thomas.
What: Bennis and Thomas interviewed individuals who exhibited exceptional leadership capabilities.
Why: Bennis and Thomas were able to identify 4 key factors that every individual interviewed possessed, and establish a leadership model based on these factors
Dune
What: Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert.
When: Released in 1965, this novel tells the story of Paul Atreides, the eventual savior of humanity.
Why: Paul Atreides’ abilities and skills correlate with real life leadership characteristics.
Analysis
By comparing an individual that A. O. Scott deemed an adult and a character from a widely adapted narrative, we can test this adulthood model. This adulthood model, based on Bennis and Thomas’ leadership model, can be applied to other narratives.
Conclusion
This model can be applied to other narratives to identify the adults within those narratives, and therefore bring quantitative arguments into the “Death of Adulthood in American Culture” discussion.
Model
Adaptive Capacity -
A leader/adult’s ability to identify and adapt to changes in their environment
Engage others through shared meaning -
A leader/adult’s ability to rally others around a cause
Voice -
A leader/adult’s specific method of speaking and inspiring
Purpose -
A leader/adult’s goal that they rally their followers around.