CASE
It’s not possible -
COOPER
No. It’s necessary.
One of my favorite movie scenes of all time is the docking scene in Intersteller.
I thought about it this morning as an excellent example of masculine energy and containment. Watch the scene again, and then follow along with me to understand my meaning making:
EXT. ENDURANCE - CONTINUOUS
The ship SPINS FASTER AND FASTER - the Ranger is RIPPED
AWAY, FRAGMENTING, SHREDDING THE CLOSEST MODULE OF THE RING.
INT. COCKPIT, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
They STARE in HORROR as their ship is sent SPINNING OFF ITS
ORBIT TOWARDS THE PLANET -
BRAND
Oh, my God.
Cooper GRABS the sticks - HITS the thrusters -
Brand represents the feminine energy, fully present with the emotionality of danger, freely expressing it.
Cooper takes immediate, decisive action. No words, no hesitation. Determined look on his face.
EXT. ORBIT, DR MANN’S PLANET - CONTINUOUS
The CRIPPLED Endurance is in a FAST FLAT SPIN, heading down
towards the stratosphere -
The lander FLIES after it, DODGING the Ranger debris -
INT. COCKPIT, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
Cooper’s eyes are glued to the Endurance as he flies -
CASE
Cooper, there’s no point using our
fuel to -
COOPER
Just analyze the Endurance’s spin -
BRAND
What’re you doing?!
The world is telling the masculine, "What you want to accomplish is impossible. You should stop now."
The masculine inturrupts reality to change it, giving direct orders to reality on what it will do for his benefit. And what is his benefit? To protect what he loves and demonstrate competency over existence.
The feminine doesn't always understand this. To the feminine, it can look like madness.
COOPER
Docking.
EXT. ORBIT, DR MANN’S PLANET - CONTINUOUS
The DIZZYING SPIN of the Endurance as it PLUMMETS towards
the ATMOSPHERE - The lander ROCKETS after it, CLOSING SLOWLY
-
INT. COCKPIT, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
Cooper pours on the power -
CASE
Endurance rotation is 67, 68 RPM -
COOPER
Get ready to match it on the
retro-thrusters -
CASE
It’s not possible -
COOPER
No. It’s necessary.
Possibly one of the best movie lines of all time. The masculine does what is necessary. Reglardless of the odds, the emotions involved, what might go wrong or the tradeoffs which may need to be made. If it's ncessary, that is what will happen.
EXT. ORBIT, DR MANN’S PLANET - CONTINUOUS
The SPINNING ENDURANCE starts to encounter the STRATOSPHERE
- heating up -
INT. COCKPIT, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
Brand looks ahead at the spinning ship -
CASE
Endurance is hitting stratosphere -
BRAND
She’s got no heat shield -!
Again, the feminine completely in-tune with danger, expressing it and needing safety and containment.
Cooper checks the lander’s speed against Endurance - pulls
back on thrust as they come in below it -
EXT. STRATOSPHERE, DR MANN’S PLANET - CONTINUOUS
The lander is PERILOUSLY CLOSE to the RED HOT UNDERSIDE of
the SPINNING ENDURANCE. The lander BANKS sideways, bringing
its airlock within FEET of the spinning Endurance -
INT. COCKPIT, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
Cooper looks sideways at the spinning hull -
COOPER
Case, you ready?
CASE
Ready.
Cooper watches the spinning hull, suddenly UNCERTAIN -
CASE
Cooper?
(Off look.)
This is no time for caution.
COOPER
(grins)
If I black out, take the stick -
Tars, get ready to engage the
docking mechanism - Brand, hold
tight -
The masculine isn't as confident as he pretends. The little uncertain boy is still inside there, also aware of the danger and afraid. The masculine needs other masculines to reaffirm his plan of action, to remind him who he is and why he's doing what he's doing. CASE does this perfectly. No time for caution is another way of saying no time for feminine energy.
Cooper grins. He's no longer uncertain.
He delegates and knows his own weaknesses and accounts for them with a backup plan. He's only courageous because the fear is real, and he is overcoming it.
He reassures the feminine, "I got this" and tells her to hold tight.
The feminine is now silent, letting the universe unfold as it will.
CASE
Endurance is starting to heat -
COOPER
HIT IT!
Case hits the RETRO-THRUSTERS. The view SPINS -
EXT. STRATOSPHERE, DR MANN’S PLANET - CONTINUOUS
The lander goes into a FASTER AND FASTER SPIN as it, with
Endurance, PLUMMETS towards the planet -
INT. COCKPIT, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
LIGHT FLASHES across their faces as the G-force of the spin
PULLS THEM AGAINST THEIR RESTRAINTS. Cooper STRUGGLES to
stay conscious - they BUFFET AGAINST THE ATMOSPHERE -
Tars opens the airlock - the Endurance hatch above him is
now SLOWLY ROTATING relative to him ...
EXT. STRATOSPHERE, DR MANN’S PLANET - CONTINUOUS
The GLOWING HOT Endurance and the lander PLUMMET, SPINNING
towards the ice planet, whose curvature is FAST DISAPPEARING
-
INT. AIRLOCK, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
Tars peers up as THE SPIN SPEEDS MATCH. He waits as the
BUFFETING moves the hatches ... THEY LINE UP - he FIRES the
GRAPPLES - they don’t connect - the hatches moved -
INT. COCKPIT, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
Brand loses consciousness - Cooper watches the instruments,
not the dizzying view, on the point of RED OUT -
COOPER
Come on, Tars ... come on ...
Brand has passed out by this time but Cooper, the masculine strength, endures.
(side note: I find this a little funny considering the strength of women to FREAKING GIVE BIRTH and not pass out, but we're talking about masculine and feminine archtypes here more so than men and women)
The masculine can't do it alone. He has to rely on others and sometimes this can become his greatest fear and his greatest weakness. This too must be overcome.
INT. AIRLOCK, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
Tars sees the hatches roll back into ALIGNMENT. He FIRES
AGAIN - this time THE GRAPPLES HOLD -
TARS
GOT IT!
INT. COCKPIT, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
Cooper registers this. Case fires the retro-rockets to slow
the spin.
COOPER
Gen-- gentle, Case ...
The masculine is in touch with his feminine energy. Gentle. Subtle. Slow. But only when that is what is called for.
EXT. STRATOSPHERE, DR MANN’S PLANET - CONTINUOUS
The two craft, NOW JOINED, start to spin more SLOWLY ...
INT. COCKPIT, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
Cooper eases back into his seat as the G-force lessens -
COOPER
Get ready to pull us up -
The spin is slowing to almost nothing -
EXT. STRATOSPHERE, DR MANN’S PLANET - CONTINUOUS
Parts are RIPPING off the Endurance in the HEAT -
INT. COCKPIT, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
Cooper EASES into POWER on the main thrusters -
COOPER
Come on. You can do it ...
EXT. STRATOSPHERE, DR MANN’S PLANET - CONTINUOUS
The THRUSTERS on the lander start to DRAG both ships back up
away from the planet, the heat DIMINISHING -
INT. COCKPIT, LANDER - CONTINUOUS
Cooper pulls back on the sticks, RELIEF washing over him.
Brand comes to ... Cooper turns to Case, grinning -
COOPER
Right? And for our next trick ...
He ends with a smile and a joke to lighten the mood as if "That was no big deal. You're safe with me. I can overcome anything." The masculine rescues the feminine and does so in a way that soldifies her trust in him. He does it with style.
Later in the movie he sacrifices himself completely (or so he thinks) to save her.
So why did I wake up thinking about this great movie scene? Last night before going to bed Corinne sent me this message:
Regarding your post about men and women rating each other and your comment about dangerousness... Awhile back (I think maybe we were walking to the restaurant where we had the group dinner with Barry, Heidy and friends), there was a guy that looked homeless yelling about something as we walked by. I feel on high alert when homeless people are acting like that because you never know if there are mental health issues or drug issues going on and they can just be a little unpredictable. Anyways, you rushed on ahead leaving me to walk by this guy by myself. I didn't say anything at the time, but I'll say it now. I felt like you left me unprotected in that moment. Obviously, nothing happened, but I didn't feel like you were being my protector in that moment. I know you're really focused on upping your masculinity right now, so I thought I'd mention that.
Here's what I replied with:
Hey. I think I remember that guy. I didn’t realize I rushed ahead at all. I’m so very sorry. I often walk faster than you and I didn’t realize I wasn’t between him and you. I thought I was because I was on high alert also.
I remember projecting calm while also being ready for whatever might happen. We walked past him and then he came around behind us, if I remember correctly. I thought he was to might [sic: my] left as he cross [sic: crossed] the street. I thought you were to my right. I didn’t want to be overly defensive with him (as I was thinking of him as an animal in that moment), so I was projecting calm.
I’m so sorry you didn’t feel safe in that moment and that you weren’t confident that I was there to protect you. Thank you for sharing that with me.
I also talked about how I could take additional practical steps to become more physically dangerous, but how I also think that invites the universe to respond to that focus in kind. She replied with:
Thank you for that response. ❤️
That conversation was near 1am. I woke up this morning remembering more of that moment. I remember being hyper alert and aware and being very strategic with my every action. Thinking back on it now, it reminds me of how some bears need you to stand up to make yourself big and some bears you need to back away very, very slowly. I mean no disrespect to this man by thinking of him in that moment in animal terms, but let me just say, you had to be there. He was projecting "I'm an out of control animal" vibes.
In that moment, I felt the correct response, energetically, was to communicate to this person he is not a threat to us, and I'm not concerned about his actions. He has no power here. I forgot exactly what I said to him, but it was something along the lines of "You need something?" or "You doing okay?" Corinne may remember exactly what I said, but to me, in the moment, the energy I was communicating was more important. I'm not a threat to you; you're not a threat to me.
What I failed at completely was not walking close to Corinne, arm in hand, through a sketchy part of town. She never should have felt like I was separate from her and closing that gap in the moment would have communicated the opposite of what I thought was important to communicate. I should have been by her side the whole time. Being unphased by the potential threat in that moment would have been style, but I had none.
I woke up this morning thinking about this interaction and this scene from Intersteller came rushing into my memory. The masculine does what is necessary, not what appeals to feminine emotion. Ask Corinne and she'll tell you how I've recently made a point to walk on the outside of her on the sidewalk so I'm facing the street, the side with more danger. I'm present with situational awareness of my surroundings. Even though she felt I wasn't being her protector in this moment, I remember doing exactly what I thought was necessary. I don't remmeber rushing off, but I do tend to walk faster than her and have to stop and remember to slow down (I've got a lot I need to do better, such as slow down!). Either way, she felt abandoned and that didn't have to happen that way.
What Cooper did was not only necessary, but it had style. In my mind, I deescalated a potentionally concerning situation with the correct energetic response. That may be true, but what I should have been doing is walking hand in hand with my woman, right by her side in a sketchy area. Yes, I didn't need to respond or give any power over to the potential conflict, but I also need that grin, that "for my next trick!" energy that communicates, "I got this, we're good."
I also thought of this scene in Finding Forrester:
Jamal:
I won't do anything to your car.
Massie:
Sorry?
Jamal:
You look worried,
like I'll do something to your car.
Massie:
I worry about this car everywhere.
Don't take it personally.
While this is a scene about prejudice and sterotype, I remembered it because Massie was a chump. The guy is just not at all masculine and is kind of pathetic. Later this lands home when Jamal schools him on the orgin of the BMW logo (not for his benefit but for the man he knows is watching in the window who he does respect and does want to impress) and says "...being that you lease one and all." The guy locking his car was demonstrating his own fear, his own lack of containment.
When I saw that homless dude and went on alert, I know I didn't want to be like this guy obviously locking his car. I intended to project the confidence that no matter what happens, everything would turn out exactly as it is supposed to. If I had responded defensively, pulling up next to Corinne, confonting the man more directly, etc, would things have turned out differently? I don't know. Maybe I just got really lucky and my response was wrong. In the moment, it felt right.
It felt necessary.
I don't have this masculine energy stuff all figured out, but I am exploring it more. I do think there's a way I can show up for my woman that no only does what is necessary, but also, in the moment, gives her the confidence to grow silent, trusting her man to let the universe unfold as it will.
I'm not there yet with her. But I will be.