Just like literally everyone else, I have been thinking about Dune a lot lately. Maybe not as much as THE dune Imax enjoyer, who saw it upwards of 20 times last I checked. But unfortunately its mind-worms have infected me, just like they infected an old coworker of mine who despite trying her hardest, couldn’t quite explain the tensions she felt reading the book. But I get it now.
Before I rant on this page for who knows how long, I want to clarify that I do, in fact, LIKE Dune. Quite a bit actually, especially Villeneuve’s adaptation and how it addresses a lot of the problems I had with the story being told. The more I’ve ranted to friends about my thoughts, the more I’ve come to the conclusion that I just don’t like Herbert and how heavy his authorial hand tilts the scales of discussion we can have about this fascinating story, especially before Dune Messiah.
I am just going to lay out my view, bias and all, in hopes of making it clear why (most of this coming from the movie). Because from where I sit, Dune is a deeply fascinating view into the many cogs of a larger colonial machine. Despite having made it into space and TO ARAKIS without the use of spice, the Imperium saw the potential for expansion this ability to travel faster-than-light gave them. Deciding to stagnate the planets ecosystem and keep it a desert so they can continue to mine this magical material, despite the indigenous population living there wanting the opposite. The Emperor wanting to permanently secure spice, this material that their expansionist, colonial ventures rely on, decides to coup one of his more unreliable political houses, wanting to entrust spice extraction to a much more loyal house.
In doing this, isolating Paul, a vulnerable 15 year old, groomed to take the role of Messiah of the Fremen to secure his future and the future of his house. But this Messiah figure, the Lissan el’Gaib, is also ITSELF a type of religious grooming by the Bene Gesserit, a shadowy organization of space witches who control the Imperium from backstage, as a way to eventually take direct control of spice for themselves and THEIR own empire-making activities. It is only when the Loyal Harkonnens decide that a genocide against the indigenous population of Arakis is the best way to secure spice production indefinitely, that Paul gives in to the demands of his mother. Despite his previous inner conflictions about NOT wanting to be above the Fremen, and a flip switches. Whereas before he was timid and afraid of the visions he saw of who he might become. Now he is steadfast, clearer visions showing Paul that to survive, he must become the leader of the Fremen, and they must fight back against the imperium and claim the planet for themselves.
A large fight ensues, resulting in a final duel between Paul, and a fighter on behalf the Emperor over the hand of his Daughter, a political move to place Paul at the top of the imperium, which he wins fairly. Paul, as a contingency, also threatens to nuke Arakis itself as a deterrent to the other houses from invading. But despite everything, these other houses are seemingly displeased with the idea that the indigenous population might rule their own planet, or even terraform bits of it (despite book Paul making clear there will always be desert for spice). Met with this choice, the great houses decide that this cannot be, and declare war on the new Emperor. Paul’s mother looks to the screen with a wild, worried look and says with bated breath “the holy war begins”, cut to credits.
The people who have watched the movie probably didn’t need that summary, but I think its fascinating to highlight what little agency Paul has throughout the movie, a child who basically has things happen ‘at him’ more than things he does. HIS family is killed for the perpetuation of colonization, followed soon by the Fremen, his NEW family being Genocided for the perpetuation of colonization. Even at the end, we see that the rest of the empire CHOOSES not to respect, essentially, his request for the sovereignty of this planets indigenous people. And this is a mostly valid reading, especially of the movies, which dive much deeper into Paul’s lack of agency than the book did (from my understanding). As well as the agency of the Fremen, depicting at least one individual to be resistant to this Messiah prophecy, rather than treating every indigenous person like a overly-zealot rube.
And I wish Herbert would have let me stop there, this story of conflicting colonial powers endlessly begetting more violence when simple peace would do. But Herbert wasn’t interested in telling that story, he wanted to tell one where overt belief in a “grassroots” Messiah figure caused a horrific tragedy. Because the next book, Dune Messiah starts with Paul leading a 61 BILLION person genocide, saying just how much cooler his stat is than other losers like Hitler. and man! I just don’t know what to do with this. This total shut-down of any further discussion about colonialism and the constant violence it perpetuates feels like the kind of childlike tantrum you have when things don’t go your way. “nuh uh, your lightsaber cant get through my anti-lightsaber shield” “ok you win. and your violent empire kill 61 BILLION people I hope it was worth it.” Like I understand the message, especially in its condemnation of various way that even the oppressed can commit horrific acts of violence if they were spurred on (I mean, just look at Israel right now).
But when I am reading the text, I can’t help but feel that Herbert is suggesting a very 50s liberal world view. One that cements how bad and dangerous change to the status quo is, ‘sure we might be living in a brutal, exploitative world that poisons indigenous peoples ground water so I can drive to work in my ford, but at least were not killing each other like those brown people!’ One where people use their imagination to be scared of the possibility of a different world, but who can’t imagine anything other than the horrific conditions they’ve made for themselves. It’s a mindset that’s fueled by guilt, I think. Of a concern that every single population on earth has the same violent, exploitative mindset that fueled the ‘age of sail’ era of colonialism, and that eventually we might be its victims, instead of its beneficiaries. I think it’s fascinating that this is some the worst punishments we can imagine for ourselves.
