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A child (usually a boy, sometimes a girl) comes of age in the desert.
In their adolescence they seem different special.
Versions of this story abound.
Luke Skywalker on Tatooine (and Rey Skywalker on Jakku) in theStar Warsfilm franchise.
And before them all, of course, wasDunesPaul Atreides.
In the honeyed, low-pitched tones of Oscar Isaacs Duke Leto Atreides:Thats desert power.
(See: the SykesPicot Agreement.)
They mine the spice and mercilessly exploit the planets inhabitants, the Fremen.
They take Paul in after House Atreides falls and prepare to wage a jihad.
Padishah, Sunni, Mahdi, Lisan al Gaib, jihad.
Instead, they are played by actors like Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, and Babs Olusanmokun.
(AsDunesuper fanJohn Hodgman recently said, Im very conflicted about Javier Bardem.
I dont know what accent hes doing.
Whats that supposed to be?)
In subtle but significant ways,Part Onedenies the cultures that are so integral to its source material.
Today the Arab world is with us, theyre our fellow Americans, theyre everywhere … And now … youd have to go farther afield to make science fiction.
Is Herberts text Orientalist?
Opinions on that vary amongDunescholars.
The term the Fremen use for Paul, Mahdi, directly refers to an eschatological figure in Islam.
Lawrence, British Army officer and adviser to the Arabs during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.
Having three-dimensional characters and multiple complexities helps elevate it to literature.
(Kennedy and Karjoo-Ravary had not yet seenDune: Part Onewhen they spoke to Vulture.)
These details were not incidental, as Spaihtss quote might lead one to believe.
Of course, scholars have been debatingDuneand its adaptations for years.
So too did thethree-partminiseriesthat aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2000.
Thirty-five years later, VilleneuvesPart Onemakes many of the same flattening choices.
For example, oil becomes a central surface texture.
But the Fremen, per Herbert, were more than just noble-savage stereotypes.
They are deeply faithful almost superstitious yet pragmatic.
We do get glimpses of these fictional Fremen ways, though.
They spit as an expression of respect.
They sit down together for coffee service.
But there is a veneer of cultural non-specificity exacerbated by the films lack of MENA actors.
(Film roles for MENA actors are scant regardless.
A June 2021USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative studywas similarly dire.
And the challenge for me was to be faithful to Arabic culture, but I think we succeeded.
And I tried to respect his ideas.
Which is why I did the casting the way I did.
And I feel truly that Im right in doing it this way.
It feels authentic, it feels honest, and true to the book.
This latest version ofDunebrings to mind what happened with David LeansLawrence of Arabia.
White Brit Alec Guinness played royal Prince Faisal, who would be king of both Syria and Iraq.
Mexican-American Anthony Quinn played Bedouin Arab Sheikh Auda Abu Tayi.
It is Herberts story, reflecting his time.
