He who controls the spice controls the universe

Sarah Kowalski

Today, in the second decade of the 21st century, it is hard to find someone who has not heard of Dune. This is interesting to me because I remember that no more than 5 years ago when I, an avid fan of the series, mentioned the novel to people, I was met with one of two common replies. One being “Oh, what’s that?”; the other, a simple “Isn’t that ancient?” So, you can understand my excitement when Denis Villeneuve announced he will be making his own movie rendition of Herbert’s 1965 novel with non-other than the audience’s beloved Timothée Chalamet cast as his project’s centerpiece. The series has since experienced a revival of interest with millions of people wanting to prepare for experiencing Villeneuve’s film on the big screen. Upon its release in 2021, the movie gained significant and well-deserved recognition among both cinema enthusiasts and previous fans of the series. The movie fulfilled a great deal of fan expectations while managing to interest and secure a newly formed fan base. But, is this really due to the admittedly well picked cast and Timothée’s beautiful face? Or is there a truth that lies in Herbert’s story that ensures the story’s timeless nature?

There are many fascinated by the cosmos. The topics of space, interplanetary travel, and human contact with ‘alien’ life has been a topic of interest for centuries – one that will no doubt stay a hot conversation starter for decades to come. But, despite my subscription to the science fiction genre and my adoration of space-core, in the case study of Dune, I am equally enamored with another fascinating phenomenon. People of the present love to incorporate many lessons of ‘the now’ in future settings. It is almost as if we somehow needed to see a pressing problem played out in a different setting, one non-related to us, to be able to think about the illustrated issue in our present life on our home planet.

Sanaz Nouri

Herbert introduced his science fiction story in a moment of societal shift – the 1960s. This era is known well as the time when technology started becoming a more present staple in humans’ everyday life. Televisions began entering homes and telephones started being a reliable form of inter-human communication. Technology started to come into the spheres of life that were considered to be very personal before – one’s family home and their personal relationships. It is no surprise that speculation as to technology began to fluctuate then – people even started to wonder whether there is something to fear in rapid technological expansion and its integration into everyday life. This movement is, of course, still familiar to us these days. The majority of us probably remember hearing our parents or grandparents discuss how “modern kids have no life” or how “we will always be dependent on technology,” and although many of us do find it hard to live on a daily basis without our daily technological appliances, and – most importantly – the Internet, I would argue that this is portrayed as much less of a threat than it used to be. Coming back to the 60s, this discourse of the danger of technological expansion reached its peak then also due to the rising interest in the topics of human ethics brought to light because of the many present-at-the-time wars taking place around the world. The combination of the discourse of human nature alongside the rising debate around technology led to cultivating the perfect audience for Herbert’s world of Dune.

Sanaz Nouri

Following a war with robots centuries before, the action of Dune takes place in the year 10191 AD when humanity has forbidden the construction of any machines that resemble humans. In this world it was unthinkable and punishable by law to construct machines which have a likeness of the human mind. Coincidently, it is exactly what people from the second half of our 19th century were afraid of – humans being replaced by machines. But, going further, this ban on improving “human technology” in Herbert’s world pushed humans to evolve on their own – “with nature.” The author describes that these people of our far future expanded their biological abilities in an unexpected way, forcing some to become the equivalent of biological machines. Such individuals can be compared to psychics, witches, or prophets – individuals with excelled abilities of the human mind. They are an organic form of a human computer. These super-human abilities rely on the same resource – spice. Also essential for space transit, spice is the pivotal element of the future cosmos’ economy, politics, and travel. It is what enables human life in space. The catch and motivator of the story is that this precious spice can only be taken from one planet – the desert sphere, Arrakis – commonly referenced as Dune. We follow the journey of the royal family of the Imperial House Atreides as they are sent to Arrakis to manage the spice trade from the planet. It is quickly revealed that this was a diabolical trap set by the other houses of the Galactic Padishah Empire to get rid of the Atreides family.

The idea of a natural resource being the reason for all fighting and disputes in the galaxy is not a new concept to us, but, paired alone with Herbert’s openly pro-nature philosophy, it is evident that the author wanted to provide double meaning in his spice. Herbert, as an avid environmentalist, famously said that he spent around 5 years constructing the ecosystem of Arrakis in itself. Moreover, he presented spice as such a pivotal aspect of future life to highlight that even in 8000 years, humans will have to solely rely on natural materials, not machines.

Sanaz Nouri

Today, I’d say the majority of the population is less freaked out about technology interfering with human life, some would argue that maybe even a bit too little. There is mostly some residual skepticism towards technology among individuals from the “older generation” who avoid self-check-out cashiers and smartphones. Today, we have a more pressing issue in focus – fear of climate change, of losing our planet. Presently, there is a greater need for nature than for technology. This need is easily detectable when watching 2021’s Dune. Before Villeneuve’s version, there was, of course, the infamous 1984 adaptation of the story created by David Lynch, which is entirely a sign of its times. This adaptation was created mostly for the purpose of showing the appeal of science fiction – introducing exciting new technologies and presenting the viewer with a look into the future. This movie was mainly created not with the intention of being a reflective drama of human nature but a showcase of 80s science fiction – flashy, gloomy, and mechanical. Today’s Dune is clearly made with a different lens – nothing is more spectacular in this movie than the natural environment of Arrakis. The beauty and magnificence of the desert the characters go through is overpowering on screen, and the director makes an effort to emphasize that the members of the Empire should learn some ways of life from the Fremen – the natives of Arrakis. Of course the natives use advanced technologies as well, and they are highlighted to be pivotal in their survival. However, the Fremen technologies shown revolve mostly around meticulously crafted equipment for people to be able to manage in the habitat of Arrakis – the technology allows characters to interact with nature, to be in nature, not turn them away from it. Additionally, their equipment is shown to be slick and non-invasive in contrast to the overpowering cold, metallic, and overwhelming machines used by the Empire.

Upon conclusion, I would like to recommend Herbert’s series to anyone who loves pondering about ethics, environmentalism, and simply what it is to be human. Thankfully, the 2021 adaptation of Dune does their original source material justice in these aspects and touches upon all these topics in a truly 21st centuryesque way. I hope that from now on, when you hear someone talk about Dune you will remember that the modern success of this phenomenal story cannot be attributed solely to the cast and director. They simply had a beautiful and discoursewise thick story to work with from the start. There is, of course, much more to be found in Dune than I was able to discuss here: partially, to entice the readers to seek out this movie and book for themselves and, partially, to respect the holy rule of no spoilers.

Sanaz Nouri