‘Dune’ and the Cyclical Nature of Time

 by Anya Shankar

Frank Herbert’s famous 1965 science-fiction novel ‘Dune’ was recently adapted by Denis Villeneuve into a huge blockbuster with an outstanding all-star cast that hit the cinemas a little over a month ago. I will admit that I haven't read the novel but I have seen the movie twice in cinemas, and both times I was blown away by the sheer size and scale of the film, making it a transcendental experience on the big screen. Set in the year 10,191, the story follows a young man named Paul Atreides - played by the exceptional Timothée Chalamet - and his family the noble House Atreides - played by familiar space epic star Oscar Isaac and the captivating Rebecca Ferguson - as they are forced into a war over the deadly and precious desert planet Arrakis, which houses one of the most valuable substances in the universe, known as Spice. With themes of religion, politics, imperialism and power, ‘Dune’ is a completely complex, intricate and enigmatic universe that I have yet to fully understand. I was utterly enthralled by every element of the film from the visual phenomena and the intense and engaging acting performances. Denis Villeneuve’s passionate directing has to be highly commended for turning what was considered ‘unfilmable’ due to its breadth of content into a delightful space opera.

What shocked me most about the film is how impossibly futuristic it seemed. It almost felt like a fever dream because it felt so out of reach for my mind to comprehend. However, at the very heart of the film is a story of a young boy who is thrust into an unthinkable situation, trying to find his way in a world that is unkind and unfair and unfamiliar, which I think is something that we can all connect with and relate to; arguably the most important aspect of a film. After watching countless interviews with the cast and director I began to recognise features in the story that felt familiar. When asking myself how on earth one man could have possibly come up with such an intricate fictional universe, it became clear how much Frank Herbert pulled from history. 

The people who inhabit the desert planet Arrakis are called the Fremen, a human tribe who exist in the rocky outcrops and mountain ranges that break up the vast desert. The Fremen people are one with the desert, they are a part of it and it is a part of them. They wear full body filtration suits called stillsuits which reclaim the body's moisture and produce water, an essential life source even more so on the desert planet. The Fremen are notoriously excellent in combat, since the harsh conditions on Arrakis ensure that only the strongest survive. Arrakis also provides home to the sandworms, dangerous and aggressive protectors of the desert which make Spice collection incredibly precarious. The sandworms roam deep under the desert, but are attracted to rhythmic sounds and patterns. The Fremen tactically figured out a way to walk around the desert without attracting the sandworms, which looks more like an arrhythmic dance, which we see Paul and his mother Lady Jessica perform in the desert after escaping the Harkonnens attack on the Atreides base on Arrakis. 

The Fremen remind me in many ways of the Native Americans. Both being incredibly in tune with their environment and finding ways to work with it instead of against it and harnessing nature in ways that can help humans, without destroying it. Nearing the end of the film, Paul and Lady Jessica take refuge on a rocky outcrop in the desert, having only just escaped the wrath of a sandworm. Here, they meet the Fremen, who appear silently and stealthily from the rocks and surround them from all directions, leaving them nowhere to escape. One of the most notable skills the Native Americans had was stealth, whether that was sneaking up on prey or planning a secret attack on an enemy, they had mastered the art of silence. Native Americams also adopted guerilla tactics from years of protecting their territory, similar to the tactics the Fremen use on invaders. There is a clear parallel between the Fremen and the Indigenous people that really sticks out in the film, Frank Herbert must have taken inspiration from Native Americans when creating the Fremen. 

Colonialism is something that has had a huge influence on everything around us right now. In ‘Dune’, colonialism and imperialism play a huge role in the universe. The Atreides’ find themselves on Arrakis through Imperialism as summoned by the Emperor, following the destructive Harkonnens who had power over the planet before the Atreides’. Various noble houses have come and gone on Arrakis, trying to harness the precious Spice, as whoever can will receive excessive wealth. Spice is also a powerful substance which allows space travel to occur within the Imperium, without it colonisation would be nearly impossible. Basically, it's all about power and control. Of course, humans have been this way since the beginning of time, having created huge empires, enslaved other humans, destroyed the natural world, all just for power and control and will apparently continue to do so very far into the future, eventually colonising outer space. 

‘Dune’ perfectly explores the cyclical nature of time, the repeating of history. It's only natural that history repeats itself since the Earth, Moon, and Sun move in repeating, elliptical patterns and all of the time measurement systems we use in our everyday lives are cyclical. Whether or not time really is cyclical, this is just one example to think about.