"Then, as his planet killed him, it occurred to Kynes that
his father and all the other scientists were wrong, that
the most persistent principles of the universe were
accident and terror."
-- _Dune_, Frank Herbert

Upon further reflection, the film funnels the story into a
rise-of-hero story reminiscent of too many comic books. The
multi-layered nature of the novel, where every faction has
its own agenda and there is always "a plan within a plan,"
has largely been sacrificed at the service of Paul's narrative.
Climate change is a large part of the story; in interviews
Villeneuve pays lip service to that aspect. But the story
of Liet Kynes and his (or her, in the case of the film)
father is gone. In the book, the father figured out the worm
life cycle is bound up with the planet's hidden water; he bent
the Fremen tribes to his idea of an eventually terra-formed
planet with running water. The process will take many
generations but will give them purpose. That is why the
Fremens save water in huge underground storage facilities,
and would not touch this reserve even when in desperate need.
Kynes senior gave them hope, a unifying vision, without
which these fierce warriors might be present-day Afghans
-- independent, but without a national purpose. As Kynes
the junior fights thirst and hallucination after being
abandoned in the desert, clarity comes to him like a
desert spring. He realizes that Paul Astreides' messianic
call to arms is the worst thing that can happen to his
Fremens. Far from being Paul's loyal enabler, if he has
survived the spice blow he would have ordered Paul killed.

Paul, fighting visions of the coming jihad unleashed in his
name, in turn recognizes his mother Jessica as "his enemy."
There is also a wonderful sideshow where the spymaster Hawat,
captured by the Harkonnens, sacrifices an Astreides soldier
in gladiatorial combat to gain the enemy's trust. Riveting
stuff.

The Fremens are inspired by the Israelis, Arabs, and perhaps
Afghans. The book was after all written in the times of
the Arab-Israeli wars, and is full of Islamic references.
Chief among them is "jihad"; Paul's visions warn him that
he will unleash his wild Fremen legions in a fanatical
holy war (fought in the name of the Astreides, their
new-found Messiah). Raised by the Astreides code and high
principles, he is horrified but ultimately finds he cannot
resist it. (His mother has less qualms about such things.)
The war that wiped out artificial intelligence before Paul's
time is called the "Butlerian Jihad.") I never thought the
movie would have the nerve to use this term. The sound
effects are so loud I couldn't hear it, but other viewers
have indeed reported "crusade" has substituted "jihad."

There is enough in the book to offend every present-day
political faction; I'm sure the contrarian Frank Herbert
would not have it any other way. Paul is a white savior
who leads a "primitive native people." Nevertheless, the
oppressed Fremens, with their Semitic influences, are the
"good guys." In the next book, of course, Paul turns out
to be responsible for the mass murder of billions at the
hands of his fanatical legions, while the Fremens, unable
to change with the times, become increasingly fossilized
until they turn into "Museum Fremens," a parody of their
proud ancestors, in _God Emperor of Dune_. What goes
up always comes back down. The Bene Gesserit may be
dearest to Herbert's heart because of their philosophical
flexibililty, but their methods (baiting people of the
"Scattering" to ultimately sterilize the planet Dune
in book 5) are also vicious in the extreme. In real life
Herbert is supposed to be anti-liberal. At the same time
he has a lifelong fascination with other cultures,
including Native Americans. Herbert is an enigma, and
perhaps only someone like that could have created the
grandeur and complexity that is the _Dune_ universe.

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