With the new movies, we are re-entering the era where loads of people defend Dune by denying that it's got a White Savior narrative in it, or imperialistic and colonialist themes, or otherwise pretending it doesn't deal in seriously fucked up shit.
And now I need to resist the urge to shake them and yell "It does! Of course it does! It deals in those to say some shit about them! DID YOU MISS THE FUCKING POINT?"
@LeviKornelsen if you haven’t seen it, the new movie makes some changes to try to tackle those elements a bit more head-on, so I’d say that should be clearer.
But at our screening we had some random stranger lean over and exclaim “I have not idea what’s going on!” so I’ve given up all hope.
@LeviKornelsen yeah, part 2 steers pretty headlong into “chosen one” and savior stories, though I haven’t decided if it is fully successful, it is a nice attempt with some side benefit from the changes.
@LeviKornelsen I mean, it’s kinda Lawrence of Arabia in space.
And while the portrayal of the Fremen in the books and film is too close to Muslim Arab for my tastes, it definitely has a lot to say about White Saviour narratives, and none of it is flattering. It’s one of the few genre pieces that “problematizes” that type of narrative.
@LeviKornelsen I keep wanting to have the conversation with people about where Dune succeeds in interrogating the white savior narrative, and the places where it fails to overcome it's own orientalism.
But alas, we're stuck at the level of yes/no all good/all bad. Forever apparently.