Dune: Parody of the Modern World
February 20th 2007 02:18
What a book cover hey?
The strange thing about the novel Dune by Frank Herbert is how it is just a contemporary today as it was when it was first penned. As a novel its reputation proceeded it as either a piece of space opera or as the first classic novel using science fiction as the setting and theme. The translation into film was deemed to hard for many years and if not for Star Wars ripping off much of its style and theme it would still be the defining serious Sci-fi novel. Prior to the Dino DeLaurentis version in 1984 the only other attempt to create it in media was done by the German electronic pioneer Klaus Schultze. The album called Dune does not follow the story but produces soundscapes to reflect Schultze’s his respect for the themes of water conservation.
It took decades for the first film version to be produced by the visually addicted Dino DeLaurentis, the same producer of the camp 70’s version of King Kong and Flash Gordon. The film had budget blowouts and was cut beyond reason when it hit the cinemas and so became a bit of a flop. However looking a more recent edit of the film that has hit the video stores it is truer to the ethos of the original novel. The editing in some places it terrible and some acting is as bad as you get in Star Wars but it does tell a better story. More recently a mini series has been created but has not hit the Australian screens yet, so I cannot comment on its quality.
From the film Dune. We recycle, do You?
Dune the Album by Klaus Schultze - etherial
Frank Herbert understood much about the Middle East when he wrote the novel Dune and it seems as if little has changed. The threat of losing the flow of oil would devastate our entire economy and that of the suppliers too. Wars have been fought over principles that have been applied unequally elsewhere in the world. Perhaps oil is clouding or judgment of what is moral. As the novel says, ‘He who controls the Spice controls the Universe,’ and ‘If you can destroy something then you can control it.’ Can these be seen as, ‘He who controls the oil controls the world,’ or ‘our oil addiction is the stranglehold on the West.’ In many ways I like the novel more as time progresses.
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Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog
-- Paul's nephew turns into a giant worm god-emperor
-- Paul having a kinky sister
-- a sex cult that arises to combat the Bene Gesserit
-- "cloning tanks" that turn out to be human wombs
-- gathering of DNA from old clothes to start the whole process over again.
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Comment by Cibbuano
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Adrian, yes the sequels were weird. Taken as a whole, though, it's quite an amazing universe that Herbert created, with plenty of intrigue and history.
His son wrote 6 prequels. I read them. They were not as good.
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Were you talking about the Tv series or the books?
It has been years since I read the book but I saw the film when it came out and recently saw the re-edited version. As a book it stands up to many of the classics I was forced to read in school and has a slighly Russianesc feel to its style.