“Dune” narrative misses its mark

It’s been over a month since sci-fi hit “Dune” made its smashing debut in theaters and viewers’ homes, at the cost of a membership to HBO Max. The film’s release comes with a complicated reception among those new to the movie — and writer Frank Herbert’s work, whose novels the film brings to the field of cinema.

Numerous critics have hailed “Dune” as disrespectful towards the many cultures it pulls from — many of which are Muslim, and broadly Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) — in order to breathe the world of Arrakis to life. The plot reflects a violent imperialist narrative, with the fictional planet Arrakis at the center of interspace politics by ruling houses, at a time when our contemporary world is reexamining politics of race and class.

Aleezeh Saddiqui, an ASU student who was raised Muslim in Pakistan, saw “Dune” in theaters, knowing nothing about the film going into it except for the casting choices. She enjoyed the experience of the film as a self-described sci-fi fan.

However, the implications of the film left her feeling skeptical. From the start, it felt to her like some of the world-building required for the plot relied on word association.

“From the opening monologue and images of the desert, my brain instantly went, ‘Oh, colonialism.’ And then they said the planet’s name is Arrakis, and my first thought was ‘Iraquis?’ I was like, 'Oh, so this is colonization, and Arrakis is the Middle East.'”

While watching the movie, Saddiqui described learning about the Bene Gesserit, a matriarchal pseudo-religious sect with great political power, as another game of word association — mistaking the fictional word “Gesserit” for the contemporary “Jesuit.” Combined with the characterization of the Bene Gesserit women, which resembled Judeo-Christian nuns, the observation was hard to let go of.

Reem Elsaad, 20, who watched the film in the comfort of her home on HBO Max, went into the film with no prior knowledge, and no expectations in mind. She got the same impression from the Bene Gesserit as Saddiqui. In contrast to the complex political drama the film intended to bring to the screen, the film portrayed unintentionally simple politics to both Elsaad and Saddiqui, despite having watched the film differently.

With the soundtrack playing incredibly loudly, the subtitles appearing too small — making the dialogue hard to understand — and the amount of walking in the film, which at times felt unnecessary, Elsaad found the film a tedious watch.

“I honestly started skipping at the end,” Elsaad said. “Four minutes of them fighting in slow motion…”

Furthermore, she confessed to some of the terminology used in the film making her uncomfortable.

“Because they’re like, ‘the Messiah!’ and like, ‘Mehdi!’ and I’m like, these are not words that you just throw around,” Elsaad said. “You don’t share them that often.”

To Elsaad, a practicing Muslim, the veiling practices throughout the film by Jessica — Paul’s mother and the prominent female lead — proved inconsistent. At times, it wasn’t apparent why that detail was included.

“Obviously, people veil differently… but ultimately, there’s still a good coverage of the entire [area] from the forehead to the back of your neck. And you definitely did not see that,” Elsaad said.

Saddiqui made a similar observation. All in all, the presence of MENA influence in the film felt cherry-picked and insubstantial, as reflected in the casting choices. The roles of Channi and Stilgar, which were held by Zendaya and Javier Bardem — two non-MENA actors who were cast for prominent roles among the Fremen — felt like they should have been held by actors of MENA, Arab or South Asian descent.

Furthermore, it felt to Saddiqui and Elsaad as though the film resigned the Fremen to their oppressed status, leaving no choice but for a white savior to change their situation.

“In the beginning, I was like, ‘This is about Middle Eastern culture, this is going to be really cool! Oh my gosh, look at all this cool technology they’re attributing to the indigenous people,’” Saddiqui said. “But then you look literally just below the surface and it’s not respectful. Because the indigenous people are still bottom of the food [chain], bottom of the status quo… and there’s nothing they can do about it.”