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horror + in the woods

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While Dune is (still) often misread as a tale about a hero doing the right thing, to view it solely as a warning of charismatic leaders is also misleading.

At least for the films, Paul isn’t really a bad guy for most of the story. Sure, he acts on impulse and is sometimes selfish. But he’s a kid. He’s lived a sheltered existence his whole life. The only friends and family he’s ever known were taken away from him in one fell swoop.

He clearly knows that exploiting the fremen is wrong and is even critical of his father (easily the most morally-sound Atreides in the series) for what he interprets as manipulation. He resents what his mother and the Bene Gesserit did to manipulate them into waiting for a messiah and constantly makes it clear that he doesn’t believe in these things.

Yes, he fancies himself a leader and a hero. But it’s not because he wants to be a God. He wants to be like his father. Noble, kind, heroic and honorable. But he never received the proper training. He sat in on one meeting at a time when he wasn’t even sure he wanted to be Duke.

His biggest enemy, aside from the Harkonnens and the Bene Gesserit, is the ignorance that comes from his youth. The same thing happens to Chani. Paul tells her he can’t go South. He knows what will happen if he does. But she, despite being very intelligent in knowing the danger of an outsider like Paul, believes that the power of true love will get them through any conflict.

Like Jessica, Paul becomes corrupted by the water of life. Any selfish intention he had before is accentuated by the poison. By this point in the film he’s basically a supervillain. In many respects Paul is just as much a victim of exploitation as the fremen are. He had no choice in how Jessica raised him. He didn’t choose to become a target for the Reverend Mother, who purposefully turned the Harkonnens against the Atreides because he was deemed to dangerous.

Paul is a bad guy by the end of Dune Part 2. It’s scary that people don’t see that. His “lead them to paradise” line after he digs his army into a deeper hole than he could have ever imagined clearly demonstrates that he intends to use fear and promises of peace to motivate the fremen to do whatever he wants. But he doesn’t get to this place because he’s always been evil to the core. He got there because he too was a victim of circumstance.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

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Fremen: You must never ingest the Water of Life, Paul. It's highly dangerous, it will kill-

Paul:

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Today was my first time seeing a movie in IMAX.

It was also my first time seeing a movie in theaters for a fifth time.

Dune 2 is kino. Enough said.

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i know my ass is up too late because i’m losing my fucking mind over accidentally typing george of the gungle

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Dune Part Two (2024), dir. Denis Villeneuve

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Dune (2021) (2024) Dir. Denis Villenueve

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“I found my own way to it. You might find yours.” (Dune: Part One)

“Father, I found my way.” (Dune: Part Two)

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The parallels are brilliant (Twitter credit to quibvs)

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“Paul has never killed a man.”

Dune dir. Denis Villeneuve

The mother and the son, watch each other kill.

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I cannot WAIT for spring break 🫡

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Dune: Part Two (2024) dir. Denis Villeneuve

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Dune 1 was just as good if not better. Send your hate mail my way.

Having completely normal thoughts about Dune Part Two.

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The Voice of the Outer World.

I absolutely adored Dune. What a visual masterpiece! If you can, check it out in cinemas - it is absolutely worth it.

Prints also available in my shop!