TEHRAN – Based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction novel and directed by Denis Villeneuve, the film “Dune” portrays a feudal society on a fictional desert planet 1,000 years in the future that more closely resembles the current situation in the Middle East. The second part of the film was recently released. In the “Dune” series, major powers fight over a nomadic desert planet called Arrakis because it is the only place where spices (read oil) – a product essential for space travel – can be mined.
Arrakis, the setting of Dune, is inhabited by a nomadic group called the Fremen. It is obvious that they are meant to represent Arab culture; this was also the case in the original books.
When watching Dune: Part 2, it’s hard to avoid references to current and ongoing political realities affecting our world today. Many have noted the significant influence that Islamic and Middle Eastern cultural traits – including Arabic, Persian, and Turkish – had on Frank Herbert’s Dune universe.
These include terms such as “Lisan Al Gaib” or “Mahdi” for the messianic leader Paul Atreides, “Shai-Hulud” (eternal thing) for the sandworms, “Fedaykin” for the desert warriors (derived from the Persian term Fedayeen), “Padishah” for emperors, and even “Jihad” in the books – which was deliberately omitted from the films.
In addition, Fremen men wear a keffiyeh-like headscarf and women – at least those who do not fight in the Fremen guerrilla group – cover their hair with something like a hijab or chador.
All these references and those mentioned below have led international audiences to compare the film with the conditions in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and the Gaza Strip.
For example, the Harkonnens, the colonial power that controls Spice mining, want to wipe out the Fremen so they can control Arrakis without having to deal with the native population. Some of their statements closely resemble quotes from some members of Netanyahu’s government. When the Harkonnens call the Fremen “rats” and yell “exterminate them all!” they seem to be imitating Yoav Gallant, the Zionist regime’s defense minister, who has said that Israel is fighting “human animals,” as well as numerous Israeli commentators and politicians who have called for the destruction of the entire Gaza Strip.
The Tehran Times conducted an interview with Emad El-Din Aysha, former associate professor at the American University in Cairo and the British University in Egypt, about the similarities between the film and the conditions in Gaza. Below is the text of the exclusive interview with Emad El-Din Marei Aysha:
Q: Why can the desert-dwelling Fremen be seen as a metaphor for the Palestinians resisting the invading and aggressive Harkonnens, who represent the Israeli occupation forces and Zionist settlers? Why does the international audience constantly associate the “oppressed-oppressor” pattern in science fiction novels (such as the Hunger Games series) with the situation in Gaza and the resistance of the Palestinian people?
A: Science fiction has always been a center of protest. In the 1960s and ’70s, it became a major part of the counterculture in America, as evidenced by science fiction giants such as Philip K. Dick and Norman Spinrad. You won’t believe this, but an American science fiction fan told me at WorldCon in China last year that Bush Sr. traveled from city to city arguing against the Iraq War and against his own son, George W., and the mainstream media never reported it!
And despite all my criticism of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films, when watching the second part you got the distinct impression that the Fremen were stand-ins for the Palestinians, especially in the scene where Sietch Tabr is bombed by the Harkonnens and you see a child wandering through the destruction with a blood-smeared face, dressed like an Arab.
Q: Why do you think Hollywood continues to produce such science fiction films, even though they are constantly associated by international audiences with the situation in Palestine, especially the film “Dune”, in which the presence of Middle Eastern geographical and Islamic cultural elements is undeniable?
A: Hollywood is a complicated, complicated place! People like David versus Goliath scenarios. Just look at the Native Americans in Prey (2002), which was celebrated by everyone, white Americans and Native Americans alike. Something I talked about in my review of the Predator prequel is that Star Wars has a lot of little cultural references to Native Americans, like the Ewoks and Princess Leia’s infamous haircut.
As for Dune, I would say that social media pressure was ultimately the deciding factor. Netflix is even more racist and anti-Islamic, but cancel culture took over with the Cuties fiasco (2020). When I saw the second part in 2024, I felt like they had read every single sentence I had written attacking the first film, even down to the oversized scale and bland coloring. Not to mention the absence of Arabic actors and words.
Part One was (rightly) accused of Orientalism. Stilgar is a walking clown, Jamis is portrayed as a mindless animal (he “growls” at Paul as if to give him a heart attack) and Chani is impressed only by violence. In Villeneuve’s Dune, the Fremen are not secretly terraforming the planet and Liet Kynes is a joke. They have no agency. You never learn their story, how they were enslaved and brought to this planet to suffer. Worse, the Harkonnens are portrayed as Oriental despots whose servants prostrate before them like praying Muslims – an image that does not appear in the novel.
Q: It is said that Frank Herbert’s novel was originally based on the story of Lawrence of Arabia and portrays the stereotype of the white savior. In addition, Frank Herbert’s novel deals with the recurring theme of important Middle Eastern resources, such as oil, which has been addressed in films such as James Cameron’s Avatar. What do you think about this?
A: That’s exactly right! When I taught at the American University in Cairo, my students understood this before I did. They explained that Padishah Emperor Shaddam was really “Saddam” and “Arrakis” was really Iraq.
Herbert was inspired by Lawrence of Arabia, the film or the person, and how gullible the Arabs were to follow him. And I would say he wanted to criticise all of that.
“Avatar” is an interesting case, though, for a very different reason. Cameron’s “Aliens” (1986) has actually been described as the ultimate Reagan movie, a Vietnam-like scenario with American “colonial” Marines saving a US settlement from dark natives who blend in with the environment. Cameron was no environmentalist either. I saw an interview with him in a documentary about “Terminator” and he doesn’t believe in an ideal Garden of Eden situation in the past, and yet he produced “Avatar” in which the Marines are the bad guys and the natives live in harmony with nature – with both African-American and Native American actors!
What happened in the meantime? I guess the “mood” changed with global warming and James Cameron either wanted to ride that wave or make up for his jingoism in “Aliens”. (He also wrote the screenplay for “Rambo II: The Assignment.”)
Q: To what extent is science fiction capable of expressing political themes? How should Muslims use this ability to explain their anti-colonial and anti-Israel views?
A: Science fiction is the most self-reflective literary genre and as such has always been political. It is also about world-building, so you can create your ideal world as you imagine it, with the understanding that one person’s utopia is another person’s dystopia. Third world writers are no different. If anything, they need science fiction more as a tool for developing and spreading scientific literacy.
One of the lessons is that it is often better to build than to attack. We need to prove that we can be creative in solving our own problems, imagine our own near-perfect futures and put them on display. If they are attractive, plausible and distinctive, foreign audiences will support our causes.
I have a story in an upcoming future fiction anthology, “Arabilious: Anthology of Arab Futurism,” and to my amazement, the story they liked best from the collection I gave them is about a future Tripoli that dominates the Mediterranean Sea due to its eco-friendly economy, so much so that Europeans flock to the Libyan coast to work in the agricultural communes, while in Europe they are unemployed due to robots and soil erosion. The story was a spontaneous idea, originally written for a utopian contest (which came to nothing), and was partly influenced by the historical example of Tripoli in the Qaramanli era, thanks to a Libyan friend and science fiction writer – Abdulhakeem Amer Tweel.
SF is doubly important for people in exile because it offers a way to restore, improve, and critique a lost world – by reviewing your store of so-called memories. I did that in my story in Palestine+100, and the same is true for the upcoming Thyme Travelers(A1). Quite independently, we have focused on setting things right, both as an act of resistance, especially to those who would erase any trace of you or your people, and as a tool of healing, to unite us and learn from our mistakes.
AH/SAB
