Take this which Dune character are you quiz to test which character are you? Answer these quick questions to find out. Play it now!
Back in the day, the two big counterculture sci-fi novels were Robert Heinlein’s libertarian-division Stranger in a Strange Land, which popularized the term “grok” for many years (not so much anymore; it hardly ever appears in crossword puzzles today), and Frank Herbert’s 1965 Dune, a futuristic geopolitical allegory that was anti-corporate, pro-eco-radicalism, and Islamophilic. Why mega-producers and mega-corporations have spent decades pursuing the ideal film version of this piece of intellectual property is a question outside the scope of this review, but it’s an intriguing one.
I didn’t read much sci-fi, especially countercultural sci-fi, as a pretentious adolescent in the 1970s, so Dune missed me. I didn’t read the novel until David Lynch’s 1984 film adaptation, which was sponsored by then-mega-producer Dino De Laurentiis. The only thing that mattered to me as a conceited twentysomething film lover who wasn’t quite a professional grade was that it was a Lynch film. But, for whatever reason—due diligence, or curiosity about how my life might have turned out if I had gone with Herbert and Heinlein instead of Nabokov and Genet back in the day—I recently read Herbert’s book. Yes, the text is clumsy, and the dialogue is frequently clumsier, but I loved a lot of it, especially the way it mixed social critique with enough action and cliff-hanging tension to fill an old-time serial.
Which Dune character are you?
Denis Villeneuve’s latest cinematic adaptation of the novel, directed from a script he co-wrote with Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts, brilliantly visualizes those scenes. As many of you are aware, “Dune” is set in a far-off future in which humanity has developed in many scientific ways while also mutating in many spiritual ones. The inhabitants in this scenario aren’t on Earth, and the imperial family of Atreides is tasked with ruling the desert world of Arrakis in a power-play we don’t fully understand for a time. This produces “the spice” (crude oil for those eco-allegorists in the audience) and poses multivalent risks for off-worlders (Westerners for you geopolitical allegorists in the audience). Also, you will find out which Dune character are you in this quiz.
Nonetheless, the first act of Dune is not depressing in terms of Paul’s emotional trajectory. The film’s conclusion acts as both a payoff for Paul’s Fremen fantasies and a sign of what he must do. So why must he fight a Fremen to the death? And why doesn’t he agree with Jessica that they should try to strike back against the Imperium right away? The ending explains this by showing Paul growing into his own and getting to realize his biggest fear, which is becoming a tyrant.
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We’re left wondering what Paul genuinely fears in a film where the constant phrase is “fear is the mind-killer.” We receive our answer at the end of the film, as there’s a vision of him conquering worlds to bring peace, and it’s a destiny that tears at the young man who doesn’t want to fight or cause pain to others. We know Paul does not wish to reign, but with his father’s death, that mantle has been pushed upon him, and in order to bring peace to Arrakis, he must also ally with the Fremen, which will mean more war against the Harkonnen.
In many ways, the end of Dune is a beginning. It’s Paul coming to terms with his destiny in the desert, beginning to become his own man (it’s worth noting that Paul spends the most of the film in the company of an authority or mentor figure of some sort), and that he can only realize his destiny among the Fremen. But, from an emotional aspect, Paul is confronted with his fear, a fear that he couldn’t even fully admit before because it wasn’t absolutely evident. Paul’s confrontation with the Fremen and being compelled to kill the guy foreshadows the greater subject of Dune, which is that there is no such thing as a bloodless peace, and no one climbs to power without getting his hands filthy. But the question for Paul is whether the darkness required to govern will consume him. We’ll find out if and when Dune: Part Two will be released.
For more personality quizzes check this: Which Soccer Player Are You?.
