Thread ""Dune" predicted the future?" in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 5:10PM, Oct. 12, 2006

I was watching Dune as it came on STARZ and I found something really weird.

it had a lot of similarities with the middle east war.

they mentioned "Jihad" a holy war that will turn the galaxy's attention towards this sand planet Arrakis(sound like iraquis). where the emperor (george bush) of the galaxy forced by a conglomerate of powerful people (oil industry) to take action to keep the spice (oil) going. "the spice (oil) must flow!" screamed a turd looking being. They have evolve beyond normal beings (got rich) off the spice. able to trancend (oil used for transportation) and fold space.

any thoughts?

Posted at 5:10PM, Oct. 12, 2006

Um…that's pretty weird. But I can see the connections.

Posted at 6:10PM, Oct. 12, 2006

I was watching Dune as it came on STARZ and I found something really weird.

it had a lot of similarities with the middle east war.

they mentioned "Jihad" a holy war that will turn the galaxy's attention towards this sand planet Arrakis(sound like iraquis). where the emperor (george bush) of the galaxy forced by a conglomerate of powerful people (oil industry) to take action to keep the spice (oil) going. "the spice (oil) must flow!" screamed a turd looking being. They have evolve beyond normal beings (got rich) off the spice. able to trancend (oil used for transportation) and fold space.

any thoughts?

Not that weird. We started importing oil in the 70's. DUNE was written in the 80's. The Middle east hated America back then, too. Ayatullah Khomeini. Iran. Hostages. Ronald Regan was just as corrupt (he used the hostages to attain his Presidency, Iran/contra, etc.).

What's weirder is how much Khomeini looks like Sean Connery.

Posted at 8:10PM, Oct. 12, 2006

We still don't have giant desert worms, though! Eat THAT, Mr. Frank Herbert.

~IJ

Posted at 7:10AM, Oct. 13, 2006

We still don't have giant desert worms, though! Eat THAT, Mr. Frank Herbert.

~IJ

who knows? the nuclear radition that come from nukes in the future could mutante some worms and turn them GIANT!

Posted at 10:10AM, Oct. 13, 2006

Not that weird. We started importing oil in the 70's. DUNE was written in the 80's. The Middle east hated America back then, too. Ayatullah Khomeini. Iran. Hostages. Ronald Regan was just as corrupt (he used the hostages to attain his Presidency, Iran/contra, etc.)

Allow me to correct myself. Apparently, Dune was WRITTEN in the 60's. Here's an ecerpt form Wikipedia:

Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
From a historical perspective, many have noted similarities between the events of Dune, in which a foreign-born son of an old colonial order unites disparate and warring tribes of religious desert nomads to win freedom from a decaying Imperial power, and the Arab Revolt of early 20th century Middle Eastern history, in which the British liaison officer T.E. Lawrence mobilized Arab fighters to break the power of the Ottoman Turks in the Arabian peninsula. While there are many striking parallels, one of the most trivial and bizarre may be that in the film adaptations Dune (1984) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962), both characters representing the old Imperial order (Emperor Shaddam IV and the Turkish Bey, respectively), are played by the actor Jose Ferrer. In his interview with OMNI, Herbert explicitly identified CHOAM with OPEC, equating the spice melange to oil (OPEC did not become notable as a political power until after the publication of the first novel). Parallels can also be drawn to the European/Asian spice trade of early modern Europe and later eras, in particular between the Spacing Guild and the Dutch East India Company.

Another parallel story can be found in Basil Dearden's film Khartoum (1965), with Charlton Heston as General Gordon. The baroque, stylish and brocaded uniforms are very reminiscent of the Caladan ducal-court uniforms used in the first Dune movie. The British Empire sends out Gordon to administer Sudan and its capital Khartoum on behalf of Egypt, aware that this is virtually a suicide mission. Like Leto Atreides, General Gordon, a legendary and formidable warrior of the Empire, goes willingly to his demise. The historical basis of this film lies in the story of the Sudanese supposed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad, an Islamic messianic figure that rose to power in the late 19th century. Paul Atreides is referred to as Mahdi in Dune and later novels, particularly Dune Messiah. The Mahdi's jihadist army prevails over the technologically superior British army in Sudan, just as the inspired Fremen defeat the Harkonnens' forces and imperial troops.

Yet another connection exists between the name of house Atreides and the name of the legendary Greek house of Atreus, whose members figure prominently in many Greek tragedies.

The most similar parallel can be found in the origins of Islam. Muhammad (Paul) was exiled from Mecca, the trade center of ancient Arabia by the Quraysh, a powerful tribe. He escaped to Medina, where he preached his religion of Islam. Many wandering tribes joined his cause, inspired by his words; this is symbolized by the Fremen joining together under Paul's banner. At last, Muhammad attacked Mecca, defeating the Quraysh and becoming the most powerful man in the Arabian Peninsula. His Bedouin Arabs became a legendary fighting force once they stopped fighting among themselves and invading other empires instead. Within several generations, they controlled most of Persia, the whole of the Turkish empire, the entire northern part of Africa and much of the Spanish and Balkan peninsulas.

These parallels can be pushed too far. In particular, none of them has rebels dethroning the emperor, any parallel to the Bene Gesserit and its program, or to the ecological aspects of the Dune story.

Dune was written shortly after LSD appeared in America as a recreational drug. The psychedelic experience of LSD can be directly related to the altered states of consciousness that the spice Melange can induce.

Paul Atreides' Fremen-given name, "Usul," means "base of the pillar" in the Fremen language. The name of the radical Islamic organization Al-Qaeda, which, like the Fremen, seeks to eliminate foreign influence from the territory that it claims to represent, means "the base" in Arabic.

Posted at 12:10PM, Oct. 13, 2006

People have been worrying about the oil in the middle east since WWII, it's one of the reasons it was such a crucial area. The middle eastern interpretation of Doom, as far as I have seen, is a fairly common one. There was a seminar class on it two summers ago here at ASC, that compared and contrasted Dune to current and past middle-eastern situations.

Posted at 3:10AM, Oct. 14, 2006

I saw something like that with FMA. The Eastern war, war in Iraq wich is east of the US,
And the Ishballens were fighting the rest of the world, (sorta like iraq, im still not quite sure whats goin on out there) And then there's the God's name, Ishballah and Allah

odd huh?

Posted at 3:10AM, Oct. 14, 2006

Free-kay.