Saturday, February 16, 2008
Reflection/Dune/Destiny/Social Science
It occurred to me that our class discussion was a little odd. Somehow we seemed to center in on what could be called literary themes as opposed to social science ones. I have come to wonder if Dune really falls into the definition of "science fiction" we outlined at the beginning of class. Dune, much like Star Wars, seems to be a myth, more a story of a Messiah than a a story about how we deal/interact with aliens, robots, the future, etc. I believe we could have told the same story if we set it in the middle ages or a twisted version of ancient Rome. Sure there are laseguns, spaceships, and atomics, but there is nothing particular about these devices that propels the story. The Bene Gisserit are just a strange group of nuns or drudis, the mentat well schooled generals, and the Guild a well organized merchant marine union. Perhaps it's this timelessness about the scenario that makes the story so good. We can all see how this galactic political scenario might come to pass, so that frees up the author to tell a good story about the boy who would break the whole thing down. Perhaps a better element in the book to discuss is whether or not we find it plausible for a single individual to tear down a political system or if it can only be done with special powers.
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6 comments:
I was thinking the same thing the whole time. I see more parallels to modern day, and the technology is just "there." It doesn't play a pivotal role like in The Time Machine or The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Just as in Star Wars, the spaceships are there to get you from point A to point B and nothing more.
I agree to a certain extent that the technology is just "there," but one of the points of sci-fi that we've discussed is how it's designed as a mirror on the present day. I'm sure that no one would argue that there aren't intense similarities with the Middle East and oil, and perhaps this is why Herbert doesn't have to go into the "weapons porn" style of sci-fi.
Dune's sci-fi setting allows Herbert to extend concepts to a kind of maximum, to a point where "oil/spice" can only be found in one place, there is a religious-esque front group for a selective breeding process to create a human computer, and instead of countries, we have dukedoms. In this way, Herbert can tell the story of Paul Atreides and contemporary world politics. Social? Yep. Science? Mm hm. Fiction? Well, mostly.
I still think it falls more into the idea of Myth. The plot revolves around the mythical hero Duke Paul Atrieds Mud'dib Usul and not about some societal issue, problem, etc.
The one instance in which I could see Paul's hero story as currently relevant is if Paul parallels be Osama Bin Laden. The central figure /hero of so many different groups at one point or another, the hero/later despised enemy of the Saudi Royal family. the US' ally against the soviets and later it's greatest enemy. Intertwined in Muslim religion, international politics, oil wealth and royalty, Osama could be the sort of figure Herbert envisioned arising from the earthly Arrakis of the middle east.
Wow, could Herbert have predicted the rise of Osama Bin Laden?
It's Sci-Fi. It may be epic space opera, but that's a sub genre of sci fi. Not all science fiction entails dynamic science and technology. Often we're confronted with settings, in which humanity has stagnated, and science is just "there."
Although, in the case of Dune science does play a pivotal role, although instead of the big theme being mechanical technology, it is more of a science of the mind. In the duniverse, humans have replaced computers, and the abilities that the exploration of the science of the mind has found. In this sense, Paul is just the Bene Gesserit's trial 9.0.
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