I finished the first book for Dune and I’m currently reading Messiah (I have other thoughts on that). But I think the messaging, specifically when it comes to Herbert’s warnings of worshipping idols.
Dune is not really a story saying “look how cool the chosen one is.” It’s almost the opposite. It’s a warning about what happens when people desperately need saviors.
The Fremen don’t start out “stupid” or blind. They’re oppressed, exploited, surviving on a planet where water scarcity shapes every aspect of life (which I think isn’t spoken about enough, at least that’s what I see when people talk about Dune. Like it’s giving white savior, I know it’s complex but still). So when Paul arrives and begins fulfilling prophecy after prophecy, it feels meaningful, it feels like destiny. But Herbert keeps asking, what happens when belief becomes surrender?
A prophet in Dune isn’t just a religious figure, they become a projection screen for people’s hopes, fears, rage, nationalism, grief, survival instincts, etc. Once that happens, the individual person almost disappears underneath the myth. The really unsettling part is that people are not always acting according to who Paul actually is. They’re acting according to what he represents to them. Muad’Dib becomes a container for projection. And that’s the scariest part, like I remember reading that 60 billion people died in his name, and it didn’t even compute in my brain, and it still kinda doesn’t.
Herbert makes it clear that projection can become more powerful than reality. The symbol absorbs contradiction because people are no longer engaging with a person, they’re engaging with their own emotional/spiritual projections. It removes personally accountability because I’m their mind they “Did it for Muad’Dib”, even though the act itself is horrific. And that very much applies to real life, whether it be celebrity fandoms, political movements, revolutionary movements, nationalism, etc. People project ideals onto public figures until those figures stop functioning as humans and start functioning as emotional infrastructure.
It’s one reason Paul becomes tragic rather than triumphant. He gains enormous power but loses ownership over his own image.
I think it’s soooo fascinating how people want someone to look up to or follow. Especially during instability, people often want someone to base themselves around. A leader, prophet, celebrity, revolutionary, influencer, even fictional archetypes. There’s comfort in attaching yourself to a larger narrative through another person.
Human psychology is really fascinating. Like we fight for freedom and want individuality (or so we say) and yet this is so common. I’m not saying it’s good or bad, I’m making an observation.
So yeah! Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk🧚🏾♂️👁️🕯️
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