As a seasoned gamer and avid sci-fi enthusiast who has lost countless hours (and sleep) to the Dune universe, I must say that the new series, Dune: Prophecy, has left me scratching my head. Having watched the Villeneuve movies just last month, it’s a bit jarring to see technology in Dune: Prophecy that looks strikingly similar – as if we haven’t progressed an inch in 10,000 years!
The Dune: Prophecy TV show has been released on HBO and Max, and while viewers are still shaping their views on this spinoff series, there’s already a significant query about the sequence of events in the show compared to the recent Dune films directed by Denis Villeneuve.
The main observation made by many viewers regarding the debut episode of Dune: Prophecy is that its visual aesthetic hasn’t shown significant advancements in technology or fashion over a considerable period.
In “Dune: Prophecy,” the story unfolds 10,000 years before Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is born, long after the Human-Machine War. However, it has been pointed out by many viewers that the technology portrayed in the first episode of “Dune: Prophecy” bears a striking resemblance to the technology shown in both “Dune” and “Dune: Part Two.
10,000 years without significant advancements in technology and fashion is almost unbelievable for Dune enthusiasts as they struggle to accept the timeline suggested by the show. The incongruity is strikingly demonstrated in a scene where Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) and swordmaster Keiran Atreides (Chris Mason) engage in a sword-fight using the same shield technology reminiscent of Villeneuve’s films, rather than an early or primitive version of the technology that fans had expected. Some viewers even point out the Easter egg of the “blocky” shields resembling those used in David Lynch’s iconic Dune film.
So is Dune: Prophecy creating a major plothole with this lack of technological advancement?
Dune: Prophecy – Why Is Technology the Same as in the Movies?
Prophecy are striving to maintain visual similarities with the Villeneuve Dune films, using technology as a symbolic link that both shows and movies occur in the same universe. However, this aesthetic choice appears to be causing some issues, as one of the main criticisms about the show is its perceived lack of technological advancement. It’s possible that some viewers might not yet grasp the significance of technology and its absence in the Dune lore.
In the initial scenes of “Dune: Prophecy”, we delve into the storyline based on Frank Herbert’s “Dune” series, where humanity engaged in a fierce conflict against intelligent machines to establish dominance. Interestingly, House Harkonnen chose to abandon the human alliance, whereas the powerful families like Atreides stood firm and contributed significantly to humanity’s triumph. Post this war, the use of machines, encompassing computers, robots, and AI, was prohibited across the empire due to the lingering fear they had instilled. The first episode underscores this apprehension towards technology when young Pruwet (Charlie Hodson-Prior), the son of Duke Ferdinand Richese (Brendan Cowell), is discovered concealing an advanced robotic toy during his engagement celebration with Ynez. This incident also serves to explain why technological advancements in this series might appear slower compared to the “Dune” movies.
Dune Is About Human Advancement
One big difference between the new Dune movies and Herbert’s original novels is that the movies only scratched the surface of what Paul Atreides was as “the chosen one.” The films (especially Part Two) focused on what that prophecy means to the Fremen of Arrakis — making the Bene Gesserit’s centuries of breeding (to create the “Kwisatz Haderach”) a subplot of the films. The novels instead describe the line of breeding leading up to Paul Atreides being one that combines several forms of human enhancement that have been developed into distinct “types” of guilds or clans in the Dune Universe. That includes the “Navigators” (ability to guide ships across space instantly) and “Mentats” (living computers/calculators) which then prevent the need for any machine resurgence. The other piece of that puzzle is the Bene Gesserit, who push for the mastery of truthsaying and socio-political-genetic manipulation, in effort to breed better lines of leaders that can assure great futures for he empire — and the survival of the Bene Gesserit itself.
In the opening scene of Episode 1, a young Valya Harkonnen (Jessica Barden) demonstrates “the Voice” for what appears to be the first time, fatally using it against her sister rival in the order, Dorotea, who wishes to abandon the breeding program. This indicates that the Bene Gesserit talents often depicted in Dune are still developing during the period of Dune: Prophecy. Therefore, we might surmise that other human advancements such as the Navigators Guild or Mentats are also at their early stages of development.
That’s all to say: looking at technology as the telltale sign of “advancement” or “progression” in Dune may be the wrong perspective. After all, if you draw a line at no advanced computing or robotics being allowed, technology can only progress so far. What will instead change in 10,000 is the kind of machine-like abilities humans will develop and master as a replacement for machines. In the case of the Space Guild and the Navigators, consuming Spice for so long will eventually cause them to physically evolve into big-brained creatures that aren’t even recognizably human anymore.
I’m eagerly anticipating that as the weeks unfold, Dune: Prophecy will bring to life and clarify the grand universe that Herbert envisioned, hopefully silencing some of the criticism. You can catch it streaming on Max.
Read More
- DYM PREDICTION. DYM cryptocurrency
- CYBER PREDICTION. CYBER cryptocurrency
- ZK PREDICTION. ZK cryptocurrency
- JASMY PREDICTION. JASMY cryptocurrency
- LDO PREDICTION. LDO cryptocurrency
- SKEY PREDICTION. SKEY cryptocurrency
- RUNE PREDICTION. RUNE cryptocurrency
- EURC PREDICTION. EURC cryptocurrency
- EUR CAD PREDICTION
- QUICK PREDICTION. QUICK cryptocurrency
2024-11-19 19:41