Everyone is talking about Dune right now. Of course, after numerous delays, the long-awaited sci-fi epic is finally about to be released. So, naturally, people are excited. Especially those who have been die-hard fans of the previous movie adaptation or of Frank Herbert's series of novels. But fans are also talking about Dune for other reasons, such as director Dennis Villeneuve's criticisms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, its controversial HBO Max release, or even the fact that the film's star, Timothee Chalamet, has seemingly struck up a random friendship with Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry David. But mostly, people are just excited to see the movie.
But with the excitement comes a lot of opportunities for die-hard fans to get extremely analytical about the story itself. And this is precisely what one Dune fantastic did on Youtube. In his thoughtful and well-researched Quinn's Ideas video, the host managed to sway many fans into thinking that the story's protagonist, Timothee Chalamet's Paul Atreides, is actually the big villain of the movie. Here's why...
The Answer Lies In The Reason Frank Herbert Wanted To Write "Dune" In The First Place
The creator of Quinn's Ideas Youtube channel is obsessed with all things "nerdy", but he's exceptionally fascinated by Frank Herbert's Dune series. While he has not seen the upcoming Dennis Villeneuve take on the first part of the story (as of this writing), he is very well educated on the topic because of his numerous re-readings of the Dune franchise. In many of his videos, he had discussed why he thought Paul Atreides wasn't the hero that many made him out to be. On top of this, he has claimed that Paul was the wrong protagonist for the story itself. This is something that many fans of Quora and Reddit seem to agree with as it's become a topic of major debate.
Quinn's Ideas, and others who believe Paul is the villain, think author Frank Herbert actually intended the readers to see Paul as the villain.
"I wrote the 'Dune Saga' because I had this idea that charismatic leaders ought to come with a warning label 'may be dangerous for your health,'" Frank Herbert once said in an interview.
Without question, Frank was referring to the character of Paul Atreides, a young man who followed the "Heroes Journey" story arc and was the prophesized messiah in the story. Of course, as die-hard Dune fans know, much of this was orchestrated by the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood who spread the story of the coming messiah in order to manipulate humankind as they saw fit. So, within this story, it's easy to understand what Frank Herbert was trying to say... follow messiahs very carefully as they are often used as puppets for more nefarious individuals or notions or can become corrupted themselves.
What Happens When A Messiah Can't Be Perfect
Of course, the Sisterhood was unable to control Paul and thus they were unable to use him for their nefarious purposes. However, due to the Sisterhood's initial manipulation (including myth spreading and the bloodline creation), they managed to create a messianic figure that still had all the power that they intended. And while Paul never meant for terrible things to happen in his name, his presence created fanatics who waged war in his and his family's name. This resulted in billions of deaths throughout the universe.
The myth of Paul changed the people of Arrakis, destroyed their culture, and ultimately made them his devoted followers who did everything in his name. On top of this, Paul didn't do anything to stop the empire that was built in his name nor the atrocities that came from it even though he envisioned a different path. Of course, the alternative was anything but pretty. But it did ensure the survival of humankind... just at the cost of himself and his family's name. Even though Paul feared all the things that he envisioned would happen, he only did what he could to save himself. ...Not exactly the stuff heroes are made of.
While Paul's crippling fear made him an engaging and dynamic character, it didn't exactly make him a hero. Then again, it appears as though Herbert wanted his readers to question exactly that. He wanted his readers to know that every messiah is fallible. Even with all of his magical powers, Paul was just a man. And this ties in with the theme of "Dune"... Don't blindly follow anyone or anything without questioning, even if they seemingly have all the answers and all the abilities to help us transcend the violent world we live in. Most of the time, they force us into an even worse situation.
