‘Dune’ Repeats Tired Tropes of a White Savior in a Middle Eastern Setting

Warner Bros.

When the BAFTA and Oscar nominations were announced earlier this month, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ “Dune” received a total of 21 nominations, including the highly coveted Best Picture nomination from each group.

“Dune” is about a young white man from the fictional planet Atreides. He develops his special abilities and fulfills his destiny by saving the planet Arrakis and its people from the brutal Harkonnen empire. Arrakis, a desert planet where the Fremen people live, is the location of the rare and powerful substance called spice that is used for space travel and needed to save the universe. The Fremen’s environment is reminiscent of the Middle East, including a language that happens to contain Arabic words. Additionally, the style of dress is not unlike what one might find in the Middle East.

When the film was released last year, many Muslims insisted that the film was Orientalist, promoting the old trope of the white savior. The film appropriated elements from Islam while diluting the Islamic and anti-imperialist elements from the 1965 Frank Herbert novel on which it is based.