The Deep Message Of Dune Explained
“The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience. A process that cannot be understood by stopping it. We must move with the flow of the process. We must join it. We must flow with it.”
This is Dune’s main theme, summarized in one perfect paragraph.
You might’ve watched this movie and muttered to yourself what’s with the Bull? What does the Worm mean?
What’s with the dreams and even that little mouse that Paul sees twice?
Well, they all tie directly into Dune’s theme.
Dune, like all great movies, is chock-full of hidden details, motifs, and messages that nod to it’s theme.
In this article we’re doing a deep dive on some of them. And I mean deep. I wrote 4 pages of notes while watching this movie.
If you want the video version of this article, you can find it right here.
Let’s start with the bull.
The Bull
Paul says that his grandfather fought bulls for sport. There’s also loads of Bull imagery in this movie, including the bull head, and the bullfighter statue in Paul’s room.
Dune wants audience members to walk away with the lesson that we must “flow” with the process of life to understand it. We must join it.
What does a bullfighter do?
They wave a red flag to draw the Bull’s attention, and they side-step it at the last minute, moving with the animal — joining it.
It’s a dance. And a dance can only be performed when you’re coordinating your movements with a partner.
To me the bull is a reminder to have courage as well. Before Leto dies, he glances up at the Bull head on his wall.
Bulls are strong, fearless animals who rush their prey without a second thought.
Earlier Leto says “There is no call we do not answer there is no faith that we betray.”
To Leto, it’s important to face your problems head on with courage and bravery, which is why it’s fitting he glances at the Bull seconds before killing everybody in the room as well as himself.
Water
The home world of House Atreides is one of water, in stark contrast to the deserts of Arrakis. In one respect this clashing of settings shows just how “out of their element” House Atreides is when they arrive on Arrakis.
And it magnifies the importance of Dune’s theme to surrender to the mystery of life.
Paul, out of his element, must surrender to the forces of nature — to the ways of the fremen — just to survive.
But I think water means something else, too.
When speaking about life, Dune’s theme states “We must flow with it.”
What better visual metaphor than water to show the necessity to “flow” with life?
The fremen value water above all else, metaphorically showing their conviction that we must flow with reality.
Above Paul’s bed at Arrakis is a mural of Koi fish swimming in water. Koi fish are from Japan, and speaking of Japan there’s also bonsai trees shown on Caladan.
I don’t know why the filmmakers put in these nods to Japanese culture when designing the world of Dune, but I do know the Koi Fish could represent “flowing” with life as they swim in water.
The Bonsai trees, as a side note, connect back to the film’s numerous references to trees. Namely the sacred palms House Harkonnen planted and kept in their garden.
When Paul watches a hologram teaching him about Arrakis, the narrator says “only the plants with the deepest roots survive.” Later when he’s attacked by a Hunter-Seeker, he hides among a hologram of roots in the ground to remain undetected — foreshadowing Paul’s ability to survive in the desert.
All of this to say that nothing flows better than a liquid, obviously, and Dune’s focus on water is subliminally reinforcing its theme.
The Sea
What do the dunes look like? They almost look like waves in the ocean. The sea, I believe, is a big metaphor in this movie. Remember that sand and sea are inexorably linked — they always will be. The shot of Paul dipping his hand underneath the water to touch the sand on Caladan was a clever touch by Villeneuve.
Paul will, apparently, be the one to finally liberate the people of Arrakis.
Sea power and desert power uniting.
Not to mention the visual metaphor of a worm “swimming” underneath the dunes only to surface and wreak havoc on anything in its path.
The worm reminded me of a big whale with the way it moved underneath the dunes.
Then you have the big sand storm about halfway through the movie, which almost looks like a tidal wave.
Remember what Gurney says after he realizes House Harkonnen took 10 billion Solaris off Arakis every year?
“They shall suck at the abundance of the seas and on the treasures hidden in the sand.”
Then we have the opening quote:
“Dreams are messages from the deep.”
The only thing I think about when I hear “the deep” mentioned is the ocean.
I literally don’t think of anything else.
I think it’s obvious how a big body of water fits into Dune’s theme to join and flow with the process of life, so I won’t keep bashing you over the head with this spoken and visual motif.
The Elements
Leto is obsessed with the idea of “desert power,” he also mentions how House Atreides has “air power” and “sea power.”
What is the desert, though?
It’s sand, or ground up rocks. In other words EARTH. The fremen live in sietches, or caves, made of rock.
That’s three of the four elements there.
What about fire?
Where’s the fire?
I think House Harkonnen represent fire — or firepower — as evidenced by their brutal attack on Arrakis. It looks like a shower of fire raining down on House Atreides, lighting up the night sky.
When Paul has his vision in the tent, he says “It’s coming. I see a holy war spreading across the universe like unquenchable fire.”
The Bene Gesserit lady says “His sight has barely awakened, and now he goes into the fire.”
How do the elements tie into Dune’s theme?
I’m not sure it’s the elements themselves as much as how the characters interact with them.
The sigil of House Atreides is an Eagle. Eagles are in perfect harmony with their environment, oftentimes coasting on thermals and air currents to reach their destination.
They have “joined” with the element of air and glide throughout the sky, flowing with it.
The fremen joined with the desert and the rock formations of Arrakis, living in Sietches. Not to mention the way they walk across the sand.
Their walk is a dance-like motion with irregular rhythm designed to mimic the natural sounds of the desert, with the purpose of not being detected by the sand worms.
The fremen represent the idea of joining with life by flowing with their environment. They are in equilibrium. It’s telling that they’re called the fremen in this story, or free men. They know more about joining with the process of life than anybody.
The Worm
“Bless the Maker and His water.
Bless the coming and going of Him.
May His passage cleanse the world.
May He keep the world for His people.”
In my mind the worm represents two things.
One is life.
It’s a faceless unstoppable force that recreates the very surface of the earth. It swallows entire machines whole and immobilizes people on the dunes.
When Jamis says the fateful line about “joining the process,” a montage of sand vibrating underneath the sandworm is shown.
For me this is a clear giveaway that the sandworm represents the thing that we must join with — life.
Let’s not forget that the final thing we see in this film is a fremen riding a sandworm off in the distance.
“We must move with the flow of the process,” he says. And the process of life is change, isn’t it?
The sandworm remaking the Dunes, changing the layout of the desert, is a metaphor for the power of nature.
The fremen riding the sandworm is such a beautiful representation of this idea — that we must join with the process.
Another significance of the sandworm is fear.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
“I will turn the inner eye to see its path,” she says.
When Paul finally comes face to face with the worm, the back of his head is framed perfectly at the center of its mouth.
What imagery does that invoke, for you?
For me it looks like an eye.
A visual representation of this famous quote from Dune.
Animals
There’s a lot of animal imagery in Dune: Part 1, whether it’s the beetle at Duncan Idaho’s death, the dragonfly ships, the desert mouse, the bull, the Koi fish, the eagle, the worm, and even that weird spider pet thing in House Harkonnen.
The Bene Gesserit lady says “If you’re an animal, unable to control impulses, we cannot let you live.”
To me, though, this goes contrary to the theme of joining the flow of life. Animals are in equilibrium with their environment. The desert mouse has found ways to survive in the desolate deserts of Arrakis.
Its impulses and intuition help it to survive, no?
I haven’t read the Dune books and I have no idea what’s about to happen in this story, but I feel that the Bene Gesserit are evil.
If they can use the voice to control someone as strong as Paul, what’s stopping them from using the voice to control everything happening in the galaxy?
And why does Paul’s sight show him future possibilities that don’t come to pass?
For instance he sees himself die at the hands of Jamis, which doesn’t happen. The theme of Dune comes from the mouth of Jamis, in the future, but we all know Paul kills him.
The Bene Gesserit say they cannot let Paul live if he can’t control his impulses. But it’s Paul’s impulses that help them survive the sand storm. He trusts what he hears in his vision from a friend he doesn’t yet have, and gives in to his intuition to surrender to the forces of nature.
In Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise’s character tells his students “Don’t think, just do.”
Perhaps the impulses animals have that allows them to blend in with their environment and survive is the very thinking Paul needs to become a leader and change the fate of Arrakis.
Even the way the fremen fight showcases equilibrium with their environment— by how they hide underneath the sand, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
I can’t help but feel animals are a big motif in this movie for the way they embody the film’s theme.
Also, remember the big metal tubes in orbit surrounding the planets? I think they’re used for space travel. What do they look like to you?
Don’t they look a little bit like a big metal worm?
Dr. Kynes says that equipment doesn’t do well in the desert, and every time a sandworm comes, they have to lift the harvester off the sand so it doesn’t get swallowed by the worm.
I think this shows, visually, the belief of the great Houses that they can stop nature, stop life itself, and continue about their business getting rich.
As Jamis says,
“The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience. A process that cannot be understood by stopping it.”
The great houses, on Arrakis, attempt to “solve” the problems of nature by avoiding the great sandworm and taming their environment. Meanwhile the fremen ride the sandworm, joining with it.
House Harkonnen is completely oblivious to the fact that there’s way more Fremen than they think on Arrakis as well.
Since they only value money, House Harkonnen looks at everything as a problem to solve. How to solve the sandworm problem, for instance. How to fight against nature instead of blending with it.
I thought that was an interesting juxtaposition of viewpoints.
What did you think of Dune?
Let me know down below in the comments.