Dune Review: Is the White Savior Trope Embedded Within the Film?

Dune entered the world of cinema in October of 2021, with much acclaim. The film has been praised for its complex dialogue and set pieces; however, audiences connect with this film in its ability to keep the story grounded in the characters throughout their journey. In haste, fans and critics alike have carefully analyzed each character to understand the origin of their actions. In their analysis, some have found that the film has become a symptom of the white savior complex that, unsurprisingly, still exists within cinema. However, it is surprising is that this argument is not new; it has been an ongoing argument since the book’s release in 1965.

What Frank Herbert’s Interpretation on Paul Atreides?

To understand why the book, and subsequently the film, have come under fire for upholding the white savior trope, one must look at the source material. To understand Frank Herbert’s Dune is to understand the Middle East in the 1960s and 70s or the European colonization of North America in the early 17^th century.  The main character, Paul Atreides, is depicted as a supposed savior and will lead the Fremen (Native Americans and Arabs) from the reality they were plunged into. Described as white-skinned in the book and is portrayed by a white male in both the 1984 and 2021 movie adaptations of the book, it’s not hard to see the comparison of Paul as a white savior trope. However, looking at the book only from this perspective does not give the reader a holistic understanding of what Herbert is trying to say. Herbert says he is trying to show the “superhero syndrome and your own participation in it” and the mistrust one must-have of supposed saviors. Unfortunately, this mistrust did not translate well into Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune.

What Is Denis Villeneuve’s Interpretation on Paul Atreides?

This vague idea of what a Savior is and what they may be, or look like, is not presented in the 2021 Dune film. The only ambiguity given to the viewers is Paul’s decision to assume the role of the messiah. Villeneuve had an extraordinary opportunity to flip this movie on its head by casting a BIPOC as its lead, which would also break the link this story had with the white savior trope. Unfortunately, this never happened, and we got to watch almost every supporting BIPOC actor die early within the film, which is also a trope. The BIPOC characters we got a chance to see met their unfortunate end within the film’s run-time. These characters include Duncan Idaho (Jason Mamoa), Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), Piter De Vries (David Dastmalchian), and a slew of other supporting BIPOC actors. This list of BIPOC actors whose characters’ died accounts for almost half of the actors who have significant roles within the film.

Is Dune Race-Baiting?

Chances are, when you saw the trailer for this movie, you didn’t see most of the actors mentioned besides Isaac or Mamoa. Who you did see in almost all the trailers was actress Zendaya. Fans of the actress were overjoyed to see she was in the movie, but as they left the theater, audiences felt underwhelmed. The reason being Zendaya’s screen time only accounted for 7 minutes of the total 2 hour and 35-minute run time. Zendaya, being a BIPOC and having a lead role in a sci-fi epic, and then having her barely show up within the film, made audiences feel like they were being baited. However, this is only the 1^st installment of a slurry of movies, so hopefully, we will see more of Zendaya going forward.

How Can We Start Thinking Critically?

In looking at sci-fi as a genre, there aren’t many movies that handle such subject matter, as Herbert supposedly intended, through the lens of a BIPOC. What audiences may walk away with from this film is that the white savior trope is still embedded within Hollywood and can even be interpreted as such in Dune’s source material. We as viewers can start thinking critically of such films by understanding why each actor was cast for that specific role and did it work for the film. Here is just a small list of movies that portray and do an outstanding job of tackling these issues while maintaining diversity.

•  Black Panther
•  A Wrinkle in Time
• Sorry to Bother You
• The Brother from Another Planet