Dune Anew - Frank Herbert would be proud...

It's not every day that a movie comes out that is the SECOND effort by a famous director at telling a beloved (if complex) story. Dune, opening in theaters the U.S. this weekend and directed by Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049), is - according to Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian - a much more fulfilling version of what many call the best science fiction novel. Ever. In his review, Bradshaw compares the new film favorably to the entertaining but flawed 1984 release directed by David Lynch and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and starring Kyle MacLachlan, Sting, et. al. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/20/dune-review-denis-villeneuves-awe-inspiring-epic-is-a-moment-of-triumph.

?So, why talk about a futuristic novel brought to screen in a business publication? Because what novelist Frank Herbert wrote about in 1965 resonates today on so many commercial and social (and political) levels. Much of our current, heated discussions surrounding corporate sustainability, recognizing climate threats, confronting prejudice and injustice, embracing diversity and inclusion, and even the economics and planning of space colonization are all issues presciently presaged in the Dune story. The fascinating worlds, rollicking galactic adventures, stark yet gorgeous scenery and environmentally-focused drama of Herbert’s masterpiece are more than ever very, very relevant to the world of here and now, 56 years later. "Fear is the mind-killer" - a central theme of Dune - retains its power as a resounding warning against doubt-driven paralysis of purpose in our fractured business and personal lives.

Interestingly, in another footnote that should give some solace to today’s struggling, unrecognized (yet) writers and entrepreneurs, Herbert’s first major literary effort - according to his son, Frank Patrick Herbert, Jr. - garnered the budding author and environmentalist nearly 20 rejections from book publishers before it was published by Chilton – the auto repair manual people – to critical acclaim and, eventual, commercial success down the line. And of course, many imitators in the space-hopping deep-philosophy genre came later, some to spectacular success as well. Just ask George Lucas!

Hometown Hero

For me personally, this is a time of anticipation and huge pride – by extension, I admit. My favorite science fiction book that has now become this (second) blockbuster film was written by Herbert - a news journalist, photographer and WWII veteran who was born in, went to high school, and began his literary journey in my "gritty-but-proud" old stomping grounds, Tacoma, Washington, as well as various other locales in the Puget Sound region. After forays to the Bay Area, Herbert eventually found his way back to the Pacific Northwest, where he found inspiration for the centerpiece and allegory of Arrakis – Dune, the desert planet, in the sand dunes near Florence on the Oregon Coast.

?When I discovered his already-world-famous epic novel (and its sequels) in my teens, I didn't grasp at the time just what a film version of it might look like - but imagined based on the incredible imagery Herbert had created in his core story and its sequels that it would be awesome. When it arrived, I did like the 1984 film a lot, but I agree, it was kind of a mish-mash, albeit with much deep thought and very cool action scenes and interesting actors. I was also proud that the main character of Paul Atreides in David Lynch’s movie was played by a Northwest native, McLachlan (born in Yakima, in Central Washington state.) Now, I'm eager to see what all the rising positive buzz surrounding Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Jason Momoa?and an apparently outstanding supporting cast and screenplay in this pandemic-delayed (like most movies) epic is all about.

?Remembering via Revitalization

Frank Herbert died at only 65 years of age in 1986. But he hasn’t been forgotten. In fact, the local park district in my hometown recently built an impressive monument to his legacy and lessons. It took many years, but thoughtful community leaders finally redeveloped and revitalized (see link below for an excellent story by Commissioner Eric Hanberg) what had been a barren patch of land - where the now infamous Tacoma Smelter (ASARCO) ran small, overflowing, open-car trains for scores of years from the factory out onto an adjacent peninsula and dumped molten copper slag (waste from copper production) right into the deep blue, teeming waters of Commencement Bay.

The results of this remarkably successful undertaking by Tacoma's Metropolitan Park District are quite poetic and poignant to me: As a kid helping/mostly watching my dad work for hours on our boat moored right next door, I would stand and observe from a short distance, hundreds of times, this red-hot, glowing, steaming, endlessly repetitive exercise with fascination (and later horror when I began to understand its devastating and toxic impact on the water and sea life.) Now that jagged, horribly polluted, blue/black rusted strip of land, part of what was transformed into a “capped and restored” EPA Superfund site near Tacoma’s crown jewel Pt. Defiance Park, has been cleaned up beautifully. Its expansive waterfront, cool breezes and million-dollar bay and Mt. Rainier views are now fully opened to public enjoyment and exploration. It’s name? “The Dune Peninsula” in honor of Herbert’s Tacoma roots and his persistent passion for environmental consciousness. https://www.metroparkstacoma.org/why-did-we-name-it-dune/

Frank Herbert would indeed be proud, I think. Thankful for this lasting, thoughtful tribute from the citizens of his birthplace to his social and ecological activism, and in honor of his lasting literary legacy - maybe even more than his pride for two multi-million-dollar movies made from his masterpiece and hordes of grateful Dune readers and viewers across the globe!