regarding Dune Part 2: i am obsessed with its consistent visual theme of self-destruction. the shot of paul surrounded by his new followers seems triumphant - until the viewer remembers that each crysknife is made from a tooth of shai-hulud, and paul is standing in a circle of them, in the allegorical mouth of the worm. he orders a missile strike, and the viewer sees them fly directly through his head. every victory for the prophecy is a blow to paul himself; he's killing himself with every step he takes towards his destiny, and we know that already, and the film is screaming it, but it's a hell of a thing to watch it happen, isn't it?..
Love how feydpaul fandom took a source material about destiny, it’s makers and inevitability of fate and went “well, being gay would’ve solved it in most cases. lotta issues would be gone”
I cannot stop thinking how House Atreides has really died with Leto. All the inhibitions from Lady Jessica’s hunger for power and passion were removed and she truly became her father’s daughter. The further Paul was from the times his father was guiding him, the more he leaned into anger and cruelty. Reverend Mother Mohiam doomed them all when she advised to wipe out that line. Atreides and Harkonnen were supposed to balance each other, and her fear of Atreides incomplacency lead to full loss of control. Maybe Lady Jessica and Leto actually made someone who’d be able to become a saviour, but everyone who was involved in the making of the saviour has fucked him up beyond recognition - because the balance was lost.
And on this note, I can’t stop thinking about how Feyd-Rautha and Paul are really meant to be for peace; war is a result of many centuries of a feud between their houses, and an alliance - a union of resources, mind you - would change the political landscape in the universe. Sure, it makes sense why House Corrino fuiled that rivalry, because such alliance would drastically shift the power dynamics in the Lanstraad.
And it doesn’t matter if Paul, or Feyd-Rautha, or their offspring would become Kvizats Haderach - an all-knowing being would rise to the throne and elevate Fremen with less blood then a desert prophet if they had this power.
But Jessica is her mothers’s daughter because she seeks power before purpose, and is her father’s daughter because she doesn’t care about the cost of power, so; their love story with Leto could be described as something you would leave as a warning on a nuclear waste site: love was there. It didn’t save anyone. On every chance it could save us, love only lead to more destruction.
early homo sapiens b like help i cant stop making bowls . help i cant stop domesticating plants and animals. help i cant stop developing language and architecture and religion
"they should teach media literacy in schools" english class "they should teach students how to spot misinformation" it's english class "they should teach kids critical thinking" it's called english class
i do think theres something sad about how largely only the literature that's considered especially good or important is intentionally preserved. i want to read stuff that ancient people thought sucked enormous balls