I was looking forward to Dune part 2, until I realized what they did in the casting. The Fremen are all arabic and black. The evil Harkonnen and Sardaukar are White. The Harkonnen are literally albino White. The messaging couldn't be more clear. White people bad, non-whites are oppressed and good. To make it even more blunt, Paul is being played by a jewish actor, who bravely leads the non-whites against the evil Whites. This is probably why they won't (faithfully) adapt the subsequent Dune books, because it turns the first book on its head.
Even though Villeneuve claims to be a big fan of the books, he's said in recent interviews (if I remember correctly) that the female characters aren't focused on enough, and aren't strong enough as female characters, so he's going to change the story. Anyone that's read the Dune books knows that's a profound lie. The women are some of the strongest characters in the lore. The Bene Gesserit are literally immortal, if they choose, by manipulating their body chemistry, but don't for fear of being found out by the Imperium until their plan comes to fruition, and are some of the best fighters in the Imperium. Villenuive said he wants to focus on the female characters more and give them more material, which is just going to create the extremely grating modern feminist girl boss trope, in a story that doesn't need it. It's explicitly said in the first Dune book that the female Fremen fighters are extremely capable fighters, and fight with their men.
Should've seen this coming from what they did in Part 1. They race and gender swapped Liet Kynes. He was supposed to be able to blend in with both the Imperium royal houses and the Fremen. He's described as having "long sandy hair". His father was Imperial but his mother was Fremen. Black people don't have hair like that. Kynes was also supposed to be a stand in for Frank Herbert, a White man. Also, even though it's not explicitly mentioned in the books, Paul and Chani bond over the fact that both of their fathers were murdered by the Harkonnen and the Emperor. There was a lot left unsaid in the Dune books by Herbert, who left clues for his audience, enabling them to fill in the gaps, especially with regard to character motivations.
At most, the entire Dune saga revolving around spice is an allegory for oil and the Middle East, which would make the Fremen Arabic and the Imperium White, if taken at face value. However, the Fremen aren't native to Arrakis. Through thousands of years of immigration, they finally ended up there. I don't recall Fremen ever being explicitly defined in terms of race in the books. Skin color is mentioned sparsely, but only for a few key characters. There were some suggestions in the books of racial differences along planetary lines, and that there are differences between Fremen and the Imperium, but it's left just vague enough to allow other interpretations.
In any case, at the minimum, the race and gender swap of Liet Kynes was an insult to the author himself. At most, it's an insult to the author's work, characters, intentions, and story, perverting it to insert messages Herbert never intended or wanted. Nowhere in the books does Herbert chastise the evil White people and venerate the oppressed POCs, nor would it be smart. Herbert was quite intelligent, and any scifi author knows you make your allegories vague, so they have wider appeal and applicability.
The change in part 1 was a clear indication of what their priorities/subversions were, which is being dialed up in Part 2. It's annoying, because Dune would be a fantastic IP to (properly) adapt, but not in modern Hollywood. I guess I'll have to stick to the SciFi miniseries and the books.
To be fair, there are some factors that go against your narrative as well. Timothée Chalamet’s mother is Russian Jewish and Austrian Jewish, and his father is non-Jewish French. House Atreides from Caladan (Caledonia, i.e. Scotland), the obvious good-guy faction, is also white. And if anything, making the poor desert people look like the stereotypical Middle Easterners and having the faction of white saviors empower and recruit them should be more offensive to the opposing side than not.
I was looking forward to Dune part 2, until I realized what they did in the casting. The Fremen are all arabic and black. The evil Harkonnen and Sardaukar are White. The Harkonnen are literally albino White. The messaging couldn't be more clear. White people bad, non-whites are oppressed and good. To make it even more blunt, Paul is being played by a jewish actor, who bravely leads the non-whites against the evil Whites. This is probably why they won't (faithfully) adapt the subsequent Dune books, because it turns the first book on its head.
Even though Villeneuve claims to be a big fan of the books, he's said in recent interviews (if I remember correctly) that the female characters aren't focused on enough, and aren't strong enough as female characters, so he's going to change the story. Anyone that's read the Dune books knows that's a profound lie. The women are some of the strongest characters in the lore. The Bene Gesserit are literally immortal, if they choose, by manipulating their body chemistry, but don't for fear of being found out by the Imperium until their plan comes to fruition, and are some of the best fighters in the Imperium. Villenuive said he wants to focus on the female characters more and give them more material, which is just going to create the extremely grating modern feminist girl boss trope, in a story that doesn't need it. It's explicitly said in the first Dune book that the female Fremen fighters are extremely capable fighters, and fight with their men.
Should've seen this coming from what they did in Part 1. They race and gender swapped Liet Kynes. He was supposed to be able to blend in with both the Imperium royal houses and the Fremen. He's described as having "long sandy hair". His father was Imperial but his mother was Fremen. Black people don't have hair like that. Kynes was also supposed to be a stand in for Frank Herbert, a White man. Also, even though it's not explicitly mentioned in the books, Paul and Chani bond over the fact that both of their fathers were murdered by the Harkonnen and the Emperor. There was a lot left unsaid in the Dune books by Herbert, who left clues for his audience, enabling them to fill in the gaps, especially with regard to character motivations.
At most, the entire Dune saga revolving around spice is an allegory for oil and the Middle East, which would make the Fremen Arabic and the Imperium White, if taken at face value. However, the Fremen aren't native to Arrakis. Through thousands of years of immigration, they finally ended up there. I don't recall Fremen ever being explicitly defined in terms of race in the books. Skin color is mentioned sparsely, but only for a few key characters. There were some suggestions in the books of racial differences along planetary lines, and that there are differences between Fremen and the Imperium, but it's left just vague enough to allow other interpretations.
In any case, at the minimum, the race and gender swap of Liet Kynes was an insult to the author himself. At most, it's an insult to the author's work, characters, intentions, and story, perverting it to insert messages Herbert never intended or wanted. Nowhere in the books does Herbert chastise the evil White people and venerate the oppressed POCs, nor would it be smart. Herbert was quite intelligent, and any scifi author knows you make your allegories vague, so they have wider appeal and applicability.
The change in part 1 was a clear indication of what their priorities/subversions were, which is being dialed up in Part 2. It's annoying, because Dune would be a fantastic IP to (properly) adapt, but not in modern Hollywood. I guess I'll have to stick to the SciFi miniseries and the books.
To be fair, there are some factors that go against your narrative as well. Timothée Chalamet’s mother is Russian Jewish and Austrian Jewish, and his father is non-Jewish French. House Atreides from Caladan (Caledonia, i.e. Scotland), the obvious good-guy faction, is also white. And if anything, making the poor desert people look like the stereotypical Middle Easterners and having the faction of white saviors empower and recruit them should be more offensive to the opposing side than not.
jews are matrilineal, if his mother is Jewish then he's Jewish
But he's only half jewish!!!