Abstract

This article is an essay to analyze the movie “Dune” by Denis Villeneuve by using the concepts of imperialism, colonialism, and the quest for local justice. In Dune, the architectural elements selected for Arrakis, imperial palaces, and local living spaces of the future are all deeply in harmony with the planet’s landscape. The film matches the effective gliding of the source material in the book while dispensing with much of the novel by leaving behind David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation. The imperial/counterimperial and dominium battles between different space-conquering families set the basis of the story. The top family houses are scrambling and fighting for dominance. House Atreides has been assigned by the unseen Emperor to rule over Arrakis.

 In almost every fiction art, designers, artists, and architects have labored to imagine what the state structure and/or built environment of an extraterrestrial world of the future might look like. The movie is directed by Denis Villeneuve, the talent/craftsmanship who presents sweeping vistas and startling science fiction imagery. Art director Vermette decided that the natural environments on each planet must be dominantly used in the design codes. In Arrakeen of Arrakis, the buildings depict a right angle choice. The dominant material is stone and light is taken in by “light wells”. Large windows are incapable of responding to super-extreme heat. All palaces in the movie are designed with the role of a monument to showcase and press the image of the Empire. By using a monumental scale, all characters are shown powerless and ineffective. A gigantic scale is used, not only in the palaces but also in the houses of families to demonstrate the storytelling mechanism in a power-coded socio-political order. The design of the music and soundscapes of different planets makes us feel the alien character.