The History Behind Dune | Arab Nationalism, Magic Mushrooms and The Cold War
143,868
Published 2024-03-06
In this video, Matt Lewis talks through the history behind this epic story, from Arab nationalism to magic mushrooms and the origins of the Atreides. The script and editing was by James Carson.
Frank Herbert portrait credit: MOHAI, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, 2000.107.087.11.01, photo by Gilbert W. Arias.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Mary Beard and more. Watch, listen and read history wherever you are, whenever you want it. Available on all devices: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, Xbox, Chromecast, and iOs & Android.
We're offering a special discount to History Hit for our subscribers, get 50% off your first 3 months with code YOUTUBE: www.historyhit.com/subscription/?utm_source=youtub…
00:00 Intro and Plot
03:08 The Origins of Dune
06:00 Cold War in the Middle East
10:00 Arabic Influences
11:28 Religious Belief Systems
14:15 Laurence of Arabia and the Arab World
17:37 Greek Influences
21:08 Imperialism and Feudalism
22:40 Technology
All Comments (21)
-
Laser weapons exist in Dune but are not used because an energy weapon hitting a shield results in a catastrophic nuclear-like explosion, killing the attacker as well as the target. There are Maula pistols that fire low velocity poison darts can penetrate a shield but but have limited range.
-
Paul isn't the hero of Dune. He is the protagonist, but he's definitely not a hero figure. Dune doesn't really have a traditional hero character, although Duke Leto could be argued as the tragic hero of this story.
-
I'm microdosing psilocybin right now, and even without therapy it makes such a difference. I feel much more at peace with myself, the constant negative self talk has stopped. I'm no longer questioning my will to live. And my focus & creativity are returning. If you feel intimidated by the idea of deeper journeys or have no one to guide you, taking the slow drip could be a good start (without contraindications of course)
-
Small distinction: Spice isn't mined. It's harvested on the surface. Also the title of the Emperor is "Padishah" which is the old Persian title for ruler. So his title is Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV of House Corrino.
-
I enjoyed this, but I think another historical influence for Dune would have to be the Arab conquest of the 7th century. To me, the parallels are very clear. Desert dwellers that are underestimated by everyone until they explode into a rapid war of conquest and expansion driven by religious fervour into Jihad
-
I’m not sure how I missed the Alexander the Great parallels after all these years.
-
Psychedelics like psilocybin mushrooms have shown a lot of promise in helping people with mental health issues.
-
I'm a 48 year old cinephile and I'm here to tell you that Dune 2 is the greatest movie ever made. Period.
-
WOW this was thoroughly packed with information! I knew some of it, but wasn't aware of all of it. This one gets bookmarked for viewing again later!
-
Great exposition! Thank you so much.
-
Thanks. Loving the whole rebirth of Dune, especially the recent board game 'Dune: War for Arrakis'. Your video really helped bound some of what I've recently been exposed to.
-
Well done. Keep up the great work...
-
I read the first 4 books in college. I read the first 4 again and the New 2 books a few years later. I've fallen in love with audio books and have just finished listening the first book again. I took my wife on one of our first movie dates together was the 1984 Dune by David Lynch. That's what drew me into reading the series in the first place. Frank Herbert created a world, not unlike Tolkien, but with a human future in the stars. It's a pretty fucking cool world!!
-
This is really well done. The research is so in-depth.
-
Thank you. This was an excellent historical and linguistic explanation of the environment, names, places, politics and inhabitants within the world of "Dune."
-
This video is more relevant and incredible than I expected. Well done sir 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
-
Great review of the novels, and how they were influenced by events in our world. Keep up the great programming.
-
This was amazing, thank you. So much better than countless YouTube content of someone just shouting to get attention. Fascinating!
-
What a brilliant and mind-stimulating video. Thank you 🙏🏽
-
This was so interesting, loved it!
