What Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ Is Missing– Guns, Mentats, Spice, and Houses Explained
What is Spice? And why aren’t there any guns? Here are the answers to those nagging questions Dune newcomers might have when they leave theaters.
David Lynch’s Dune movie has a myriad of problems. But it does manage to give clues about how the universe works to the folks who haven’t read the book. You get enough about the orders and the houses to understand everyone’s role in the story. Villeneuve has gone for a more stripped-down approach that puts the audience in Paul’s shoes, which works pretty well. But it’s missing information that helps the story make sense for folks that haven’t read the books or seen other adaptations – this explainer is for them.
There are spoilers if you haven’t seen the movie– there are no book spoilers.
Spice Melange
The substance is directly related to the worms of Arrakis. It’s extremely valuable to the Empire. Its use enables Guild Navigators to guide space ships through warp space safely, allowing travel between planets.
When consumed, it can have mind-altering effects that expand sensory perceptions and prescience, which is why the Bene Gesserit find it valuable. It can also prolong life. Spice is a regular part of the Fremen diet and life because they live on Arrakis. It also turns their eyes blue.
Mentats
Mentats– like several other orders– came about after computers and “thinking technology” were outlawed thousands of years before the events in Dune. They are human computers that are utilized as political advisors and strategists.
They’re invaluable to the great houses thanks to their massive memories and ability to organize and recall data. They can increase their abilities by consuming sapho juice (not related to spice), which can stain their lips a shade of red. It’s like overclocking a computer– but with tree sap.
We meet two Mentats in part one: Piter de Vries of House Harkonnen and Thufir Hawat of House Atreides. We may meet a third, Hasimir Fenring of House Corrino (the Emperor’s house), in part two. In Villeneuve’s movie, the Mentat’s eyes go white as they calculate and recall. Instead of the sapho juice stain (which you see, along with the substance’s use, in Lynch’s adaptation), they have a lip tattoo to denote their order.
Hawat and de Vries have a larger part in the book than they do in the movie. They act as their leader’s spies and carry out daring and devious plots that play into the fall of House Atreides.
via Warner Bros.
Dr. Yueh and Suk Imperial Conditioning
The movie doesn’t get too deep into Yueh’s betrayal. But the fact is, it’s more than just a bargain to get his wife back from the Harkonnens. The film also doesn’t explain what the tattoo on his forehead means.
Yueh studied at the Suk Inner School, a medical school founded around the same time as the Mentat order. Their students go through conditioning that prevents them from harming their patients. Completion of this conditioning is signified by a black diamond on the forehead.
They have been trusted by nobles because a Suk doctor had never betrayed a patient (until Yueh.) This is why his betrayal isn’t as simple as presented. Yueh’s actions show that the order is no longer trustworthy.
Illustration by John Schoenherr, Photo Warner Bros.
Bene Gesserit Laying a Path
The Bene Gesserit is an ancient all-female order that has a hand in how the houses and the empire run. Their plans take centuries to play out. The plan central to Paul’s story involves the manipulation of the great house’s gene lines.
The goal is to produce the Kwisatz Haderach, a super being that has powerful prescience. He would have a meld of Bene Gesserit, Mentat, and Guild Navigator (the beings that make space travel possible) abilities and be able to bridge space and time.
This being was supposed to be born a generation after Paul– Jessica sped up the process out of her own arrogance. The Reverend Mother coming to test him is due to the possibility that Paul is the Kwisatz Haderach.
via Warner Bros.
The Padishah Emperor and House Corrino
We meet the Emperor’s army, the Sardaukar, in part one– but not the man or his house. House Corrino has held control of the known universe for centuries and has a tight grip on the Landsraad (the governing body of the universe).
At the start of Dune, House Corrino and the Emperor are losing their grip on the universe due to corruption and schemes from the orders. House Atreides is gaining power and wealth that could unseat Corrino.
The fall of House Atreides is the Emperor’s doing. He places them on Arrakis to remove the power they have on their home planet in order to destroy them. He gets what he wants by the end of part one, but the story isn’t over.
Illustration by Kevin J. Anderson
Why Are There No Guns or Blasters in Dune?
The widespread use of personal shields makes high-velocity weapons pretty useless. Using a laser against a shield would cause sub-atomic fusion and a nuclear explosion, killing everything in the vicinity. So swords and daggers have become the standard.
This type of shield came about after “thinking technology” was banned. Shields cannot be set to block all attacks because it would prevent the user from breathing. Some amount of substance has to be able to pass through the barrier. This is why slow attacks are effective.
‘Dune’ is currently streaming on HBO Max and screening in a theater near you.
Editor’s note: the nuclear reaction caused by lasers against shields has been clarified after publication.
