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Scientific Research of the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria - Plovdiv, series B. Natural Sciences and Humanities, Vol. XVII, ISSN 1311-9192, International Conference of Young Scientists, 11 - 13 June 2015, Plovdiv
DAVID LYNCH'S FILM ADAPTATION OF FRANK HERBERT'S DUNE
Vadim Banev Paisii Hillendarski University of Plovdiv
Abstract:
This paper looks into Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) and its film adaptation of 1984, directed by David Lynch, in order to compare and contrast two modes of existence of an iconic piece of speculative fiction and discuss the space in between them. In her Theory of Adaptation Linda Hutcheon suggests that adaptation is "repetition without replication". Taking into account the "debate over degrees of proximity to the 'original'" and genre specificity, the proposed presentation will elaborate on the transformation of a novel into a feature film and will highlight the social and political contexts of the 1960s and 1980s.
For the purposes of this text I will make several assumptions. Obviously, both the original novel and the film exist in many formats and languages. I will focus on the novel as an English-language entity and on the film as perceived by an English-speaking audience. This is done to avoid straying into areas which merit individual discussions of their own. However, even having these theoretical boundaries in place does not make the question of adaptation any easier to approach. Although I would claim that academically things can be observed in a straightforward or at least organized manner (as Linda Hutcheon demonstrates), there's also the 'out-of'the-lab', everyday, or even layman', for lack of a better term, point of view to consider. Therein lies a number of issues. Either we fall into semantics about what actually constitutes adaptation, or rush towards 'X' is better than 'Y' formula so common in colloquial rhetoric on storytelling formats. This is a frustration Hutcheon shares: "In beginning to explore this wide range of theoretical issues surrounding adaptation, I have been struck by the unproductive nature of both negative evaluation of popular cultural adaptations as derivative and secondary and the morality loaded rhetoric of fidelity and infidelity used in comparing adaptations to 'source' texts [12, p. 31]. Hopefully, establishing both source and adaptation in their respective contexts will allow me to tackle that problem.
The Novel - The motivation behind Dune, the novel, has a twofold nature. First, the process of writing the novel is deeply entrenched in science. Encyclopedia Britannica defines Science Fiction as "a form of fiction that deals principally with the impact of actual or imagined science upon society or individuals" [15]. This is precisely what Dune is. The acting parties are subject to the technological advancement in their own fictional world and the narrative to a great extent deals with how their technology (or lack thereof) affects the way they lead their lives. In his dedication, Herbert highlights the connection by dedicating his work to scientists "To the people whose labors go beyond ideas into the realm of "real materials"— to the dry-land ecologists, wherever they may be, in whatever time they work, this effort at prediction is dedicated in humility and admiration" [9].
Secondly, beyond the shadow of a doubt, Dune is deeply allegorical, as in fact Science Fiction often is. In 1984, prior to the release of the Dune adaptation, Waldenbooks did an interview of both author Frank Herbert and filmmaker David Lynch, providing us with this comment by the former: "We do nasty things to our leaders. We shoot them on the streets of Dallas and hang them on pieces of wood at Golgatha. We fondly say that in the United States we separate church and state. That's 188
an asinine statement. I am a political analyst, and I've really never left journalism. I'm writing about the current scene. The metaphors are there" [16].
To avoid a digression, I need to draw a tentative line in the ground. We could, of course, have a discussion about children interpreting the novel and not being aware of the allegory, but such contemplations would be moot. The same could be applied to all forms of art. I would claim that with the example at hand, being unaware of the political context in which the novel was written would cause a shift for the reader in terms of genre perception.
To once again make use of Britannica, the Fantasy narrative genre is defined as "imaginative fiction dependent for effect on strangeness of setting (such as other worlds or times) and of characters (such as supernatural or unnatural beings)" [7]. What would happen without the knowledge that the Fremen in the novel are broadly representative of Arabic culture, and that the bone of contention that is the Spice Melange stands for similar natural resources (natural oil being the culprit that comes to mind) and the struggles that accompany them? Quite possibly, readers would accept the Fremen for what they are - a group of other-worlders with customs and technology that differ from those of the relatable protagonist (assuming, of course, such readers are representative of western cultural masses). It could be argued that such a dynamic would lead readers to define Dune as fantasy, rather than science fiction. I am not attempting to juxtapose the two options. Rather, I prefer to observe this as an example of how a piece of fiction can be layered, in the truest sense of the word.
The Film - Setting and context for a film vary from those of a book. Prolific horror author Clive Barker has shared the following view on several occasions. "Movies are a communal activity, and I love that. But directors have a louder voice than writers in the movies. [...] I would prefer to be the architect of my own failures than have somebody else do it for me" [3]. In other words, the existence of a novel greatly depends on its author. And while the author is obviously not the only party involved, the film format requires collaboration and coordination of a much greater degree than the printed fiction format. Thus, David Lynch's Dune exists not only because the filmmaker wants it to, but because it was allowed to, both by people and circumstances.
George Lucas's Star Wars is widely considered to be a key catalyst for the popularization and widespread acceptance of theatrical science fiction. The film is quoted as having "helped launch the science fiction boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and made science fiction films a blockbuster genre" [4]. Arguably, prior to the advent of Star Wars, studios would have been reluctant to take on a project of that size. Just to compare,in 1984, Dune's budget was $40 million [5]. One of the most respected science fiction projects of all time, 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey, had a budget of only $10.5 million [1], while earlier in 1956, Forbidden Planet cost $1.9 million to make [8]. One could observe that gradation as a purely temporal one, but then, 2010's Predators, just like Dune, had a budget of $40 million [14]. Another indicator of the aforementioned dynamic would be the time-line of the adaptation attempts. Arthur P. Jacobs attempted to bring Dune to the screen as early as 1963, but the film was finally released in late 1984 under Lynch's helm [6].
Book to Film - In the same Waldenbooks interview mentioned above, the interviewer makes an interesting statement. "I think by anyone's estimation Dune was written very visually as a piece of literature, visual description, visualization of that is very immediate" [16]. On the surface, that point may seem innocuous, but it actually sits at the center of an important distinction that must be made. Linda Hutcheon talks about modes of engagement, distinguishing between a telling mode (novels) and a showing mode (plays andfilms) [12, p. 22]. That is, how the audience interacts with the story. What we find in the Waldenbooks discussion talk featuring Herbert and Lynch directly corresponds to how Hutcheon fleshes out the engagement modes in question. David Lynch comments that "when you go searching, some things are described of course, but some things are left to your imagination, even in the book" and Herbert notes "That was deliberate I might add. Logically, the result of this for the film's director is that "it has to go through me as the director like a filter, and things pass through me and it's not going to be other people's interpretation" [16]. That is basically what Hutcheon says about imagination. "In the telling mode [...] our engagement begins in the realm of imagination, which is simultaneously controlled by the selected, directing words and liberated - that is, unconstrained by the visual or aural. [...] But with the move to the
mode of showing [...] we have moved from the imagination to the realm of direct perception..." [12, p. 23].
Baron Harkonnen - A clear example of that is the way in which the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is represented. Key descriptive cues are given in the novel. Baron Harkonnen is obese, needing the aid of anti-gravity "suspensors" to support his weight when walking around, his "beringed", fat, hands are mentioned on numerous occasions [9]. Aside from his physical description, the character of the Baron is a cunning manipulator, being the first to utter the phrase "Plans within plans" that has become closely associated with the Dune series of novels. Additionally, Harkonnen often displays sexual attraction for younger males, including his own nephew Feyd Rautha. "Ah, but the lad has such a sweet young body" [9, p. 30]. The latter represents an overt narrative burden formed by conventional (western) religious and cultural taboos that put Baron Harkonnen into the antagonist position. The Baron's physical description as well as his characterization certainly form the basis of Lynch's interpretation of the character, but there are notable differences.
In terms of the physical, aside from being grotesquely obese, the Baron appears to be afflicted with some sort of skin disease, as throughout the film, his face sports disgusting sores, and he even appears to have a regular team of physicians taking care of his ailment. This in itself raises some issues. Upon the film's release, several reviewers expressed their dislike for the movie and the character of the Baron in particular. The problem? The combination of Harkonnen's skin malaise and the fact that he is hinted at being homosexual adds an additional layer of interpretation that is much more poignant in the mid to late 80s than it would have been in the mid 60s. Dennis Altman noted that the fim depicted how "AIDS references began penetrating popular culture" in the 1980s, adding, "Was it just an accident that in the film Dune the homosexual villain had suppurating sores on his face?" [2]. I do not believe that such a supposition may truly have a definitive answer, but some context might at least help form some potential options. In a vacuum, it seems more than possible for a filmmaker to go for the topical, but director David Lynch is specifically known for very graphic and shocking imagery. His films contain surreal, quite often violent elements that are said to "disturb, offend or mystify" [13]. From Eraserhead to The Elephand Man, to Twin Peaks, Lynch has been known to seek out the bizarre and surreal and make use of it. That in mind, the Baron's disfigurement becomes just one of many specific stylistic choices made to accommodate the showing, rather than telling, mode of storytelling. As much as we would expect a painter to paint and a composer to compose, we should expect David Lynch to create David Lynch-type movies, as opposed to, say Steven Spielberg-type movies.
Characterization of the Baron is extremely compressed, again, because of the change in mode. The extremely detailed internal dialogue and complex "plot-within-plotting" is not shown. I would argue that it cannot be shown within the visual methods used by filmmaker Lynch. The viewer can, however, make certain inferences. In the film, Harkonnen is never challenged by his subordinates, he is shown to be in secret pact with the Emperor, supremer ruler within the Dune universe. The Baron's outbursts of megalomaniacal laughter and aggression are not regarded with derision or condescension, but rather, with subdued fear and caution. Even further, had the same character lacked these extreme visual and characterizational overtones, none of the aforementioned implications would have been as substantial as I argue them to be.
Legends - Usually adaptations, especially from long novels, mean that the adapter's job is one of subtraction. [12, p. 18] Because of the encyclopedic nature of the Dune novel, this is certainly the case with its adaptation. With its narrative appendices representing fictional family trees, almanacs, glossaries with in-word definitions, the novel can certainly be said to contain material that spans outside of the straightforward plot. Back in the early 2000s when home video was transformed by affordable DVD players, and today, because of the advanced state of digital content distribution, additional materials are easily distributable. That would not be possible with a 1984 widespread theatrical release, so discussion of additional material subtraction would be pointless.
Still, there are a lot of narrative elements which are subtracted to better facilitate the linear story format that conventional major film projects have. The novel contains an extensive subplot about the so-called Bene Gesserit sisterhood and its agents seeding various planets with
legends, basically preparing them for future indoctrination. "And again she wondered at the way the Missionaria Protectiva's work had been twisted on this planet" [9, p. 483]. The plot runs throughout the book, serving as a stepping point for how protagonist Paul Atreides is accepted among the tribal Fremen.
What Lynch does with this in his adaptation has two points of note. The presumably flalse prophecy seeded by the Missionaria Protectiva agents is instead elevated to an actual prophecy of undefined origin. The internal dialogue that characters have in the book is instead represented by subdued on-screen narration, voiced by the respective actor while their character is on screen. A lot of the dialogue in these snippets is lifted straight from the book, as indeed Herbert notes. "And I hear my dialog all the way through it, not just my dialog, but there's lots of other dialog" [16]. More importantly, the metamorphosis of the prophecy in the adaptation also plays nice with the ending. Frank Herbert's initial plan was to write "a short adventure novel, [titled] Spice Planet" [11, p. 272] but the project was put aside when the scope of his research widened and the literary project became much more ambitious [11, p. 272]. The two pieces he wrote were eventually serialized in Analog magazine between 1963 and 1965. The point being, even the initial novel was serialized. Later on, the series of novels was expanded to six by Herbert himself, and to many more by his authors Brian Herbert, Frank's Herbert's son, and Kevin J. Anderson. Unlike the novel, the Lynch adaptation is a self-contained animal. Even though there was talks of sequels during late production, that never came to fruition. [16]
During the ending of the film, the protagonist, now having reached his full potential, does the unthinkable. By the power of his mental abilities, he brings about rain on the desert planet of Arrakis. The transformation of Arrakis into a hospitable world is a plot discussed at great length in Dune's sequels. What the movie essentially does is follow the seeds of plot to create its own compacted version of events in a self-contained package. On this variation Herbert comments "I have my quibbles about the film, of course. Paul was a man playing god, not a god who could make it rain" [10].
Tentative Conclusion - By pointing out the examples above, I have attempted to begin a pattern of study that may be applied to a series of adaptations in a much larger project. Far from being a complete enumeration of theoretical cornerstones and case studies, the paper serves as a foray into a field this author finds extremely intriguing and refreshing.
[1] 2001, Internet Movie Database<http://www. imdb.com/title/tt0062622/>
[2] Altman, Dennis. AIDS and the New Puritanism London: Pluto Press, 1986, p. 21
[3] Barker at 1986 World Fantasy Convention, by Leanne C. Harper, (i) The Bloomsbury Review, September/October 1987 (ii) Clive Barker's Shadows in Eden
[4] Cook, David A., Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970-1979, History of the American Cinema, V. 9, University of California Press
[5] Dune, Internet Movie Database<http://www. imdb.com/title/tt0087182/>
[6] Dune Adaptation Timeline, <http://www.duneinfo.com/unseen/timeline>
[7] Fantasy, Britannica Online
[8] Forbidden Planet, Internet Movie Database<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049223/>
[9] Herbert, Frank. Dune. New York: Ace Books, 1990
[10] Herbert, Frank - Eye. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1985, Introduction
[11] Herbert, Frank; Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The Road to Dune. New York: Tor Books, 2005.
[12] Hutcheon, Linda - A Theory of Adaptation, Routledge, 2005
[13] Lynch, Rodley, Faber and Faber ltd. 2005., p. 245
[14] Predators, Internet Movie Database<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424381/>
[15] Science Fiction, Britannica Online,
[16] Waldonbooks Interviews, Frank Herbert and David Lynch<http://www.lynchnet.com/ dune/duneint.html>
