Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Dune vs. The Book of Boba Fett

Yesterday I finally got caught up on two "books," making it the perfect time to write a comparison of them.

The first was an actual book, Dune, which I had started reading back in October in the hope of completing it before seeing the film, which didn't release here until early December. It was always an ambitious project, especially given that I was moving, but I learned that the early December deadline also didn't matter because the movie was only going to be the first half of the novel. I reached the point I needed to reach before seeing the movie, but then I slackened my pace and only finally finished yesterday.

The second book is The Book of Boba Fett, whose most recent episode we watched last night, leading us to be fully caught up on the show for the first time.

Mild spoilers to follow. 

It was a couple episodes ago when I noticed the similarities between Dune and The Book of Boba Fett -- the latter taking inspiration from the former of course -- and they've only become more comical since then. Note: Yes, I am aware that I am probably the eleventy hundredth person to notice these similarities and write about them on the internet, but I haven't read any of those other comparisons so maybe you haven't either.

Let's go:

Both take place on a desert planet.

Both feature a hero left for dead and presumed dead among the harshest elements of that planet.

Both heroes are directly threatened by a large desert creature whose gaping mouth full of endless sharp teeth is its primary defining feature.

Both heroes originated off world. 

Both heroes are saved by a band of natives who wear robes or other coverings that almost completely obscure them while protecting them from the harsh desert atmosphere.

Both heroes are initially the prisoners of these natives before proving their ability to bring value to the tribe.

Both heroes blend fully into the cultural customs and fighting ways of the local tribe.

Both heroes assist the natives in fighting the threat of far-worse off-world invaders than themselves. 

Both heroes must ultimately return to some version of their previous station and to become local leaders on the planet.

In both, there is spice.

I think it was the last that really made me laugh. Could Jon Favreau and Robert Rodriguez really introduce the discussion of spice into The Book of Boba Fett without making their theft of Frank Herbert's original material completely clear?

Given that this series is all about paying homage to earlier Star Wars anyway, maybe they didn't care -- maybe they even wanted it to be obvious. The Book of Boba Fett is the ultimate example of the way the same ideas cascade down through the years and are in knowing conversation with one another. 

This show is full of Easter Eggs for the original Star Wars and Return of the Jedi in particular, and we've already gotten some Attack of the Clones as well. But it's now clear to me after consuming three versions of Dune -- the first of which, David Lynch's version, I intend to watch again now that I understand the story better -- that George Lucas had to have had Dune in his head when he originally conceived of Tatooine, the planet where Luke Skywalker was raised, and where an inordinate amount of the Disney TV shows have taken place. (With more to come, of course, as there is an Obi-Wan Kenobi show coming up.)

But you know what? Frank Herbert didn't start this either.

In listening to a pair of podcasts on The Next Picture Show that were released at the same time Denis Villeneuve's film was released, I learned that Herbert had a film in his own head -- Lawrence of Arabia -- when he was writing Dune. So ultimately, all of these stories go back to real historical events involving real British officer T.E. Lawrence, who presumably did not base his own life experiences on anything else.

It's just that when two such similar entertainment properties come on our radar within two months of each other -- and even less time here in Australia -- you can't help noticing their similarities and commenting on them.

Does this diminish either of them, though?

Nah, just good fun in both cases, and satisfying viewing. And I'm a bit surprised to find The Book of Boba Fett so satisfying. From the little preview of it that closed the last season of The Mandalorian, I thought the show looked like it would be humorless and a bit of a slog. Not that Mando has a huge amount of charisma, but I figured Boba Fett would have significantly less, and also be significantly less redeemable.

As it turns out, Temuera Morrison is really easy to like, the show has been conscious of needing to be fun and even sometimes needing to be silly, and overall, I find it in the same vicinity of enjoyment as The Mandalorian

I guess Disney's stewardship of Star Wars really can do no wrong, especially when it takes inspiration from one of the most classic tales in sci-fi history.

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