Exploring Religion in DUNE - Stilgar & the Lisan Al-Gaib | Dune Part Two Explained

the character of sgar in Dune is used as a vehicle to show the effects of religious fanaticism and fundamentalism but also as an answer to the question is there really a lisan Al G the question that both Frank Herbert and denv want you to consider is the prophecy side Messiah real and I think sgar shows us the answer which is it doesn't matter we get some lines from sgar like I don't care what you believe I believe that powerfully showcased where the true danger of religious extremism lie sgar was raised in a culture where uh prophecy had existed for thousands of years so everyone around him whether they believed it or not acknowledged the existence of the idea of the Messiah this is reflected in much of Western culture today where the dominant religion is Christianity which is what I think Frank Herbert was going for over the course of Dune part 1 and dune part two we get to see a dramatic change in sar's demeanor towards Paul in part one sgar was immediately intrigued by him and by the end he does everything he can to protect him from jamus and the the other fman in part two it ramps up very quickly as Paul seemingly continues to fulfill prophecies and complete uh incredible achievements and by the end of Dune part two sgar has transformed from a friend and a father figure of Paul to a rabid follower awaiting orders this shows another danger of this level of extremism that you can get so lost in Prophecy and religion that you lose sight of who and what what are really important to you part two ends with Paul ordering sgar and the fman to wage a holy war against the great houses while in the process completely destroying the fman culture this is shown perfectly in how they treat the Dead Harkins at the beginning of part two uh we're very obviously shown that the fman while after they kill the hekinan soldiers they pile them up uh extract their water and sort of have this ceremonial proc process um and then they pile them up and give them as an offering basically to Shai HUD who they essentially worship uh contrasted to the end of the film where the fman just pile up all the dead heinens and burn them like a Harkin would do the old version of sgar would never waste that much water and let that kind of thing happen and this is shown to us uh earlier in part two in the caves with the water reservoir where he's showing Jessica the thousands of years that they've been saving up this water water and he wipes the tear from her face um and drinks it and tell her not to waste her water even though it's a single drop I also have to note that just how perfectly Javier Bardem brought the character of sgar to life his acting in part two was incredibly moving um and while I think a lot of people could see him as a sort of comedic relief and silly guy which I think he nailed his transformation into Paul's knife is what really stuck out to me and stayed with me for a long time I call him Paul's knife because of the line that Paul delivers uh at the southern meeting where he says would you smash a knife before battle where it's really shoved in our faces that Paul is here to change the fman ways and he is just not going to respect the thousands of years of culture that they've built up at the core of Frank Herbert's Dune is a cautionary tale of the classic hero or Messiah story which so many people have fallen victims too in no way is this video saying that all religion is bad or all religious people have been manipulated but it encourages you to reflect on your beliefs and who you look up to I've seen Dune part 2 four times in theaters now and I am just blown away at how perfectly they were able to weave this intricate and delicate story of religious fanaticism in between these giant set pieces uh epic wars and uh beautiful love story it really feels like we got the best possible director cinematographer editor sound designers production designers costume designers and cast to bring this amazing story of Dune which I hold very closely to [Music] life

Channel: CalderDune

Views: 6,983

Keywords:

Id: MCRNcdq9ZRc

Length: 4min 55sec (295 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 02 2024