notophelia

[notophelia]

Controversial opinion among Dune book fans maybe, but I loved the changes they made to Chani's character. Making her a fedaykin who is already an experienced fighter before Paul arrives was a brilliant choice. Dune Part Two is a war movie, and this puts her at the center of the action, side by side with Paul, and gives her a much more active role than she has in the book.

We got a hint of where things were going in the beginning of Dune Part One. The first thing we ever know about movie Chani is that she's a fighter. She serves as a voice for the Fremen, telling us the story of their struggle from her point of view. I wrote here about the difference this change makes compared to other adaptations of Dune, what a perspective shift it is to have the world of Arrakis introduced not by an outsider, describing it as a dangerous but valuable colonial prize, but by one of its native inhabitants, who tells us before all else that it's beautiful, her home that she's fighting to liberate. I am so, so glad that the second movie followed up on this characterization.

I never found Chani and Paul's love story in the book particularly convincing, because why would this woman, who already has a prominent and respected place in Fremen society, even give the time of day to her deposed would-be colonizer, let alone fall in love and have children with him? Without a compelling reason for Chani to love Paul, she ends up feeling like a prize to be won, and "indigenous culture personified as a woman to be wooed (or conquered) by the colonizing man" is a trope we've seen and don't need to repeat.

But as soon as you tell me it's a barricade romance I get it. Cool cool cool, I know exactly what this relationship is now and it makes sense. Movie Chani doesn't respect or even particularly like Paul when she first meets him, and she doesn't think he's the fulfillment of any prophecy. She comes to respect him, and eventually love him, through his actions. He's brave--sometimes recklessly so. He fights well. He's willing to stick his neck out on the front lines with the other Fremen fighters. He can (after a little help) hack surviving in the harsh desert environment. He's not too proud to learn from others. He seems to genuinely want to be her equal in a common political struggle. All these qualities make sense as things she values.

Fighting side by side as equals is just about the only way I can see movie Chani falling for Paul. And it fits perfectly with the film's pattern of reversals that Paul's capacity for violence would initially be one of the things Chani likes about him, only for her to be repelled later when she sees what he becomes.

And as for Paul, well, he's had people deferring to him his entire life. Someone who doesn't take any shit from him is probably refreshing. He seems to like people (Duncan, Gurney) who challenge him and engage in a little friendly teasing--and aren't afraid to go a few rounds in the sparring ring.

It's easy to speedrun a romance when you're spending all your time together in mortal danger fighting for a shared political cause. Especially if you then start winning in a war your people have been fighting for decades. Are you kidding me? That is the perfect environment for intense battle camaraderie to turn into romantic love, and lust.

It makes sense that this version of Chani never believes Paul is any kind of messiah. Of course a character like movie Chani wouldn't believe in or trust some outside savior to liberate them. She's been working to liberate her own people for years. The more Paul invokes the messianic myth, the more he starts sounding once again like someone who plans to rule over them, and the more uncomfortable Chani becomes. In this way she becomes a foil to Jessica, the two of them representing the choices Paul is pulled between. It's a great way of externalizing the political and philosophical debates that often happen within characters' heads in the book.

And of course this version of Chani would leave Paul at the end of the film. It's not just the personal, emotional betrayal--although that stings. What common cause does she have with someone who just declared himself emperor and is sending her own people off in a war of conquest against others? Given the important role she plays in Dune Messiah, I am super curious to see how they get her back into the story, but girl was so valid for being willing to just gtfo. Given that she has the last shot of the whole movie, I'm sure she'll be back somehow, and I can't wait to see what they do with her character in any future installments.

#dune #dune part 2 #chani #mmm crunchy meta #she also felt like the main audience proxy to me #and boy am i still picking at that #but so here for it

[notophelia]

Sad trombone to the people who waited eagerly to post their “haha, just wait until these unsuspecting rubes get walloped with Dune: Messiah!” memes and jokes. And are now doing so anyway… despite Villeneuve’s script working SO. FUCKING. HARD. to make sure people don’t miss the point this time around.

Like. Dudes. Nobody who paid the slightest attention to a single word that came out of Paul’s own mouth, let alone Chani’s, thinks that was a triumphant ending. It’s a trainwreck tragedy, the seeds of which were planted centuries ago in a way that is called out directly and repeatedly in TEXT, not the subtext of past adaptations (and of the novel itself).

Herbert thought his audience needed a gotcha lesson (and maybe they did).

Villeneuve knows his audience sees this shit playing out every damn day.

#dune part two #dune spoilers #i guess

[notophelia]

#omgYES #we are directly across the street from an elementary school #our house was built in 1907 from CAST CONCRETE MASONRY #and the people on the huge lot next to the school #i.e. #at least 200 yards away #once kept me awake until 1 am #with a LIVE BRASS BAND that had been playing basically nonstop #for SEVEN HOURS #my mental soundtrack was mexican oompah polka for DAYS #mad respect to those guys tbh #embouchure of steel

[notophelia]

Blank class periods do not count.

Bonus points if you put the country in the tags.

#5 minutes #small town USA #in the 1980s #the bell system was still analog #they couldn’t have made us do any of that 3 minutes bullshit if they wanted to

[notophelia]

Ok, so that poll about sleeping with the door closed because of The Killer had one obvious flaw. So, I present an alternate poll:

#almost picked ‘purely out of habit’ #because apparently quiz creator didn’t get it rammed down their throat enough during fire safety week #but the habit stuck because it’s legit #and then i realized #it’s because of the killer #and the killer is SMOKE

[notophelia]

#absolutely thought they were mice #this is so wild

[notophelia]

Summary: A trip to Toronto turns out not-so-relaxing when Buffy discovers her cousin is involved with a vampire and Willow is hunted by another.

Author: @notophelia

Note from submitter: Two vampire shows crossing over with an neat take on how both shows' types of vampires can exist in the same universe, complete with funny quips. I just love this

#reblogging to see results of poll #i wrote this in 1997 #my day is MADE

[notophelia]

🍓 The time Taliesin marketed cancer to the nation 🍓

#taliesin jaffe #child star weirdness #i remember this one! #but never made the connection that it was the mr mom kid

[notophelia]

"I would kill for you. I would die for you" would you take a break for me? Would you sit down and rest? For a day, a week, a year? Would you let others take care of your needs for me? Would you let yourself be held for me? By me?

#this this this

[notophelia]

#reblog to save a duck

[notophelia]

Bells a-ringing, swords a-swinging, spells a-slinging… Join us this week for a double dose of holiday spirit, Nerdy Playbook style!

The festivities begin at 6:30 pm CST Tuesday and continue at 6:30 pm CST Wednesday.

[notophelia]

Do you think Clark Kent's first few major articles were about the continued presence of lead pipes in parts of Metropolis' water system

#secret identity shenanigans #i love everyone in this bar

[notophelia]

As a prompt, would you draw Imogen and Delilah? Or maybe just Delilah possessing Laudna, with Imogen?

there ya go anon! aware you were probably wanting Imogen giving sass or kicking ass but I'm weak

#critical role #cr3 spoilers #imogen temult #laudna #delilah briarwood #i adore the deceptive softness of this #pretty pretty art

[notophelia]

QUICK. RB THIS WITH THE FIRST SONG LYRIC THAT COMES TO YOUR HEAD WHEN YOU SEE THIS POST. THAT IS AN ORDER

#eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen

[notophelia]

1. Yes they have to fight, 2. Tell me who’s fighting who in the tags! (I’ll add the most ridiculous combos in a reblog)

#jaime sommers #vs #keyleth of the air ashari #good luck making them fight to the death #but if you manage it #keyleth is the one walking away

[notophelia]

Proposition: if you are going to review media traditionally associated with women or teenage girls, before you critique examples you think are bad, you need to show examples you think are good and explain why. Prove to me that you actually care about the genre and think it can be done well; otherwise, I'm going to assume you are just here to take potshots at things girls like.

#i do not suffer snobs gladly

[notophelia]

You know, I've repeatedly seen people claim the word "hubris" needs to be on the high shelf but I've never actually seen someone misuse the term. It may have happened but usually when people didn't like the use of the word hubris it's because they had invested a lot of time in explaining how Icarus was a genius, actually.

#sometimes it’s because they don’t believe in divinity #and *think* they don’t believe in anything that substitutes for it in the definition #but almost invariably #i have bad news for them about statistical probability #or physics #or even economics