I’d just be doing ths constantly to people while yelling “why you hitting yourself?” over and over.
Fun fact: in the Harvard Lampoon parody Doon: The Desert Planet, the sisterhood use the voice to annoy people into doing what they want. The customary use of the voice is “get out of the kitchen, it’ll be ready when it’s ready” in the best whiny voice they can muster.
Herbert was enamored of theories of mass-psychology in the 1950s and 60s, when there was a huge concern with how advertising and propaganda could manipulate whole populations. (This was the kind of period concern that animated the deeper themes in the show MAD MEN.) Some of those ideas seemed quaint and outdated by the turn of the 21st century, but then social media came along...
I think the Voice for Herbert was just a singularly focused version of psychological influence. The speaker taps into whatever vulnerabilities they can detect in you and then uses them to temporarily condition your response to a command.
It's not magic. It's just deep and instant psychological manipulation.
So... is this worth watching or is it just a dumb prequel where the writers think it's important to give us the origin stories for insignificant details?
Archinerd wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2024 12:19 am
So... is this worth watching or is it just a dumb prequel where the writers think it's important to give us the origin stories for insignificant details?
The first episode was pretty much that (except for the last 30 seconds). Now they will either use it as background for an actual, you know, plot...or not.
Archinerd wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2024 12:19 am
So... is this worth watching or is it just a dumb prequel where the writers think it's important to give us the origin stories for insignificant details?
Despite my nerdpicking, it is definitely worth watching if you like the Dune universe.
I have no idea where the show is going, but it's clear that it has ambition.
I always have to remember Spartacus. When it aired its first episode, I hated it. It felt like a ripoff of 300. From the story to the visuals. I was ready to write it off. Then someone here told me to give it another shot...and lo and behold, they added in all the stuff that a show about Rome during that time period needs: politics and ruthless people. After that, I was on board.
Dune: Prophecy needs that. What is the Empire in Dune if not a version of Rome under some of the more ruthless emperors? Hopefully they'll steer into that soon. At least more than they have.
"A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on." -Terry Pratchett, The Truth "The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it." -Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment
El Guapo wrote: ↑Fri Nov 22, 2024 12:58 am
Yeah I liked the first episode. Too soon to judge the show overall. If you like Dune I'd jump in, if you're neutral then might as well wait.
I like Dune quite a bit, but more isn't always better.
Archinerd wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2024 12:19 am
So... is this worth watching or is it just a dumb prequel where the writers think it's important to give us the origin stories for insignificant details?
Despite my nerdpicking, it is definitely worth watching if you like the Dune universe.
I have no idea where the show is going, but it's clear that it has ambition.
The thing is, the Dune universe, even before it was bequeathed to Brian, was pretty massive. Brian had plenty of opportunity to fill in the gaps...but we're talking thousands of years, most of which haven't been addressed. The incredulous part is that the same power brokers (Corrino, Atreides, Harkonnen, BG, Guild, etc.) remain such for millennia. The Atreides trace their roots to the Agamemnon of the Trojan War for fuck's sake.
It is certainly possible to create a show that takes place in a limited period among this vast fiction. I would like to see the period when Atreides and Harkonnen were besties, then things went horribly wrong.
