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Which Arab tribe are ‘Fremen’ characters, in Dune, based on?

Discover the fascinating world of the Fremen in Dune: Part Two. Explore their nomadic culture and customs on the desert world of Arrakis.

By Ground report 12 Mar 2024

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Which Arab tribe are ‘Fremen’ characters, in Dune, based on?

The recently released Denis Villeneuve-directed Dune: Part Two is having a great opening weekend. There is a possibility of Part three of the franchise to be green lit by Warner Brothers. The film is based on Frank Herbert’s 1960s science fiction novel series of the same name.

In the book and film, Fremen is a group of people or tribe, habitants of the fictional desert world of Arrakis. They are known to have been inspired by the Arab Bedouin tribe. They are a nomadic tribe. Some of them still survive today, in different culture and customs. The word bedouin comes from the Arabic badawī, meaning "desert dweller". There are other similarities too. Petra, one of the architectural marvels, in Jordan is a city craved from mountains known to be residents for the people. If you have read the books, you’d understand the similarities. Fremen too lived inside Sietchs, which are technically places like Petra. The city is craved inside mountains, ensuring safety from winds, and the blooming sun in the desert, basically natural advantages.

publive-image — Petra, the Monastery | Photo: Flickr

Ellora caves, in Maharashtra India, are another similar explanation of the craving for stone or mountains. Quite interesting actually in the times when we’re demolishing mountains to create something

Arab Bedouin, quite like Fremen, also traded ‘spices’. This made any immensely rich. If sources are believed, that’s when they made enemies.

We explore the history of Fremen in the later books. Primarily, they are inhabitants of a planet in which technically life shouldn’t exist. They have adapted to the life of, quite literally a deserted place. Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses had a great description of a desert town, which resembled the description of Dune’s Arrakis. The Dune books series talks about religion, ecology, adaptation, and a lot more. People have connected the references in the book to emergence of Islam, and teachings.

Dune Messiah, and Part 3

The concerns about the quality of literature which succeeds the great two films is something of a concern among avid readers. The first two parts of the franchise are adapted from the first book itself. The part in the series sets up the world of Frank Herbert – author of Dune– and then the second movie leads you into the epic battle.

In the books, you follow Paul Atreides becoming some kind of godly figure. This entire narration which very self-indulged, and less interesting. Similar concerns are from the geek readers too.

The film opened with great numbers on the opening weekend, but disappointing reviews from the critics. Some raised concerns about the limited dialogue in the film. However, the film’s director Denis Villeneuve has expressed his cinematic choice. To The Times of London, he said,

“Frankly, I hate dialogue.. Dialogue is for theatre and television. I don’t remember movies because of a good line, I remember movies because of a strong image. I’m not interested in dialogue at all. Pure image and sound, that is the power of cinema, but it is something not obvious when you watch movies today. Movies have been corrupted by television.”

Other films directed by him have the same cinematic choice of utilising great visuals to communicate the themes, and essence of the film. And, the criticism feels like an imposition rather than constructive.