The Middle Geeks Episode 31: "Dune" Review

Denis Villeneuve's Dune adaptation, based on a book that was explicitly and heavily influenced by Middle East and North African (MENA) and Islamic cultures, is out, and we are joined by our friends and fellow MENA critics Hanna Flint and Roxana Hadadi to review it. Why were there no direct MENA and Muslim creators or actors starring (barring our fave David Dastmalchian in a small villainous role) in the film? How well did this film work at adapting Herbert's work? How did the original work and the film play into systemic Orientalism? We also discuss the news that Aladdin (2019) star Mena Massoud is opening his own production company, give our recommendations, and much more!   Mae's Dune Review for Screenrant Rocky's Dune Review for Polygon Hanna's Dune Review for The New Arab List of Arabic terms used in Dune   We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.   Follow Hanna on Twitter @HannaFlint   Follow Rocky on Twitter @roxana_hadadi   Follow us on Twitter: @TheMiddleGeeks, @MaeAbdu, @spiderswarz   Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media