DUNE author Frank Herbert: "My Arab friends
wonder why it's called Science Fiction."
"I put a pot of Message in there
with a Mess of Pottage."
Bryant Gumbal :
Is Science Fiction
really fiction or is it
just The Future,
waiting to happen?
Author Frank Herbert says
it's a little bit of both.
His books under the "Dune" title
takes us to a strange planet
where Life and Death is determined
by A Spice, which is carefully doled-out
by A Leader who is A Humanoid,
in The Process of becoming A Worm.
Now, before I ask you about
the statement of that, Frank, :
Why is there a tendency
for people to chuckle
when they hear
what I just said?
To sneer? To smirk?
Perfectly-Frank Herbert :
Well, I think it makes people uncomfortable,
the idea that a Human Being can
become something other than
a Human Being, especially
something mindless
out of The Depths --
I'm very heavily imbued
with Jungian psychology
so I think that we do have
a sense of The Mindless
animal in The Depths
of All of Us.
But Science Fiction, when
people say ‘Science Fiction’,
they automatically go, ah...
Yeah, but I write Science Fiction for
people who don't
read Science Fiction
and people who
read Science Fiction also.
Bryant Gumbal :
But you were just telling me
that you were going after that
general readership,
but You were Frankly
a little surprised when it
went over as big as it did. Why?
Perfectly-Frank Herbert :
Well, I didn't - you don't wait for that.
You go on to do another story and
when it happened, it happened big and
I was very surprised by it,
by how big it came along.
Bryant Gumbal :
You've said Science Fiction writing
can have a missionary impact.
Can you elaborate on that
for me a little bit?
Perfectly-Frank Herbert :
Well, I think it first has to be entertaining
because if it's not entertaining,
nobody's going to read it.
I put a pot of Message in there
with a Mess of Pottage, you see.
Bryant Gumbal :
What is The Message?
What is The Statement, that you're
attempting to make here?
Perfectly-Frank Herbert :
Well - Don't trust Leaders
to always be right.
I worked to create A Leader
in this book who would be really
an attractive, charismatic person,
for all the good reasons, not
for any bad reasons.
Then, Power comes to him.
He makes Decisions.
….Some of His Decisions
Bryant Gumbal :
In a general sense, not in a specific sense,
about Leto and Planet Arrakis, but in a very
general sense, do you make this statement
because you're disenchanted with the way others are
viewing The Future or preparing for The Future?
Perfectly-Frank Herbert :
Well, I think that Our Society was formed on
a distrust for Government and we seem to
have lost that distrust in Government.
I kid around when I say that
My Favourite President in recent years
has been Richard Nixon, because
he taught us to Distrust Government.
Bryant Gumbal :
What is it, that Government
is a shared illusion?
When The Myth dies -
Perfectly-Frank Herbert :
Oh yes. The Myth dies.
It disappears.
Religion, Government, other institutions,
Do you see them in any way preparing
for what Frank Herbert sees as
A Vision of The Future?
Perfectly-Frank Herbert :
No, I have a very passionate concern for Posterity.
Another thing upon which This Country was founded,
the decent concern for Posterity and
unfortunately, Posterity doesn't vote.
Bryant Gumbal :
"Dune" is going to become
a Dino De Laurentiis movie.
Perfectly-Frank Herbert :
That's right.
That Frank Herbert's written
The Screenplay for.
Are we to expect another
Star Wars type spectacle?
Perfectly-Frank Herbert :
I really am expecting much more
of A David Lynch movie.
David has really written The Screenplay.
I hope he's using a lot of the stuff
that I gave him, but I haven't
seen The Screenplay. It'll be
ready next Friday.
We are expecting The Movie
in a year, at the end of ‘83.
Bryant Gumbal :
How many more "Dunes" to come?
Perfectly-Frank Herbert :
At least 1 more.
Bryant Gumbal :
Frank Herbert. Thank You.
Perfectly-Frank Herbert :
Thank You, Bryant.
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