The real places that inspired 'Dune'

+ is 'Iron Mike' too rusty? US Edition - Today's top story: How 'Dune' became a beacon for the fledgling environmental movement − and a rallying cry for the new science of ecology [View in browser]( US Edition | 15 March 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [That time a White House candidate DID run from prison]( - [The pernicious rise of the ‘great replacement theory’]( - [Won Wordle? Completed Connections? Try the TC Quiz!]( Lead story In Hollywood, the early months of the year are considered “dump months” – the time to release films that didn’t pan out as expected. The best films are saved for the summer and the holiday season, when they’ll attract bigger crowds and be fresh in critics’ and audiences’ minds ahead of all the big awards ceremonies. But despite the March 1 release date of “Dune: Part Two,” few viewers are going to forget Denis Villeneuve’s visually stunning sci-fi epic when next year’s Oscars roll around. Based on Frank Herbert’s novel, the film tells the story of a desert planet valued for its “spice” – and the battles waged among various families for control of this prized commodity. But few viewers and readers probably know about the inspiration for the work: Herbert’s realization that Earth’s fragile ecosystem was facing a reckoning. USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences English professor Devin Griffiths [takes readers to the real places that inspired Herbert’s masterpiece](, from the rolling sand dunes of the Pacific Northwest to the little islands off the coast of Peru coated with nutrient-rich bird droppings called guano. [[How faith and religion drive the world. Sign up for our weekly newsletter, This Week in Religion.](] Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor Oregon’s Umpqua Dunes inspired the desert planet Arrakis in Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune.’ VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images [How ‘Dune’ became a beacon for the fledgling environmental movement − and a rallying cry for the new science of ecology]( Devin Griffiths, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences When Frank Herbert sat down in 1963 to start writing ‘Dune,’ he wasn’t thinking about how to leave Earth behind. He was thinking about how to save it. Politics + Society - [How parents can be held responsible for their children's shooting – James Crumbley convicted]( Thaddeus Hoffmeister, University of Dayton James and Jennifer Crumbley purchased a handgun for their son as a Christmas present. 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