Dune as “Fake Documentary Realism:” Ushering in a New Era of Blockbuster Science-Fiction
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (2021) was a risk. Since the release of the novel by the same name in 1965, there has only been one screen adaptation: David Lynch’s Dune (1984). While Lynch’s film was a box-office bust (but has since been revered as a cult film), Villeneuve’s Dune received highly positive audience and critic reviews. Up until now, most viewed the novel as unadaptable because of its complex and demanding worldbuilding; this theory was backed by the ill success of Lynch’s Dune. Yet Villeneuve’s Dune is able to achieve a sound adaptation and speak to contemporary audiences, even those unfamiliar with the original source content. In a Q&A with Dune screenwriter Eric Roth, sound editor Mark Mangini, and sound designer Theo Green, Mangini explains that Villeneuve instructed them to create their work as if they were “doing a documentary about the fantasy world [of Dune]” (Maltin). Two specific cinematic aspects of Villeneuve’s Dune, script structure and sound design, achieve a new aesthetic in science-fiction: “fake documentary realism,” a term coined by sound designer Theo Green. While historically most sci-fi media has focused on electronic synthesizer sounds (think: blasters in Star Wars, robotic sounds in Terminator, etc.), the goal of Dune, and of fake documentary realism, is to immerse the viewer in realistic visual and auditory experience and therefore launch them into the story and world.
Fake documentary realism (“FDR”) was Mangini and Green’s primary goal in sound design and editing. The aim of FDR is to ground the film in a constructed realism that, although fake, feels so realistic that the audience believes that the world of Dune is plausible and credible. Mangini and Green agreed that FDR would redefine the sci-fi sonic landscape by avoiding traditional synthesizer sounds and other sci-fi audio tropes. Moreover, the film’s realism implores audiences to focus and invest in the characters, their emotions, their actions, and the plot. While FDR was developed by Dune’s sound designers, the aesthetic is apparent throughout the film, from the stunning CGI visuals and cinematography to the intense performances and purposeful script structure.
An overlooked contributing factor to Dune’s fake documentary realism is the script structure. The original novel features extensive monologue from the protagonist, Paul, as well as philosophical concepts that begin each chapter. In the process of adapting the novel into a screenplay, Roth said that the writing room chose to shy away from philosophical recitations per Villeneuve’s direction (Maltin). The writers could have easily adapted narration as the protagonist’s internal monologue; alternatively, Dune features no narration in the script’s structure, which in turn further solidifies the realism of the film and plunges the audience deeper into the experience of the world.
Beyond the lack of narration, Roth also describes the choice to limit dialogue between characters. Rather than drive the plot with dialogue — as most films and pieces of fiction do — the audience must draw on the subtext of limited dialogue and, more relevantly, character actions. The choice to limit dialogue to well-written exposition and necessary relationship-building encourages the audience to look for meaning in actor performance, character action, visual effects, and sound design.
The connection between sound design and script structure lies in framing. Mangini and Green claim that Villeneuve wanted a balanced sound design that did not feature much sound layering (Maltin). Throughout the film, expositional dialogue is underlined by softer, swelling music, sometimes accompanied by a humming chorus. Some dialogue receives no musical aid whatsoever, in part to build suspense, but also to put the audience in that moment with the character. Mangini and Green describe the process behind when to emphasize a sound and when to emphasize dialogue — more often than not, the concept is about removing sound, or limiting it, rather than adding it (Maltin).
For instance, in one of the action-packed sequences in the film, sound is uniquely framed to push forward character development. In the scene, Paul, his Duke father, and their trusted advisors travel on a small helicopter-like ship through the desert. They stumble upon a spice harvester and a sandworm (giant, aggressive worms that are the most dangerous inhabitants of Arrakis). The sandworm, attracted by the mechanical hum of the harvester, barrels towards the machine while the ship designed to pull the harvester to safety malfunctions. Paul’s father decides to land and save the men on the harvester. Throughout the sequence, intense background music accompanies the action of characters running through the sand and barking orders at each other. The music that accompanies Paul, however, is stylized to emphasize his connection to the desert and the Freman. Paul has been suspected to be the Lisan al Gaib, messiah of Arrakis, and this sequence is his first time in the desert. When he takes his first steps in the sand, the music cools to a quiet but firm hum. All the noises around him — men running, the worm traveling towards them, the machinery — fade away and the audience experiences this moment with Paul. The mysterious, ethereal music builds as he bends down and runs the sand through his fingers. This ethereal sound surrounding Paul contrasts the loud, high intensity music that corresponds to the fast-paced action. Despite the dire situation, the softer, mystifying sounds frame Paul’s realization of his connection to Arrakis, a major plot point in the story. The stylistic choice to not overtly layer sounds, as many sci-fi films do, was a critical decision that Mangini and Green made in order to signify character development and further immerse the audience in the characters and the world.
While sound design choices do directly relate to characters, much of the challenge in achieving FDR in sound design came from figuring out what fictitious objects and animals sound like. Mangini and Green claim that “the freshest sound starts with the freshest ingredients” (Maltin). Like chefs, they want their product to be fresh, meaning that they try to create new sound effects and use as few library sounds as possible. One of the crucial sounds Mangini and Green had to design was that of the sandworm. They wrestled with the figure of the sandworm because, of course, a sandworm does not exist in our world. What does a sandworm sound like? A roar? A monstrous scream? Mangini and Green finally settled on a less intimidating, low “gunk gunk gunk” sound that imitates the man-made “thunker” devices that attract the worms (Maltin). The purpose of creating the sound came out of their desire to, firstly, reinforce FDR, and secondly, to demonstrate the symbiotic nature of Arrakis and ultimately poise the sandworm as a revered and, although terrifyingly powerful, ultimately harmonious presence. The sound itself — the monotonous, rhythmic “gunk” — serves the story by revealing the interconnectedness of the world and the beings that inhabit it. Rather than confirm audience expectation that the worm is terrifying and mysterious, Mangini and Green grounded the worm with a more natural noise. This unifies our perspective of Arrakis — these people and animals are not evil or hostile, they’re merely living on their planet and fighting back against oppression by various off-world colonists.
The script structure and sound design both point to the film’s goal of “fake documentary realism” by creating a highly believable sci-fi world. Most sci-fi films rely on their ability to transport audiences into surreal settings; Dune provides the same transportation, but ushers the audience to the opposing extreme of realism. Successful navigation of script and sound lead to an immersive experience of a plausible, convincing world, making Dune a master of this new sci-fi aesthetic of fake documentary realism.
Works Cited
Maltin, Leonard, Theo Green, Mark Mangini, and Eric Roth. CTCS 466: Theatrical Symposium.
Lecture, Q & A, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, October 28, 2021.
Villeneuve, Denis, director. Dune. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2021.