Search

Transformation of ideology: Denis Villeneuve's screen adaptation of Dune as a new media text // ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2026. Issue 1 (47). P. 46-74

This article investigates ideological transformations in Denis Villeneuve's screen adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel Dune. The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that adapting complex literary works for mass cinema inevitably alters their semantic structure, affecting not only plotlines but also the philosophical, political, and cultural dimensions of the original text. The aim of the work is to analyze how the film adaptation modifies the novel's key themes—such as ecology, power, and religion—and how these changes are linked to processes of ideological representation in mass culture. To achieve this aim, several objectives are addressed: 1) identifying differences in the narrative structures of the book and the film; 2) analyzing the reworking of key characters within the context of ideological connotation; 3) determining the mechanisms by which the philosophical multi-layeredness of the original text is reduced and how this relates to the film's visual aesthetics. The research is based on the methodology of critical theory, with a focus on Slavoj Žižek's concept of ideological fantasy, which allows cinema to be viewed as a space for reproducing dominant ideological discourses. A semiotic analysis is also employed to structure the changes in the representation of the work's central meanings. The main results show that the Dune adaptation significantly simplifies the novel's ideological structure. The political multi-layeredness of the book is reduced to a binary conflict of "good" versus "evil,""aligning with traditional Hollywood narratives. The ecological issue, central to Herbert's work, is reduced in the film to visually spectacular elements, diminishing its conceptual significance. The messianic storyline of Paul Atreides, presented in the book as a critique of savior myths, is transformed in the film into a confirmation of these myths, corresponding to the mechanism of ideological reproduction described by Žižek. The scientific significance of the work lies in identifying patterns for adapting complex philosophical texts into cinematic formats. The research demonstrates how the structural constraints of mass cinema contribute to narrative simplification and the ideological transformation of works, which is relevant for analyzing not only Dune but also other examples of film adaptation.

Keywords: adaptation, cinema, "Dune", ideology, semiotics, psychoanalysis, Slavoj Žižek, ecology, mass culture, visuality