The Museum of Pop Culture’s mission is to make creative expression a life-changing force by offering experiences that inspire and connect our communities.
'Good Planets Are Hard to Find': Watch 'Dune' With MoPOP
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, our Good Planets Are Hard to Find (GPAHTF) film series celebrates speculative film narratives about environmental devastation, ecosystems and their inhabitants, and survival in the face of ecological collapse. The series has moved online to a watchalong format, with each film in the five-part program touching on a different environmental theme, from dystopian ecological collapse to the potential for a harmonious future.
- Register Now: Dune Watchalong
At 6 p.m. PT on Monday, May 18, join Kasi Gaarenstroom, MoPOP’s Production Associate and Movies at MoPOP Producer, for a GPAHTF online watchalong and virtual discussion. For our Dune watchalong, we're asking our audience to register in advance. Then, before we begin on Monday, invites will be sent out via e-mail to join the virtual program!
Kasi will be joined by Omar El Akkad, author of climate fiction (cli-fi) novel, American War, which has won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers’ Award, the Oregon Book Award for fiction, and the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. We will chat about the emergence of cli-fi as a genre and Dune’s place (both the novel and the film) as a cli-fi legend.
Also joining the watchalong will be Sherri L. Smith, an award-winning author and Dune enthusiast. Her novel Flygirl was named a best book of the year by the Washington Post in 2009. She also worked in stop-motion animation on Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!, and spent three years at Disney TV Animation. In 2012, Sherri made her first foray into speculative fiction with the cli-fi novel, Orleans, a book dedicated to her mother, who survived Hurricane Katrina.
- Related: First Look at Dune 2020
Here are a handful of program elements that you can expect to see on Monday:
- Exclusive photos of artifacts from the film
- Dune inspired recipes to bring Arrakis home
- Chat with Kasi, Omar, Sherri, and other fans during the film
- Post-film discussion on the movie's environmental themes
If you happen to own a copy of the film, get it queued up at 6 p.m. Monday! Otherwise, here's where you can find Dune online:
Download or dust off your copy and register for the watchalong on our Movies at MoPOP page!
(Dune sandworm head. Allen Family Collection)
(Dune concept art. Allen Family Collection)
Learn more about Movies at MoPOP + for contests, the latest news, and behind-the-scenes content, be sure to follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Like what you see? Support the work of our nonprofit museum by making a donation to MoPOP today!