[Cthulhu_]

And yet. The other day I saw Dune described as this generation's LotR, which was that generation's Star Wars. Dune (and LotR, and SW) are all Hero's Journey stories (what isn't?), yet they're each pretty unique.

Granted, LotR and Dune were written in the 50's and 60's, respectively, with Star Wars following a decade later.

All I'm saying is that what is new depends on what generation you grow up in. And I suppose how much media you're exposed to. Speaking for myself, LotR was the second film I ever saw in the cinema so it was a whole new experience.

For the younger generations, these are old films, much like how idk, Spartacus and co was an old film for me.

tl;dr, the kids will be alright. Actually the kids also appreciate older media, there's a whole generation of late teenagers now rediscovering 2000's music / culture.

[api]

Dune isn’t a straight hero’s journey because Paul isn’t a hero, or at least is a tragic one. He’s not Luke Skywalker or Frodo.

[the_af]

I'd also argue in LotR only Frodo has an archetypal Hero's Journey, but the novel itself is almost (but not quite) an ensemble piece with many other important characters that are not necessarily embarked on a steretypical Hero's Journey (Aragorn, Legolas & Gimli, Merry & Pippin, Gandalf).

[the_af]

Sidestepping the Hero's Journey for a second (which Dune actually subverts, one of its key points being that heroes are bad for mankind), Villeneuve's Dune is nowhere near a massive pop culture phenomenon of its time like Star Wars and LotR were of theirs, respectively.