How Does Baron Harkonnen Float? | Suspensors Explained | Dune Lore

and in 2024, we STILL dont even have the personal jetpack. and yes. you CAN walk with 400 lbs. millions of americans will confirm. does anyone else love the sound the suspensers make when they get switched on in the 2021 movie? i wonder how he activates them. by will / thought? by a button? they seem to be even fused to his spine. so these things or that one big apparatus is actually transhumanistic.

I love how in the book during one of his meetings with Rabban, internally he's like "His fat is still rigid but he'll come to the suspensors one day" as if it's the family legacy.

The book basically is walk normal

The more "realistic" would be he is able to walk like a ballon, like a Man in the Moon

Because flight IS kinda cool but very useless (except the poison scene) if you are really Big and can be hit by ANY weapon lmao

Yet another example of the dichotomy between Atreides & Harkonnen; their physical presence and essence. Thank you for yet another great breakdown!

If it was possible in the real world itd make alotta unemployed, which is why i wish this technology was real.

He's not even that fat. He could walk if he really wanted to.

I like the original movie depiction for only one reason - it gives us that classic line from the Emperor: "Bring in the floating fat man..." 😂

The suspenders are over his spinal cord maybe they detect bioelectrical impulses and they move according to them like they will move in what ever direction the baron thinks of?

Doesn’t the Baron float to the ceiling to avoid the poison gas from the Duke’s tooth in the book?

I don’t think it’s exactly accurate to describe the Baron’s suspensors as a metaphor “for the technology upon which the Old Imperium has become overly-dependent to the point of stagnation.” After all, the current Imperium—-the Padishah Corrino Emperor; the Landsraat of Great Houses; the Spacing Guild; CHOAM, and the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood—-are the result of the BUTLERIAN JIHAD*, a struggle long ago that resulted in the prohibition of “thinking machines” or computers within the Imperium. This necessitated that almost every division of the Imperium hyper-develop its *HUMAN POTENTIAL*: the Emperor’s Sardaukar must become super-soldiers, who learn *all forms of combat on Selusus Secundus bc laseguns can rarely be used against the shields guarding the bodies and property of all important persons and groups within the Imperium. humans have to train and discipline their minds soooo extremely that they become mentats, or HUMAN computing machines serving the Emperor and all the Great Houses; the Sisters of the Bene Gesserit order must practice yrs of deep meditation and mental and spiritual training to develop the psychologically manipulative Voice, the quick movement of the Wyrding Way, and a certain degree of presience; and even the Spacing Guild does not plot its vast trips through interstellar space with the nav computers that prob still would have been available on the black market of Ixx, the shady, secretive, one-remaining “techno-planet”—no, they must transform a human guild member into a prescient, space-folding Navigator for their Heighliners by having him consume huge quantities of the spice mélange. If anything, the Imperium’s purported stagnation seems to derive from its having pushed humanity to the maximum limits it can reach without some sort of either technological or “metaphysical” assistance.

When I saw the Baron flying around in the first movie i laughed my ass off and was trying to figure out what the hell I was watching because it wasn't serious sci-fi drama. Your explanation makes perfect sense and how it should've been portrayed in the movies and TV series.

Let's have some fun so don't be serious, 1, he is scum, and scum rises to the top and floats. 2. He is a piece of SH*T which acts just as scum does. Easy.

He farts a lot

You picked a fun one here.

I think you could call pretty much all of the things with the name "Holzmann" attached to them "magical plot/visual enabling devices."

Gravity has a number of names and descriptions. One of them is "a field of uniform acceleration," and the another more daunting one is, "a curvature of the space/time manifold," (in the presence of mass). Unless his suspensor's work by repelling nearby matter, pushing his body upwards in his harness (his, very well padded harness), it would have to work by casually undoing one of the fundamental forces of the universe. That would make them not just magic boxes but incredibly strong magic boxes.

When it comes to things like the Lynch movie's depiction of the barron's mobility, well, it was the Lynch movie and Lynch understood and appreciated his subject matter in about the same way that the average professional wrestler understands and appreciates making French pastries.

When you talk about the other visual sources in Dune that show the barron rising above others to look down on them from a height, all you can say is, "nothing could be more natural." Someone whose whole reason for existing was to achieve superiority to and dominance over others would naturally move towards positioning himself to rise above others, to look down on them and make them feel like small things that he could crush when the whim to crush them came to him.

The upshot: "Flying"?! Meh. "Looming over"? Oh, absolutely. Nothing could be more in character for him.

I like the design of technology. Subtle and simple. Not bulky or cumbersome.

I don't have a problem with how the depictions have used the height adjustment. Neither film adaptation give the Baron his due. He is either insane and manic or dull and dour. The mini series is the closest to the book.

I'm not a doctor, but there is no doubt that constant and long-term use of such suspension devices would lead to significant muscle atrophy throughout the body. I've had family members with certain medical mobility issues and one can quickly lose the ability to use muscles and limbs, this evening includes your neck muscles to keep your head up. It would be beneficial to actually consult a doctor on a video about this. If the Baron was to suddenly lose all suspension support, I have no doubt that he would be completely unable to move and basically be an inert large blob on the floor. Muscles throughout his body would have completely atrophied. This could have other implications on the body as well, such as his heart muscles becoming very weak (cardiomyopth), and muscles needed for respiration becoming weak. But I suppose they would have the technology to alleviate all of that so far into the future.

Suspenders in the future are different

I personally thought nevest Dune movies depiction of floating Baron made him very intimidating. Also crafty.

Flatulence?

I like the Sci-Fi miniseries, and the Baron's spencers were done well. DUNE Part 1 is the best showing of the Spencers. I really love that you see where they are located (the spine,best place for them) and you both hear and see them active.

I really like how the baron skarsgard looked while he was seated on his palace or other places (very tired with the head nod towards the floor) but when he activates the suspensors you hear the cracking noise of each one of then plus the vertebrae wich indicates how much he needs that technology to support his own weight.


I only noted this on My 3rd watch of the film, the face he has from being seated without suspensors and then after flying, he looks like in complete suffering when seated.

FunFact: The Baron was a vain, very fit, lean and deadly fighter in his younger years until he was invited to participate in the Bene Geserit breeding program. He felt insulted to be a mere breeding bull and thus made the error to rape a Referent Mother as revenge. To teach the Baron a lesson, the Reverend Mother infected him willfully with an exotic STD during the rape. The sickness let his metabolism run haywire and there is no cure.

I don’t think the “bouncy glide” description really works with 50 kilos. 50 kilos don’t bounce or glide in gravity similar to Earth’s even if distributed in a body the size of the baron’s. He must have set it much more aggressively

I'll always defer to the (Frank) books over any other adaptations, Frankie boi knew what he was doing when he wrote the novels. One of the greatest sci fi series' ever written and this channels' passion for em is very apparent👌

I like the way the on screen versions use the idea of the repulsors. It's more theatrical but still makes sense to the character,
making the Baron slightly more "repulsive" 🤓

I am looking forward to see superkid spicy cookie Alia's confrontation with her floating grandpa (but please not like Lynch's weird and silly interpretation). Do not make fanbase dissapointed Monsieur V.

Fizzy lifting drinks ofcourse 😉

I think someone once said that the way the Villeneuve Dune did the levitation (as slow and steady as it was portrayed) made the baron seem like a ghost, not just menacing, but eery and haunting to watch.

because in the future they disproven Newtonian gravity changed the way humanity think about how we live on earth, other trains of though which allow for metaphysics breaking technology that is understood by only a few guilds.

The way Humanity think effects reality, herbert knew this and tried to explain though narrative.

technology to be discovered in the future requires the erasure of old limitations,

suspensors: a norma cenva invention

It would be great to know more about the poison snoopers.

I don't know if you have heard of a small book called "How to impress girls with power farting" that is how I suspected he got the idea.

very interesting, thanks for posting

Great video! Great Channel!

Madame Nerd,
Again, you have pierced the vale of another question regarding Frank Herbert’s intent of the Baron’s suspensor's supporting his grossly obese body!
While I am not a medically knowledgeable person, I do know that people who are obese are prone to many problems associated with said issues. Notably high blood pressure, diabetes, heart issues, sleep apnea, etc.
But who’s to say these issues haven’t been addressed by the time we arrive at the Dune Universe. It appears to be a double-edged sword…
Your insight to the Dune Universe is deeply appreciated!

Without the actual suspensor technology, it would be much harder to depict what is in the book, since they would need wires to partially suspend the Baron, but still allow him enough movement to make it seem he was immense, but adroit. Having the Baron float like a balloon is easier from a special effects point of view.

I especially liked the sound design for the Baron's levitation in Villeneuve's movie. It was subtle but still unnatural and unnerving.

why is the barron a fat ass?

Thank you for this great video, it was very informative. I have now had a very Nerdy Day!

Time to float! - Pennywise/Bill Skarsgard

Glad to hear you came to the same conclusion, it's absolutely possible for the Baron the fly with the technology laid out in the book and it's way more dramatic and easier to depict visually than just levitating.

It had to be worth trying just for the impact of the scene post meeting with the Reverend Mother Mohiam, because that was stunning.

The sound effects were great.
When he started a float it sounded like a mechanism powering up and a back being cracked. Cool.

I'm sure the brief hovering shown in Villeneuve's adaptation is done to establish the Baron's ability to defy gravity in preparation for the scene with the attempted assassination by Leto. I can't imagine how weight reduction could be portrayed on-screen in a visually interesting way without a lot of exposition and wasted screen time.

The DV version handled the levitation with deft skill. His attention to detail was amazing and the small detail of suspensors is one more example.

I really hated the goofy manic behavior of the baron in the lynch version and his impersonation of a deflating balloon (zooming around the room) just made it worse.

How else would Emperor Shadam IV be able to demand the the presence of the "Floating Fat Man"???
One of my favorite lines from Lynch's Dune. Also denoting the Baron has to answer to someone higher on the food chain.

My young coworker said of the movie, "I liked that worm guy, he was interesting." Worm guy??? It took me a while to figure out that he thought the Baron's long, dangling gown was part of his body.

There is no apparent contradiction, the visual adaptations are wrong. In the book the Fat Baron glides across the floor, he does not float around like Tinkerbell as he's been portrayed in all visual adaptations but is described as being able to move around with ease, as in like someone who didn't weigh a bajillion kilos. This all began with David Lynch's version and every adaptation since has assumed that's the correct way to portray him when it is not.

These Dune videos are always interesting to watch. Keep up the great work and have a great week!

Thanks for posting as always, looking at his face through this entire video I can't wait to see Alia take her revenge in part 2!
I hope you'll make a follow up video on Alia as you alluded to in your first, which focused alot on the spice agony ritual.