How ‘The Big Lebowski’ became a cultural touchstone and the impetus for festivals across the country

Boston Globe ^ | 9/14/2009 | Joan Anderman

[Saije]

So there’s this guy named the Dude, and some dudes break into his apartment and pee on his rug, so the Dude, an LA burnout whose real name is Jeffrey Lebowski, goes to find the other Jeffrey Lebowski, a rich guy the intruder dudes were actually looking for, so he can get him to replace the soiled rug, which totally tied the room together.

That’s the basic premise of “The Big Lebowski,’’ the Coen Brothers’ 1998 stoner caper, which also involves bowling, nihilism, a kidnapping, and many, many White Russians - a cocktail whose parts combine more cogently than the film’s plot points.

To the uninitiated, “The Big Lebowski’’ probably doesn’t sound like the sort of cinematic watershed that would translate to an enduring cultural phenomenon. But the movie has become just that. And we’re not talking about action figures and keychains, although they’re yours for the ordering.

The film - which was released to mixed reviews and spent all of six weeks in theaters, barely recouping its $15 million budget - has spawned a vibrant subculture that draws both scholars and slackers to the fold. The Dude has been cited in hundreds of doctoral dissertations and academic papers over the past decade. There is a religion called Dudeism, boasting more than 50,000 ordained Dudeist priests, and a publication called the Dudespaper, “a lifestyle magazine for the deeply casual.’’ Film producer Jeff Dowd, the actual person on whom the character of the Dude is based, has launched a second career making personal appearances as The Real Lebowski. This weekend an annual convocation called Lebowski Fest rolls into Boston for the first time, to rally the faithful with a film screening at the House of Blues and a bowling party at Kings Lanes.

Clearly, the Dude abides. The question is: Why?

[ansel12]

Do you have the anniversary edition? It is supposed to be a much better image than the earlier release.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/Reviews/bigl.htm

[FTJM]

Great movie.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I don’t think it would be available in DVD, but you’re right that it does make Walter sound completely insane, and even more hillarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCcKBcZzGdA

Note the YouTube poster thought it was “fight a stranger” rather than “find a stranger.”

[krb]

I thought the movie loosely tells the “The Big Sleep” story.

[RansomOttawa]

I’m pretty squaresville myself and I think it’s a great movie, although I didn’t realize it the first time I saw it.

Ditto. I really like the Coen brothers' movies, but I didn't know what to make of this one the first couple of times I saw it.

Some time later, I read Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep and suddenly realized that The Big Lebowski was a parody. The next time I saw it, it was in a whole different light, and now it's one of my favourite of the Coen films.

[Jimmy Valentine]

"We are nilhists, Lebowski; we care about nothing!"

The damned thing grows on you.

[The Louiswu]

"...The Big Sleep and suddenly realized that The Big Lebowski was a parody..."

Exactly!

That same realization dawned on me about my 3rd viewing of this film.

[SoothingDave]

“Say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, as least it’s an ethos.”

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

Clearly, the Dude abides. The question is: Why?

WRONG!

There is no question why.

The Dude abides

[County Agent Hank Kimball]

Thanks for the info ansel! Think I may treat mself to that.

Hank

[Mr. Blonde]

I don’t know about you but I take comfort in that. It’s good knowin’ he’s out there. The Dude. Takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh. I sure hope he makes the finals.