Last summer I held a tutoring job where I met a student named Dwayne. I helped him in math two hours each week for about five weeks.
This guy… is cool. Around 50 years old, standing well above six feet with long messy hair and tattoos down his arms and hands. With a daily attire of leather clothing, he wears large rings on each of his fingers. He drives a ’70s Volkswagen Bug. Totally lax. Totally cool.
I appreciated his raspy voice, his mannerisms and his laugh that bellowed through the room. One day, I realized why I enjoyed his presence so much. I looked at him and said, “You know… You remind me of the Dude!”
The Dude, or Jeff Lebowski, is the main character in the Coen brother’s 1998 film, “The Big Lebowski.”
But don’t mistake him for the millionaire Jeffrey Lebowski… although that very misunderstanding drives the plot of the movie.
He is the most laid back guy you wish you could be. The Dude, His Dudeness, Duder (or El Duderino if you’re not into that whole brevity thing) is the man who launched arguably the greatest cult classic of all time.
If you’re a fan yourself, you can attend Lebowski Fest, where Dude enthusiasts go to “celebrate all things Lebowski,” according to the website.
The opening scene shows the Dude, wearing a bathrobe and sandals, in the grocery store purchasing a carton of half-and-half. Sam Elliot’s great bass voice plays in the background, narrating, “Sometimes there’s a man… I won’t say a hero, ’cause, what’s a hero? But sometimes, there’s a man. And I’m talkin’ about the Dude here. Sometimes, there’s a man, well, he’s the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that’s the Dude.” The Dude returns home with his cream to find two men waiting to beat and rob him. They repeatedly call him “Lebowski,” screaming about the money he owes them – until they realize they’ve got the wrong guy. They proceed to pee on his beloved rug.
“Not on the rug, man!”
Before the men leave, one turns and says, “He looks like a loser.”
The Dude and his friends Walter and Donny participate in a bowling league, around which much of the dialogue and plot is focused. Walter, played by John Goodman, makes an absolutely hilarious sidekick.
The dry, arbitrary exchanges between characters are brilliantly delivered – the true cause of the film’s success. To me, Walter and Donny look up to and admire the Dude. So does the viewer. The real action begins when Jeffery Lebowski asks the Dude to help him retrieve his wife, who he says has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom.
A chain of coincidentally unfortunate events ensue, but none of them seem to truly bother the Dude. He remains relaxed, and we love him for it.
But in all actuality, the man who appears in the beginning (and pees on the Dude’s rug) is right: the Dude is a loser.
He has no job, no aspirations, no concern for his appearance or impression on others and is stoned or drunk throughout most, if not all, of the film.
His only interests consist of bowling and replacing his soiled rug. As college students, how do you and I relate to the Dude? We have goals, ambitions, and we are, I hope, not constantly high or drunk.
No … we don’t have much in common with him, but we wish we did. See, telling Dwayne he reminded me of the Dude was a compliment, a statement of utmost respect. The Dude isn’t just a slacker, he’s a free spirit – and that carefree attitude is, for me, what characterizes a “dude”. The narrator ends “The Big Lebowski” with a few words. He says, “It’s good knowin’ he’s out there – the Dude. Takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners.”
I’m sure there are many hidden messages that can be extrapolated from “The Big Lebowski.” What I know for sure is that people like it, and I think that is because we all admire the Dude for one reason or another.
If we could, we’d all be more dudely. We’d live lightheartedly, refusing to worry about money or finding a job after graduation. Stress wouldn’t find us, not even during final exams.
And we wouldn’t be troubled when life, as often as it does, moves at a different beat than us.