It has been argued that in postmodern times it is no longer possible to do anything original. Did you find examples of that in "The Big Lebowski?
Apart from that, a dominant feature of postmodernism is irony and a feeling of discomfort in the presence of big emotions. Did you notice any examples of that in "The Big Lebowski"?
Moreover, many people are uncertain of their own identity and are struggling with the question of who they really are. Sometimes they are also unsure of the difference between copy and original. Did you notice any examples of that in "The Big Lebowski"?
Finally, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski is on a journey (quest?) through Los Angeles. Give examples of the clues and leads that he finds. Comment on his ability to interpret the clues and leads.
Moreover, many people are uncertain of their own identity and are struggling with the question of who they really are. Sometimes they are also unsure of the difference between copy and original. Did you notice any examples of that in "The Big Lebowski"?
Finally, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski is on a journey (quest?) through Los Angeles. Give examples of the clues and leads that he finds. Comment on his ability to interpret the clues and leads.
From what I have seen from the movie The Big Lebwski I can conclude that it uses a lot of parts from other work of arts or even from the reality. An example could be the scene where Larry bites a piece of one of the nihilists ears. This is a copy of the infamous incident where Mike Tyson takes a bite of Evander Holyfield's ear in a boxing match in 1997.
SvarSletThe director of this movie has stolen soem ideas from other movies. First of all, he has stolen something from the Disney movie Alladin. The Dudes is flying on a carpet.
SvarSletLater in the movie The Dude gets poising and he is dreaming about bowling and a lady Viking. He is in a chequered (ternet) room and there is some lady dressed as bowling skittles. I think the director has stolen this from Alice in wonderland. You can say the lady Viking is the Queen and the dancing bowling skittles is the dancing playing cards in Alice in wonderland.
They do not handle big emotions very good. When they are spreading Donny’s ashes, the Dude gets angry mostly because he got all the ashes on him witch is pretty ironic and the people who watch the movie starts to laugh. Afterwards they hug and say:”Lets go bowling”. They do not take it really serious but tries to forget it.
There is a lot of irony in this movie. When The Dude finds a young boy’s homework in his car after it had been stolen, he truly thinks it was Larry who stole The dudes car and took the money. They will teach Larry a lesson because Larry does not care about what they say to him. Walter decides to smash a car. He thinks it is Larry’s car but it is not. The man who own the car, destroy the dudes car afterwards. That is pretty ironic.
Alper, Anders, Oliver
SvarSletThe movie has borrowed and re-produced events/elements from other previous movies and historical events. An example is the fight in the last part of the movie where Walter bites one of the Nihilists’ ears like Mike Tyson did in the boxing fight between him and Evander Holyfield.
Another example of postmodernism is the flying rug the dude sees when he is knocked out. This is borrowed from the Disney movie Aladdin.
Furthermore, the tumbleweed we saw in the beginning symbolize his way of life, because the tumbleweed’s is dependent of the wind like the dude is controlled by the society in such a way that he does not want to take control of his own life.
An example of irony is when Donny dies during the fight in the end but he is not involved in the fight and instead dies of a heart attack. Another example is when “the dude” gets Donny’s ash all over himself.
In the whole movie, the dude tries to protect his identity as the lazy dude and it is like everybody wants to teach him how to life and get job and just be another brick the wall. At the end of the movie, the dude finally finds his safe place at the bowling hall and accepts his identity as “the dude”. All the people who are searching for “the dude” are confused about him and think that he is the rich Lebowski.
Moreover, the dude represents the people of Gen X very well. An example is the way he act in high-school where he, instead of stressed around and making other people pleased, he just relax and take the things as they come.
The Big Lebowski is a post modern film.
SvarSletThe film is greatly inspired by other movies or genres. Aladin on the flying rock for instance. The way Lebowski is pulled inside a suspicious car and followed by another car, is very typical for movies like James Bond and other action movies as well. When he is unconscious he is having a strange dream. A moon is slowly appearing and turns out to be a bowling pin instead. This scene is inspired by a Star Wars movie perhaps, I am not quite sure which movie though. The introduction has taken elements from westerns.
The film is coping with big emotions by making jokes and using irony.
Especially at the end of the movie they are clearly uncomfortable about the feelings. Donny is dead, and they do not want to pay for the urn. Instead they are putting his ash in some sort of can. As Walter is throwing the ash in the water it blows back in the face of the Dude instead. The wife of the other Lebowski has been kidnapped and the situation is very emotional, the Dude is making jokes.
Jeffrey Lebowski is questioning his own identity and so is everyone else. People are mistaken him for being another Lebowski and it ends up being very confusing. He is not going by the name Lebowski, instead he is The Dude. He is unsure of himself and who he is meant to be as an individual. The Dude and Lebowski discuss what makes a real man? They are questioning their own significance.
His friend is also somehow confused by his own identity. He is still taking care of his ex-wife’s dog even though they were divorced five years ago. Further more he holds on to the Jewish believe even though he is a catholic. He is not sure of his own identity following his divorce.
It has been argued that in postmodern times it is no longer possible to do anything original. Did you find examples of that in "The Big Lebowski?
SvarSlet- Dude is sent on a quest, he is going to find Lebowski’s wife that has been kidnapped. This is like in a fairytale where a man is going to safe the princess.
- Dude is flying on a magic carpet and that is like in Aladdin.
Apart from that, a dominant feature of postmodernism is irony and a feeling of discomfort in the presence of big emotions. Did you notice any examples of that in "The Big Lebowski"?
- Donny dies because of a heart attack, but Dude and Walter do not have the money to give him a traditional funeral and they decide to throw his ashes in the ocean. When they are standing at the cliff and Walter say some words in honor of Donny, he says some stupid things a do not really know him personally. He can only say that he really likes bowling. In the end when he is going to spread the ashes, there is too much wind to throw it in the water and the entire ashes blow with the wind back in their faces.
Moreover, many people are uncertain of their own identity and are struggling with the question of who they really are. Sometimes they are also unsure of the difference between copy and original. Did you notice any examples of that in "The Big Lebowski"?
- There is another man who has the same last name, Lebowski. He is a rich man that has enemies who came to beat the wrong Lebowski. The man we follow says his name is Dude and not Lebowski, he wants to make sure to everyone that he is not the Lebowski and therefore not the person they are looking for.
- Maude wants to have a baby and choose Dude to be the father without him knowing. When they are done in the bed she tells him that she wants a baby and Dude is in chock. She tells him that he will not have anything to do with the baby, she wants the baby on her own and do not want a man in her life. She does not want the “ordinary” family life with love and live together with a husband forever.
Finally, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski is on a journey (quest?) through Los Angeles. Give examples of the clues and leads that he finds. Comment on his ability to interpret the clues and leads.
This movie "The Big Lebowski" is a postmodern film. This is due to the fact that the movie has stolen many sections from other movies and events. For instance in the beginning of this movie, it is obvious that the first sections is very similar to a Wester movie. For instance a clump of hay/grass is rolling over the fields. This is almost always seen in western movies. When The Dude gets knocked down to the ground, and he passes out, we see how he sees himself flying in the sky. This sections is very similar to the cartoon, alanddin.
SvarSletA place in the movie where it becomes very clear that irony is used to make a humorous distance to the big emotions, is in the end of the film where Donny is dead. Walter and The Dude have driven out to the Pacific Ocean to spread out the remains of Donny. Walter is clearly emotionally effected by the situation, since he is crying. When he spreads out the ash of Donny, it does not end in the ocean because the wind makes it hit The Dude instead. This sad situation is in that way become a bit funny.
When The Dude finally face the man who has been following throughout the movie, he discovers that the man Da Fino is a private detective. Neither The Dude or Da Fino are really sure who each other are. Da Fino is sure that The Dude is a detective just as himself, and therefore they are talking past each other. This indicates the identity confusion as many of the characters in this movie are suffering from.
Julie.
There are seen a few examples of postmodernism through the use of pastiche, because there is no originality.
SvarSletThe opining music, the tumbleweeds, the voice-over, and the font of the title are all typical western-features widely used in the 1950s.
Some of the elements in “The big Lebowski” come from the black and white movie from 1946 “The big sleep”. This is a detective film and “The big Lebowski” makes use of some classic detective features, such as scratching over the paper with a pencil to reveal what has been written on the paper. Both stories take place in the city of Los Angeles.
The whole film is based on a story told by the narrator (a cowboy), and the story is told as if it is read aloud from a children’s storybook. The Dude represents the hero of a fairytale or the detective of a detective novel.
In “The big Lebowski” we have the scene with Maude Lebowski and the dude sleeping together, which should be romantic, but is not that romantic at all, because she just wants to have a baby.
Every time Walter and the dude are presented with overwhelming situations, the answer to their problems is “Fuck it dude, lets go bowling”. We see an example of this towards the end of the movie, when Donny is dead and Walter hugs the dude and before they get too emotional Walter says, “lets go bowling”. This is a sign that they are uncomfortable with the big emotions.
In the film we meet two completely different men, Jeffrey Lebowski (The Dude) and the millionaire, Lebowski. The entire movie evolves around the confusion of the two men.
Although the dude is no ordinary detective, he manages to follow the different leads in this abduction/runaway case and finally piece together the truth. In a way he is a copy of a copy, because detectives like Sherlock Holmes are not real. This is an example of simulacrum. Sometimes they also misinterpret some of the leads and end up destroying an innocent mans new car.
- Ida-Marie og Camilla
The big Lebowski is a postmodern movie, because the plot and the construction of it are not original. It is made up of a number of sections and ideas that has been taken from other movies and stories. First of all it has a very classic narration and plot that have been seen many times before. We meet a person, who receives a challenge, which turns out to be a mission for him. On this journey he is on, he both has helpers and rivals. The characters of the helpers play some certain rolls in this movie, and the relations between them have often been seen likewise in other contexts. We have a leader (Dude), an equivalent with ideas and furthermore a big temper (Walter) and an inferior opportunist (Donny).
SvarSletAs mentioned before the movie contains a lot of sections and ideas that has been borrowed from other movies. As an example we meet the magic carpet, which is before seen in Aladin. We also enter the rich man Mr. Lebowskis office, which appears to be shaped as the presidents office in the white house. This makes him appear important and compelling.
Apart from that, a dominant feature of postmodernism is irony and appearance of a certain distance to big emotions. This is also the matter in The Big Lebowski. All things considered it is a movie with a big focus on humor and irony, and therefore it is often seen, also in connection with bigger emotions. To give an example, Dude and Walter looses their good friend Donny on their mission, and when they are about to take his leave in a beautiful way, Walter throws the ashes right in the face of Dude, which actually appears funny to the audience.
Hilsen Maria Hansen og Ann-Sofie