Released in 1998, The Big Lebowski is a Coen brothers movie starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and John Turturro. Bridges plays Jeff Lebowski, a middle-aged unemployed stoner slacker type known as "The Dude" who is mistaken for another older Jeff Lebowski who is known to be extremely wealthy.
Two thugs, mistaking the Dude for the older and wealthier Lebowski, break into his home looking to collect money for their boss, a porn kingpin named Jackie Treehorn. The thugs repeatedly dunk the Dude's head in the toilet to try and get him to tell them where the money is. They also quite rudely urinate on his favorite rug that sits by the front door. Realizing the Dude's lack of wealth, they correctly conclude they have the wrong Lebowski and leave.
The Dude is a simple man who likes simple things and he seeks out the other Lebowski in hopes of getting reimbursed for the rug that was ruined because of him. When the wealthy Lebowski's trophy wife is kidnapped, The Dude takes on the task of delivering a ransom payment -- which his buddy Walter Sobchak (played by Goodman) decides they are going to keep for themselves.
The Big Lebowski has developed a cult following over the years and a whole religion was even developed around the philosophy of The Dude. Let's take a look at possible lessons we can learn from this movie, why the movie has such a cult following and how The Dude deals with what life throws at him.
8 Not Focused on Appearances
The Dude is clearly not focused on appearances like the older Mr. Lebowski (played by the late David Huddleston) and many people are. His clothes and appearance are not fancy. He goes to the grocery store in a housecoat. He drives his car until it's dying breath, by the end, not stressing over the fact it looks like someone gave it CPR at a junkyard just to make it run. He's not trying to impress anyone or portray himself in some way that is other than who he is. Mr. Lebowski, on the other hand, is all about appearing rich, powerful and self-made, when in reality his money came from his late wife. He's a hypocrite and a phony while the Dude keeps it real.
7 Don't Be a Square
If anything is true in this world, the Dude is not a square. When he goes to see Mr. Lebowski he let's him know right away, "Let me explain something to you. Um, I am not 'Mr. Lebowski.' You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing." He doesn't want to be addressed as "Mister" anything. He's a former activist. He enjoys his cannabis and an alcoholic drink that one would not consider masculine. He doesn't even have a job. It's doubtful the Dude owns a suit and tie. He's not interested in putting himself or anyone else on a pedestal. When we put on airs or look at ourselves in a way that makes us think we're better than someone else, it creates a barrier in being able to relate to others. That's not what the Dude does.
6 Stand Up For Yourself
The Dude's rug got ruined and he went after the man who was responsible. The Dude was minding his own business. The Dude wasn't hurting anyone and through no fault of his own he found himself being attacked with his head dunked in the toilet. The Dude's rug got peed on and ruined. It was the principle of the thing. That rug tied the room together. It fit just right. The Dude was determined to let Mr. Lebowski know that it was because of him the rug was ruined and he wanted recompense. Of course the Dude standing up for himself led to a whole heap of trouble and sometimes that can happen when you stand up for yourself. But it's the principle of the thing.
5 No Rolling on Shabbos
Vietnam War vet Walter Sobchak is The Dude and Donny Kerabatsos's (played by Steve Buscemi) bowling buddy. Bowling is their favorite thing to do in the world it seems and is a social activity the friends participate in together. Walter takes his bowling very seriously and even pulled a gun on an opponent once because of a scoring dispute, but even he realizes a person needs rest. Walter follows Shabbos, the Jewish day of rest that is observed from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday where no work is to be performed. Bowling takes work, so no bowling. Especially in our modern society it seems we are always rushing to the next thing and always trying to achieve something. A designated time when we aren't trying to do anything but rest in our being is not a bad idea.
4 Go Bowling
Sometimes that's all you can do. Walter, along with The Dude, were planning on taking the ransom money for Bunny, but when things went wrong with the dropoff Walter accidentally shot their tire out and the whole plan was thrown off. They knew they were in deep crap. They knew Mr. Lebowski would be coming looking for his money, but Walter said, "F**k it, let's go bowling." Sometimes all you can do is just go bowling. You know the hammer is about to drop. You know your day is not going how you planned. You know the proverbial crap is about to hit the fan, but you can always go bowling -- or do whatever your thing is. Have a thing. Maybe it's golf. Maybe it's disc golf. Maybe it's hiking or working out. Whatever it is, it's your thing you do that makes all the rest of it make sense. Sometimes life gets so crazy that's all you can do.
3 Money Isn't Everything
The Dude is a former anti-Vietnam war activist and seemingly still holds to his hippy ideals. He obviously wasn't interested in getting rich. He doesn't live lavishly and in fact is late on his rent. And he's unemployed. We don't really know how he's getting by financially but he likes his marijuana and White Russian beverage. The Dude was seeking justice for his rug that got ruined and even in the midst of getting attacked by the Nihilists while in the tub, he was still able to appreciate the gang's pet marmot. Even though his buddy Walter wanted to take the ransom money, the Dude wasn't really into it. He seems more interested in a peaceful existence than putting much value on money.
2 Take Time to Relax
If there is anything the Dude is good at, it's relaxing. The Stranger (played by Sam Elliott) even explains early on that the Dude may be the laziest person in Los Angeles. Many of us in today's high stress world could probably use a little more laziness in our life. When's the last time you made space just to relax without trying to do anything in particular? Scared you might get bored? That's okay. It worked wonders for Steve Jobs. It's doubtful many people ever laid on their deathbed and thought, "If only I had worked more hours" or "If only I had got that new sports car I always wanted". The Dude wasn't interested in possibly accomplishing anything but a stress-free existence. Interestingly, he did end up encountering all sorts of stress, but it certainly wasn't from his lack of trying to keep it chill as possible.
1 The Dude Abides
The Dude gets along come what may. Whatever life throws at the Dude or whatever he encounters -- and he encounters a lot -- it doesn't really affect who he is or what motivates him. He abides. He goes with the flow. He's not fighting against what life presents but he's also not afraid to stand up for his principles when he feels a wrong has been committed. He likes bowling and hanging out with a couple of close buddies. He enjoys the company of a woman when it comes his way, but we never get the impression he needs a woman in his life to be fulfilled. In Eastern thought man is said to already be complete within himself, he just most often doesn't realize it. We get the feeling the Dude embodies that to some extent. It doesn't mean that life is always going to go exactly the way we would prefer, but it means that we can abide in our own sense of self-worth and being to face life's challenges.