Masculinity In The Big Lebowski

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With its phallic musical dream sequences, belligerent characters, and Gulf War backdrop, The Big Lebowski is saturated with masculinity overtones. In stark contrast to this theme of masculinity, the Dude is one of the least manly characters in the film. His aversion to violence, partiality for feminine cocktails, and lack of job and ambitions all go against what most of us would consider characteristic of a man. Despite all of his failures at traditional manhood, the Stranger, the iconic man of western film, asserts that the Dude is “the man for his time and place.” In “Logjammin’ and Gutterballs: Masculinities in The Big Lebowski,” Dennis Allen interprets the Stranger’s assertion and the entire theme of masculinity in the film as a critique of “a variety of more or less culturally acceptable definitions of the masculine” (388). Although Allen’s analysis of the masculine theme in The Big Lebowski is correct, he misinterprets the role of the Dude within this theme. Allen believes the Dude, like the other characters of the film, represents a slacker masculinity that has become popular in today’s culture. While there is evidence to support Allen’s claim, this interpretation of the Dude does not address the flawed masculinity presented through the other characters of the film. I contend that the Dude is “the man for his time n’ place” …show more content…

When the Dude first meets Lebowski and asks for compensation for his rug, he is met with a slurry of insults and a lecture on the slacker, socialist nature of “bums.” Ultimately the Dude gives up on reasoning with Lebowski and says, “Fuck it.” Lebowski, unable to process the meaning of the Dude’s statement, interprets it as further confirmation of the Dude’s slacker nature and disdain for achievement. In truth, the statement shows that the Dude realizes the futility of reasoning with an individual so consumed by masculinity and so obviously

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