The Dude as an epic hero or how I learned to love the Dude

[Siscoe]

Hi folks,

I read a post a while back where the guy was talking about the relationship of the Dude to Dudeism. I was thinking about it and in my opinion its similar to the relationship between Homeric poetry and the Greeks ... say about 22 or 23 hundred years ago. In those societies Homer's (as well as others) poetry were like a kind of public education and the heroes embodied human excellence's such as cunning, courage in the face of death, and when to construct giant horses. Of course the poems can teach more than that. It can highlight the often tragic nature of human life, why the passions need to be reined in on occasion (there is a serious lack of taking it easy in Homer), and not to accept gifts capable of concealing large numbers of your enemies.

So with that in mind. I think the Dude is a character that is a hero of this type. Hes not a founder (as he wasn't a living person) but as a character who embodied the Dudely virtues.

Its like of like Christianity in a way. Where Jesus has awesome powers (I mean both cool and awe inspiring) but nobody can do that stuff and it doesn't matter because Jesus is still the icon that we are to try and emulate (at least that what I got when I was in school.) So Jesus is not "the way" because he is like a man and a magic toll booth on the highway to heaven but because its the way he lived that defined him and we can try to live like that too. So in a way we can become the way by acting in agreement with the way which was Jesus's life (kind of like a functionalist view of identity.)

For the Platonists in the room I want to say that we (try to) participate in the form of the Dude; we are Dudes because we act in a dudely way.  We are dudes not because we follow the Dudes words because because we walk the Dudely way ... which is frequently slow and meandering.

Just my thoughts on the matter. What do you guys think?

~A

[cckeiser]

Yo Siscoe dude! Welcome  to our nice quiet beach community dude.
Thoughts and opinions are always welcome dude, but preaching is not dudely dude. And I think we are all a little gun shy of Christians trying to hijack Dudeism and turn it into another offshoot of Christianity. If you're from Jesus School dude and trying to bring your Jesus into Dudeism...you will not make many friends here.

We have a nice quiet beach community here dude...and we wish to keep it that way.
Tread lightly dude.

[Siscoe]

Sorry if I hit a sensitive spot, I did not intend to ruffle any feathers. As for Christianity, I'm not an Christian. But I was raised as a Roman Catholic so its part of the "Siscoe story" and as a result, I've been known to make reference to Jesus if I think its appropriate (given the situation you just mentioned ... it wasn't  


Now apologies aside, what do you think of the Dude as an epic hero? Part of why I like the idea so much is the Dudes lack of overtly heroic qualities. Which is something I think (at least where I live) we need to see more of. I often encounter people who don't seem to appreciate that sometimes the best action is no action. To put it another way what I see in popular culture (and in to many of my friends and at times myself) is all yang and no yin. But the Dude strikes me as more or less passive (yin) until the end when he figures it all out. 

So for me the Dude is a hero not a hero of old (Homer) full of passion and fury or a modern Politician who will "lead" our people to prosperity but a new kind of hero (much in the way that Socrates was a new hero). One who more abiding until it was time to act.

One last note. I'm not trying to be preachy (I'm certainly open to criticism of my ideas... pains of learning and all that.) I really enjoy exploring ideas and relationships. So these past two posts aren't about telling people how it it is but a kind of exploration.


So again my apologies if I harshed anyone's buzz This kind of this is what I do when I take it easy

~A

[Dirty Hippie]

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.

[Busmum]

siscoe, are you referencing "the Dude" as in the character in TBL? or as the state of "dudeness" we all possess? because if you're talking about the character from the movie, i'm not entirely convinced that he meets the criteria of an epic hero (from a joseph campbellesque point of view). while "heroes" (or might protagonists be a better word here?) may lack the overt qualities you mention, it doesn't prevent them from acting heroically... whereas an epic hero, in general, undergoes a major life changing event-- a rebirth, if you will, into a champion.

as you point out, the dude abides until it was time to act... but settles back into his own skin, continuing to abide... in other words, his tried and true way, or path to wisdom.  if i understand you correctly, the christian jesus you mentioned in your first post would fit the definition of epic hero-- in fact is probably accepted as one of the archetypes...

the dude character from the movie is obviously iconic in his own way, and definitely a role model... but frankly, i've seen more dudely role-modelin' around these here boards 

just some thoughts... i'm no authority 

[cckeiser]

Sorry if I hit a sensitive spot, I did not intend to ruffle any feathers. As for Christianity, I'm not an Christian. But I was raised as a Roman Catholic so its part of the "Siscoe story" and as a result, I've been known to make reference to Jesus if I think its appropriate (given the situation you just mentioned ... it wasn't  


Now apologies aside, what do you think of the Dude as an epic hero? Part of why I like the idea so much is the Dudes lack of overtly heroic qualities. Which is something I think (at least where I live) we need to see more of. I often encounter people who don't seem to appreciate that sometimes the best action is no action. To put it another way what I see in popular culture (and in to many of my friends and at times myself) is all yang and no yin. But the Dude strikes me as more or less passive (yin) until the end when he figures it all out. 

So for me the Dude is a hero not a hero of old (Homer) full of passion and fury or a modern Politician who will "lead" our people to prosperity but a new kind of hero (much in the way that Socrates was a new hero). One who more abiding until it was time to act.

One last note. I'm not trying to be preachy (I'm certainly open to criticism of my ideas... pains of learning and all that.) I really enjoy exploring ideas and relationships. So these past two posts aren't about telling people how it it is but a kind of exploration.


So again my apologies if I harshed anyone's buzz This kind of this is what I do when I take it easy

~A

Yeah, I was raised Roman Catholic too dude, took me over 30 years to rid myself of most of the mind fucking. Most of my family are still "born again"...we don't talk. My sister carries "Jesus Crackers" around with her and tries to feed them to everyone. I guess she believe if she feeds me one of her crackers she will "save" my soul.

We are a bit sensitive here. We have had a few Christians trying to hijack Dudeism like they did all the other Heathen beliefs and philosophies down through history.

I know how they work.

[Busmum]

My sister carries "Jesus Crackers" around with her and tries to feed them to everyone. I guess she believe if she feeds me one of her crackers she will "save" my soul.

hmmmm... jesus crackers... slap a little butter and some of cakebelly's green olive pate on that sucker, and i think we've got a deal!

[jvance]

Good thoughts!! I wrote an essay in the last few months poetically analyzing "Dudesong" in terms of a mock-heroic. The article is fairly recently posted on the Dudespaper.

Joey

[DigitalBuddha]

Good thoughts!! I wrote an essay in the last few months poetically analyzing "Dudesong" in terms of a mock-heroic. The article is fairly recently posted on the Dudespaper.

Joey

Welcome to our humble beach community, jvance. Good to have you here dude. Grab a rug and enjoy, dude! Bar's just over there.