Back to the movie

[DigitalBuddha]

OK, what do you say we get back to the movie once in a while? The Big Lebowski could be seen as historic documents of Dudeism; perhaps papers, ah, you know, just Dudeist papers.

Question; could Walter be called a dude? I also wonder about Maude; to me, she was a dude.

Any thoughts, insights, meditations, pontifications?

[Tripnastic]

I don't think Walter was full Dude, but The Dude wasn't even Dudely all the time. Walter showed flashes of Dude when The Dude needed it though. "Calmer than you are" and "Finishin' my coffee", both being examples. 

I think Donny was pretty Dudely actually, a real example of taking it right down the middle. Never really got upset about anything, ever.

[milnie]

The interplay between the dude and Walter is interesting. But the big question is how are they friends? The dude would have been against the war that Walter was fighting, and I suspect Walter would have been there by choice. But then again, maybe the constant referral to lost youth suggests he was disillusioned to begin with and is still trying to come to terms with it. Imdo.
A real ying yang thing going on

[cckeiser]

The interplay between the dude and Walter is interesting. But the big question is how are they friends? The dude would have been against the war that Walter was fighting, and I suspect Walter would have been there by choice. But then again, maybe the constant referral to lost youth suggests he was disillusioned to begin with and is still trying to come to terms with it. Imdo.
A real ying yang thing going on

Yeah, that is why TBL cries out for a prequel. How did The Dude, Walter and Donny get together in the first place? To me it feels as if they were childhood friend, maybe went to the same school and lived in the same neighborhood. Walter and Donny's relationship is of particular interest...why does Walter keep telling Donny to "shut the fuck up"? and why doesn't Donny take any offence to it at all?
There is no mention of family for any of them...were they all orphans together?
I tell you there's a lot more to that story then we were told in TBL.

[DigitalBuddha]

I don't think Walter was full Dude, but The Dude wasn't even Dudely all the time. Walter showed flashes of Dude when The Dude needed it though. "Calmer than you are" and "Finishin' my coffee", both being examples.  

I think Donny was pretty Dudely actually, a real example of taking it right down the middle. Never really got upset about anything, ever.

Agreed, Donny was perhaps even more dude than the dude himself sometimes. He seemed to take life in a laid back easy stride.

The interplay between the dude and Walter is interesting. But the big question is how are they friends? The dude would have been against the war that Walter was fighting, and I suspect Walter would have been there by choice. But then again, maybe the constant referral to lost youth suggests he was disillusioned to begin with and is still trying to come to terms with it. Imdo.
A real ying yang thing going on

Yeah, that is why TBL cries out for a prequel. How did The Dude, Walter and Donny get together in the first place? To me it feels as if they were childhood friend, maybe went to the same school and lived in the same neighborhood. Walter and Donny's relationship is of particular interest...why does Walter keep telling Donny to "shut the fuck up"? and why doesn't Donny take any offence to it at all?
There is no mention of family for any of them...were they all orphans together?
I tell you there's a lot more to that story then we were told in TBL.

Fuckin' eh, there is definitely some history from their past there. I would guess college is where they could have met.

[meekon5]

Lets be honest who else would be able to be in a bowling team with Walter apart from Donny and the Dude. For me its an accident of convenience.

Myself and my mate Rev Klaus only met each other through a restaurant that I ran where he was a regular. We've known each other for about twenty years now.

But I don't think we would have even talked to each other if we had met before.

It just happens we had hit a similar state of mind when we met.

I think it's similar for Walter and the Dude.

[Brother Joe]

In some ways Walter is pretty dude like.  Sure he gets upset easily, but within a couple of minutes he lets it all out and is back to a state of deep calm.  He accepts his feelings and when they are over he lets go.  Still waving a gun around in a bowling alley is most undude.

But what about the Stranger?  Now he seemed pretty darn dude.

[meekon5]

But what about the Stranger?  Now he seemed pretty darn dude.

I don't think we see enough of the Stranger to pass any judgment.

[Brother Joe]

But what about the Stranger?  Now he seemed pretty darn dude.

I don't think we see enough of the Stranger to pass any judgment.

That's true. I was over reaching a bit there.

[DigitalBuddha]

Are we following a hint here? The Stranger says of himself; "now, 'dude' is not a name I would self apply."

[Landshark]

Are we following a hint here? The Stranger says of himself; "now, 'dude' is not a name I would self apply."

If we take an excerpt from Wikipedia though we find that The Stranger may be a different sort of Dude.

The oldest usage was typically applied to a well-dressed male, or one who is unfamiliar with life outside a large city. These definitions later gave rise to a more technical definition: "an Easterner in the West" (United States). Thus "dude" was used to describe the prude wealthy men of the rustic western expansion of the United States during the 19th century by German settlers of the American Old East.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dude

[BikerDude]

My Take

Walter: UnDude
Donnie: Passively Dude
Dude: Innately Dude
The Jesus: Way UnDude
Jackie Treehorn: Actually Semi Dude
Maude: UnDude
Smokey: Second only to the Dude in Dudeness
Nihilists: The anti Dudes (interesting case actually. They actively believe in nothing and the Dude believes in little. Not as a philosophy but out of a lack of commitment. He might feel strongly but is unwilling to push most any issue)
The Stranger: Beyond the scope of Dudeliness. He is neither Dude nor UnDude.   

[milnie]

I dig your style bikerdude

[Caesar dude]

ooooooh Bikerdude..... That is pretty dude like talk thar....( rhymes with bar) ...had a momentary pause with Maude...cos she is just so damned good looking...but then got your vibe... Agreed!

Peace.