Hi,
I'm studying cinema at university in my final year and am currently doing a module on 'cult media' where I have to choose a cult text and analyse why it is cult and how it has become so. I've always found The Big Lebowski to have a huge cult following (not to mention it appearing on every 'Top (insert number) cult films of all time' list I looked at). But didn't realise how big the Dudeism following is alongside it.
Can I ask if you guys are more fans of the film or Dudeism itself ? (this isn't some religious psychoanalysis bullshit I swear!!)
ANY response is massively welcome, positive or negative to my question. I could really do with your help here !!
Thanks
For me its more about what overall dudeism is and the dude in the film is just an example of a dude. How he lives life and deals with human paraquat or nihilists just help show that now matter how many crappy splits life leaves you there is always the chance to pick up that spare. If you do miss that spare well next frame is beer frame amirite?
If I talk with people about dudeism they think its based on a movie but to me its based on life, the movie is just a film that somehow brought many like minded people together. I really did not go all out crazy for the film the first time I saw it and overall don't find it to be a first choice to watch as a movie to watch over and over.I would rather watch scifi stuff like blade runner,scanners,A clockwork orange or something but will watch TBL once every year or two.
Quote from: follow_the_dude on April 16, 2012, 10:37:25 AM
Hi,
I'm studying cinema at university in my final year and am currently doing a module on 'cult media' where I have to choose a cult text and analyse why it is cult and how it has become so. I've always found The Big Lebowski to have a huge cult following (not to mention it appearing on every 'Top (insert number) cult films of all time' list I looked at). But didn't realise how big the Dudeism following is alongside it.
Can I ask if you guys are more fans of the film or Dudeism itself ? (this isn't some religious psychoanalysis bullshit I swear!!)
ANY response is massively welcome, positive or negative to my question. I could really do with your help here !!
Thanks
Welcome to dude central, follow_the_dude. Good to have you here, mang! Grab a rug and abide!
For me it's all about being chill and zen, aka, abiding (at least that's my interpretation). While I really enjoy the movie, I don't watch it fanatically, but still find the Dude to be a great example of how to abide.
follow_the_dude
You will get a lot of similar replies here about Dudeism, what you are addressing is what we term the Dudeist/Lebowskiist dichotomy (sorry I just coined that phrase).
If you have a bit of a dig around you will find many discussions here on the difference between Dudeism and Lebowskiism. The main difference is the difference between the forum here and the Facebook site.. log into both and have a look around.
BTW welcome to the beach community pull up a rug and an oat soda, bars over there dude.
Thanks for replying dudes
Quote from: meekon5 on April 17, 2012, 06:10:32 AM
follow_the_dude
You will get a lot of similar replies here about Dudeism, what you are addressing is what we term the Dudeist/Lebowskiist dichotomy (sorry I just coined that phrase).
If you have a bit of a dig around you will find many discussions here on the difference between Dudeism and Lebowskiism. The main difference is the difference between the forum here and the Facebook site.. log into both and have a look around.
BTW welcome to the beach community pull up a rug and an oat soda, bars over there dude.
I had a look around here + the facebook page and you're right about them being Lebowski/Dude based. Would you say you were following the ways of Dudeism before the film itself and it gave the lifestyle a name ?
Bummer. I wrote a long thing but I timed out.
So here's the short version.
Dudeism existed before the film, but the film gave it ANOTHER name and it bridged a gap in communication with other dudes that found relatable references and what not just like any other 'way or belief'.
Here the answer is 'Both'. On facebook it's easy to 'like' a unique and memorable film made by the Coen brothers, because you don't have to be a dude to dig a great flick.
Quote from: Koog-meister on April 18, 2012, 08:40:10 PM
Bummer. I wrote a long thing but I timed out.
So here's the short version.
Dudeism existed before the film, but the film gave it ANOTHER name and it bridged a gap in communication with other dudes that found relatable references and what not just like any other 'way or belief'.
Here the answer is 'Both'. On facebook it's easy to 'like' a unique and memorable film made by the Coen brothers, because you don't have to be a dude to dig a great flick.
If I write a long post (which is rare), I copy it to notepad before clicking "Post" or "Preview." That way if it fucks up, I have a copy. I am far too much of a slacker to want to write it again. The couple of times I forgot to do that and lost my post, I came back in a dudely manner and said "fuck it, can't be bothered by that shit, life goes on, man," which seems to work. ;D
Couldn't agree more!
Hey man it wasn't meant to be.
so in short, you dudes here are cult followers of dudeism, not the big lebowski ?
sorry to use the word 'cult' if you see it as a negative, but this whole thing is about 'cult movies'.
That's where your whole analysis is wrong.
Cult implies that there is some degree of shared veneration, or devotion to a set of rites or followers of specific routine and creed.
Dudeism is a do your own thing kind of gig.
The dude abides. Fuck it let's go bowling. These are lebowskiism's used by dudeists. There is no cult in dudeism, but there is deffinately a cult following for lebowskiist.
This is just a forum man...Understand?
Quote from: follow_the_dude on April 19, 2012, 07:13:46 AM
so in short, you dudes here are cult followers of dudeism, not the big lebowski ?
sorry to use the word 'cult' if you see it as a negative, but this whole thing is about 'cult movies'.
"Cult?" Well, that's just like you opinion, man. I follow slacking, rolling, oat sodas, driving around, the occasional flashback and zesty coitus with my lady friend...which I feel is a worthy dude-like life style. As for cults; can't be bothered by that shit, man. ;D
Quoteyou dudes here are cult followers of dudeism,
Sounds exhausting man.
Fuck it let's go bowling!
Peace. :)
When I think of a cult, I think of undude dipshits like........
(http://www.carlkingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/HeavensGate.png)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fap9eolzmU8/STP_AlTb8YI/AAAAAAAAB9I/fyzSPjKJJTc/s400/cult03.jpg)
(http://www.cultnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/_39854848_ashara203_ap.jpg)
(http://www.thesharkguys.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/jim-jones-300x232.jpg)
(http://www.topnews.in/files/adolf-hitler.jpg)
Does this look like a cult leader to you? ;D ..............
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B-QPTkmWkls/TV4PWpjcjgI/AAAAAAAAAlg/3zrxBgLweMY/s1600/lebowski.jpg)
Quote from: Koog-meister on April 19, 2012, 12:48:09 PM
There is no cult in dudeism, but there is deffinately a cult following for lebowskiist.
This is just a forum man...Understand?
Thanks man, that's pretty much what I was trying to understand, that the Lebowski and Dudeism following are different.
Cult obviously isn't the right word to use with Dudeism because of how negative it comes across now after all these leaders pointed out by DigitalBuddha; cult in a religious sense sucks.
Rocky Horror Picture Show obviously has a massive cult following, and when you use the word like that, to me it's good thing; a cult following as in a group of people have a massive passion for a film.
Yeah it's all pretty exhausting, but uni work is. Am I wrong ?
Quote from: follow_the_dude on April 19, 2012, 08:34:55 PM
Yeah it's all pretty exhausting, but uni work is. Am I wrong ?
to tell you the truth I don't remember most of it.
The film has a cult following. We are not really a cult.
Lebowskiists are too wrapped up in quoting from the film, and think that's what Dudeism is about.
When I look at the Facebook group all I see is a bunch of people calling themselves "The One True Dude", or "The Only Real Dude", and quoting "Careful there's a beverage over here! LOL" too much.
Here in the forum you get a much better level of conversation, a more reasoned argument.
I think generally we see Dudeism as being a name to describe the way most of us have lived our lives.
Oliver (the Dudly Lama) went out to Asia backpacking and never really came back again having studied Buddhism and Yoga, and some other stuff (including Taoism), whilst over there he came upon the revelation of the concept of Dudeism as marrying the ancient principles of Zen and Taoism with the modern western Slacker ethic.
I as a teenager studied Zen, Yoga, and Taoism (mostly from books initially) spent a lot of my early life trying to find a balance between what saw as my ascetic inclinations, and my belief that I should remain in the "real" world rather than retreat to a monastery.
From an early age my family and friends of the family called me things like Dylan (yes after the rabbit).
I have spent much of my life interested and investigating my spirituality. My family (in that wonderful confusion where you never change from your teenage years) still think I change religion on a regular basis. I never did but when you visit Sufi groups, lead Zen groups, and similar they think you are changing to that religion.
I do profess to be a Pagan though this is an even more complicated situation.
When I found the video of Oliver made by the car company it gave me a title that wrapped all my previous thinking and investigation together. It is this title I use for my poor confused family. Who think I have changed my religion again, really all I've done is find a title that I can comfortably use, and a group of people who I can spend time arguing over the minutiae of what we are and how best we should present ourselves, whilst all agreeing on the majority of how we represent, because we were all doing it before we came to know that we could call it Dudeism.
Have to agree and relate somewhat with M5 here, not til I had seen the VW ad, had the pieces of my spiritual/ ethical puzzle fitted right in there. I kinda realised that I had been abiding more or less for dude knows how long, without realising what "it" was. Although I love TBL and dudeism, I would say that I am more of an Abideist than anything (imdo). Each to they're own, man, after all, we're all individuals, (I'm not!).
Yeah there is no cut and dry way to define Dudeism as in a cult. Cults have hard fast rules, Dudeism is more like obscenity, you know it when you see it, but there is no "way".
The Dude that can be named, is no Dude.
Quote from: meekon5 on April 20, 2012, 10:26:32 AM
The film has a cult following. We are not really a cult.
Lebowskiists are too wrapped up in quoting from the film, and think that's what Dudeism is about.
When I look at the Facebook group all I see is a bunch of people calling themselves "The One True Dude", or "The Only Real Dude", and quoting "Careful there's a beverage over here! LOL" too much.
Here in the forum you get a much better level of conversation, a more reasoned argument.
I think generally we see Dudeism as being a name to describe the way most of us have lived our lives.
Oliver (the Dudly Lama) went out to Asia backpacking and never really came back again having studied Buddhism and Yoga, and some other stuff (including Taoism), whilst over there he came upon the revelation of the concept of Dudeism as marrying the ancient principles of Zen and Taoism with the modern western Slacker ethic.
I as a teenager studied Zen, Yoga, and Taoism (mostly from books initially) spent a lot of my early life trying to find a balance between what saw as my ascetic inclinations, and my belief that I should remain in the "real" world rather than retreat to a monastery.
From an early age my family and friends of the family called me things like Dylan (yes after the rabbit).
I have spent much of my life interested and investigating my spirituality. My family (in that wonderful confusion where you never change from your teenage years) still think I change religion on a regular basis. I never did but when you visit Sufi groups, lead Zen groups, and similar they think you are changing to that religion.
I do profess to be a Pagan though this is an even more complicated situation.
When I found the video of Oliver made by the car company it gave me a title that wrapped all my previous thinking and investigation together. It is this title I use for my poor confused family. Who think I have changed my religion again, really all I've done is find a title that I can comfortably use, and a group of people who I can spend time arguing over the minutiae of what we are and how best we should present ourselves, whilst all agreeing on the majority of how we represent, because we were all doing it before we came to know that we could call it Dudeism.
Hey M5, good stuff there, dude. Interesting to hear a little about your personal quest. (http://dudeism.com/smf/Themes/classic/images/post/thumbup.gif)
Quote from: RevJason83 on April 16, 2012, 04:21:14 PM
For me it's all about being chill and zen, aka, abiding (at least that's my interpretation). While I really enjoy the movie, I don't watch it fanatically, but still find the Dude to be a great example of how to abide.
I agree with this. I also like M5's post above.
I have studied Buddhism quite a bit over the years. I have spent a lot of time in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, etc.. When I think of Dudeism, my mind automatically sees parallels between the way The Dude acted in the movie and Buddhism in general. The ideas of non-attachment, non-violence, loving your fellow man, and so on, are all represented by The Dude as a way of life, not just a passing fad.
It is all to easy to pass along quotes from the movie and try to pass yourself off as a Dudely person. It is much harder, especially in this day and age, to actually Abide and just be relaxed about things. There are no cults here, just a bunch of honest folks Abiding one day at a time.
Good luck with your school project.
I got a really good mark on this piece of work, thanks to everyone who got involved !! :D
Quote from: DigitalBuddha on April 18, 2012, 09:03:58 PM
Quote from: Koog-meister on April 18, 2012, 08:40:10 PM
Bummer. I wrote a long thing but I timed out.
I noticed that in the settings section, there is a check box to stay logged in all the time, and also a box to alter the time limit before it auto-logs you off.
Hope this helps!