I read this yesterday:
"Folk literature abounds in symbolic figures, such as 'holy beggars', 'third sons', 'little tailors', and 'simpletons', who strip off the pretensions of holders of high rank and office and reduce them to the level of common humanity and mortality."
(Turner, V.W. 1969:97)
From Victor Turner's The Ritual Process.
I've often wondered about Donny's role in the movie. His death had also seemed unnecessary to the plot.
The above quote really ties Donny's role together for me. I now see him as just such a humanising force and his death as a reminder of mortality.
Any thoughts?
I guess you could argue that Donny's death was either A) a way of firmly uniting the Dude and Walter (as two sides of a person), or B) as a way of warning against acting out of anger or something (for example, when Walter refuses to give the nihilist his money).
It seems likely to be both, but interesting to think of it as the big tragedy that demonstrates the consequences of rashness. Don't forget, the Dude himself says "I could just be here with pee stains on my rug." Instead...
just a thought
I thought it was a bowling movie.
The only reason I watched The Big Lebowski was because my brother in law said it was a bowling movie. I had already watched King Pin and thought it sucked....no one in it actually knew how to bowl....you would think if they were going to make a movie about bowling they would actors who knew how to bowl or at the very least give them a few bowling lessons!
So I watched The Big Lebowski hoping for a better bowing movie....after watching the whole thing through I said it was the best bowling movie ever made....simple because no one actually does any bowling in it.
The opening scene is a joke.....not a single person on camera knew the first thing about bowling!
The Only person in the whole movie who knew how to bowl was the pro-bowler at the very end of the movie....we only see him from the back, but that dude could Roll!
When I thought about the Big Lebowski the next few days I just thought it was about how being greedy can get you into trouble. The only major character in the movie who was not greedy, lying, or stealing was Donny....and he dies. The nice guy dies because of the lying, stealing and greed of everyone else.
I am not sure what was meant by that? Maybe it's just saying that once we start slinging shit we can never really be sure who it is going to hit!?
Maybe there is some Taoism in there....not sure....but it Feels like there should be.
Hey Cc dude, you bring up a good point; in TBL at least Donny, Smokey and the Jesus seem like they could actually bowl (a couple of others also). Maybe even Walter. Sadly, you never actually see the Dude bowl.
Interesting.
I guess I started this thread really to find out how other people understood Donny's role. Although he doesn't say very much, I think he's pretty much pivotal to the whole durned human comedy.
I could go on, but right now I have to shower, deliver a letter and take the train to see my son's band
Donny is basically the tyhrid wheel. When you look at social dynamicss, Donnie plays the role of the omega male. omebody to fuck with in the tribe until somebody decides to fuck with him or the trib as a whole. Hi8s ymbolism is all those guys we ued to tuff in garbage cans when in high chool but if someone else tuffed them in a garbage can thee wa hell to pay. In the male heirachy, Donnie was played mot excellently, and hi untimely death hows how fragile the Omega is.
IOW
Walter= alpha
dude= beta (or right hand/ check and balance/ three eyed yin inside the yang)
Donni= omega
Nihilist= (thre eyed yang inside of yin) Or unchecked agression.
I initially saw Donny as the Holy Ghost in a symbolic Trinity with Walter (the Father, i.e., Judiasm) and the Dude (the Son). Still flushing that one out but it withstands at least topical scrutiny.
It's also weird the only people who acknowledge, speak to, or interact with Donny are Walter (primarily) and the Dude (rarely). No one else seems aware he is even present.
I get the third wheel thing, too. For example, the bowling team consists of two people (e.g., "Liam and me, we gonna fuck you up") but Donny is always there.
Ultimately, the movie resonates on so many levels because it uses archetypes as old as humanity. Sure, the time and place are different (as the Stranger would say) but these guys have been around forever. The audience feels like they know the characters because, in essence, they've known them from the first fairy tales they were read as children, through the homeric epics they read in school, to the roman a clefs they studied in college. This gosh darn human comedy just keeps perpetuating itself.
Quote from: cckeiser on March 16, 2014, 10:32:53 PM
When I thought about the Big Lebowski the next few days I just thought it was about how being greedy can get you into trouble. The only major character in the movie who was not greedy, lying, or stealing was Donny....and he dies. The nice guy dies because of the lying, stealing and greed of everyone else.
I am not sure what was meant by that? Maybe it's just saying that once we start slinging shit we can never really be sure who it is going to hit!?
Maybe there is some Taoism in there....not sure....but it Feels like there should be.
Donny is the Walrus. http://dudeism.com/smf/the-da-fino-code/'i-am-the-walrus'-~donny/ (http://dudeism.com/smf/the-da-fino-code/'i-am-the-walrus'-~donny/)