The Dudeism Forum

ah, i getcha. yeah, i think that the cabbie is not meant to be conflated with the saddamites. that hat is just a typical african beanie, even in parts of africa that are not islamic.

still, it's an interesting angle heretofore unproposed.

the big lebowski contains virtually every race/nationality of people and the cab driver was just one among many: germans (4), italians (2), poles (4+), greeks (1), swedes (1), jews (1/2), latinos (2), chinamen (1), english (1), irish (1), and so on...

Another unexpected response, and also informative. The African beanie thing is helpful, I have another take on it entirely. I see it as a Mason's cap.

http://www.the3dstudio.com/product_details.aspx?id_product=79360

no shit! the cabbie is a freemason? that had not occurred to us, dude. my thinking about this case has become very uptight. fill us in on the details.

Thank you for being so cool, forumdude!

First off, I think that you are correct when you suggest why the Dude hates the Eagles, vis a vis the corporate sellout idea. There is also a deeper meaning.

The cabbie wears a Mason's, cap, yes, but we need more than that. Black dudes in general are not big fans of country music, (yes, there are exceptions, I know that.) so your typical white dude (like me) is going to question why the cabbie is so militant about the Eagles. That's what the directors intended. Also, let's not forget, that the cabbie is clearly violating the livery regs. by dumping the Dude on the road like that, so uncool. That cabbie is very uptight about the Eagles.

Here we veer into the esoteric. They cast a black dude because black dudes are known to refer to each other as "brothers". That begs the question, what other group wears a Mason's cap and call themselves "brothers"?

Now we must connect this to the Eagles. Remember the cheque at Ralph's? There is a treasure trove of esoterica in that cheque.

The Dudes account number adds up to 42.

The cheque is for 69 cents. That's not the correct price for that Half and half.

These are occult numbers. 42=Many things, including the "meaning of life". 69=love. It is also the zodiac sign for Cancer. Freeze the film at the right moment and the dude's finger points to 42, while his "pen" is pointing to 69. The meaning of life is love. How dudely.

Now we focus on the fish. An early symbol of Christ, of course, but this is a specific breed of fish. It's a pike. Not just any pike. How do you connect this pike to the Eagles? Put a name on it. Let's call it Albert. Albert Pike.

This dude. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Pike

http://web.archive.org/web/20060223081418/http://www.srmason-sj.org/web/temple-files/pillars.html

Note the golden eagle that flies above his tomb. The window was installed in 1990, the year of the Dude's big adventure.

There is much more Masonic symbolism in the film. Seek and ye shall find.

Edit: It turns out that the pike is actually a blue whale. Color my face red. Kinda deflates that little fishy bit, but I'll let it stand because it may have some value anyway. Sorry for the confusion. Reality keeps fuckin' with me.

Blue whale hunting was outlawed in the '60s. Is the Dude a blue whale?

Without The Eagles, there would have been no "New Country" music.  For that alone, they must be despised.

With the exception of Don Henley.  His solo stuff is excellent.

I saw a post elsewhere suggesting that the Eagles reference is also meant to include Eagle Rock, Ca. Any ideas dudes?

No Country has a hotel called Eagle Pass, I think.