| Gulf War (Ep 28) |
 |
| Written by Chalupa | |||
| Wednesday, 29 April 2009 04:37 | |||
|
Hey Chalupa / Liz, Your discussion on the Gulf War raised in Podcast 26 got me thinking that rather than being inconsequential, the timing of the movie, i.e. with Gulf War 1 as the backdrop could be seen as in fact integral. If you think that prior to the Dude telling Walter about the rug-peeing incident he was not thinking recompense (Walter, what's the point. Look--we all know who was at fault here, what the fuck are you talking about?). However, Walter spurs him to think about recompense by saying “I'm talking about drawing a line in the sand, Dude” and “we're talking about unchecked aggression here Dude”. These are obvious references to the US’ stance on Iraq and Kuwait. We are shown, and I think its for our benefit rather than Dudes, Bush Senior’s speech on the TV in Ralph’s so we can place this stance in context. For me, the fact that the “unchecked aggression” stance was in common discourse and thinking around the Dude in media and society made it more believable that Dude accepted Walter’s “unchecked aggression” logic. Remember, the US was using this stance, ostensibly, to promote a peaceful outcome, and the Dude is a pacifist. Put it this way, what would the Dude likely have made of Walter saying “unchecked aggression” and “line in the sand” without the Gulf War as a backdrop? Would Walter even have spurred Dude on to seek out the Big Lebowski has he not been closely watching what was happening in Kuwait? True to form Walter’s logic leads Dude down a troublesome path, so without that original acceptance of Walter’s view, the rest of the move would not have unfolded. No Gulf War backdrop, no movie? That’s taking it too far, but just contributing to the debate! Keep up the solid work (I've rated your Podcast as top of the heap on iTunes!) All the best, The Irish Monk
|
Lebowski Bash Austra...
Dear Chalupa... I'm Ronnie 'Treehorn...
Goodman BIG and smal...
I remember him in O brother.., as a b...
Yesterday we were on...
Glad to see that one of my favorite s...
Casting Call: Inside...
Thanks for the update, man. Beginner...
Casting Call: Inside...
I walked in with day old headshots, t...