The Big Lebowski Sequence Analysis

The Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski was made in 1998 and is considered a cult classic. The brothers’ use of drug – induced dream sequences attract stoners like moths to flame. To establish a stoner – worthy dream sequence, that is a sequence meant to distort the viewer, the Coen brothers’ use of mise en scene, sound, and iris shot establish a connection between the viewer and The Dude, the stoner protagonist whom just wants his rug back. The Coen Brothers begin the dream sequence with a shot of The Dude from above, laying on his new carpet as he listens to bowling sounds. Followed by a close up shot of the Walkman with a cassette case next to it with the words, “A. VENICE BEACH LEAGUE PLAYERS 1987…B. BOB.” The camera cuts to a close up

The viewer now sees three new characters. The woman in the middle (Maude) looks to her right to the man that then punches The Dude in the face then the camera fades into the explosion of the firework, initiating the dream sequence. The Dude’s actual dream is his subconscious telling him that Maude is taking back the rug which is evident through the Coen Brothers’ use of mise en scene. Mise en scene is a term used to represent everything that is on the set during a scene or sequence, etc. For example, The Dude flying over the big city makes the viewer aware that The Dude is dreaming because this is an impossible point of view. The viewer then sees Maude, turned around, flying on the carpet that was previously under The Dude. Because Maude is turned away from the camera, the viewer feels a connection with The Dude. The viewer sees The Dude attempting to swim to Maude, followed by a

Before the dream sequence, the viewer hears the bowling sounds with The Dude. The viewer sees, “…B. Bob” on the cassette while listening to bowling sounds. This foreshadows the next sound in the dream sequence, Bob Dylan’s “The Man in Me.” But this begs the question, who flipped the tape? If side A were the bowling league sounds and side B is “Bob” implying “The Man in Me,” the next song the viewer hears, is side B, then who flipped the tape? This is a loose end that was left untied on purpose to distort the viewer. With this distortion, which plays throughout the sequence, added to the distortion of the ball rolling from the iris shot, and the sounds of the bowling ball rolling distort the viewer so much that the viewer is just as distorted as The Dude. When the ball hits the pins, the pins fly everywhere and suddenly the viewer hears a beeping noise. The beeper that Brandt had given him acted as an alarm to bring The Dude and the viewer back to the plotline of the story. The camera fades out to the next shot where the viewer sees The Dude once more, lying down listening to side B, this time without his rug. Therefore, the purpose of the dream sequence is not only to establish connection between the viewer and The Dude by distortion, but to indicate that Maude, the woman that The Dude saw before his knock out, stole back the