The Thematic Paradigm - Report Example

THE THEMATIC PARADIGM Robert Bay in his article; “The Thematic Paradigm” discusses the traditional dichotomy which is dominant in the American Cinema. He said that: “the American, on the whole, lives with two sets of truths.” He discusses that the characters of American Cinema are a hybrid of two completely different traits. Characters in American movies reveal a mix of patterns that are contra to each other. In Golden Boy, the boy was a violinist as well as a boxer. The brave gangster diminished into a coward in “On the Water Front”. In Sergeant York a war hero turns into a pacifist. It is evident that these two sided characters are designed to attract a wider range of audience. People on both extremes can see and like a movie based on the “dualism” of characters. Such characters are designed to avoid offending a group of people and allow pleasing everyone. On the basis of the dichotomy that prevails in the American Cinema, Bay classified Heroes into two types; the outlaw hero and the official hero. The outlay hero is more individualistic, gutsy, explorer, fighter and adventurer. They are childish and are driven by emotions. They avoid women because they distrust civilization and prefer to remain lonely. The official heroes are family oriented; they ought to be teachers, leaders and lawyers. They are charismatic and have the capacity to influence others with their pure words and acts. They are mature and talk with reason and judgment. They are dutiful and thus ready to accept responsibilities and start families. According to Bay characters with such mix of traits depict indecisiveness of Americans as a Nation. To cut short The American Cinema rests over extreme ranges to avoid contradictions. THE BIG LEBOWSKI, A REVIEW Joel and Ethan Coen wrote and directed the comedy movie; The Big Lebowski in 1998. The film is very much based on the famous novel; The Big Sleep written by Raymond Chandler. At the time of the release, the movie was subjected to mix reviews by audience and turned to be a disappointment at box office. However, overtime it turned into a cult favorite because of its distinct characters, costumes, sequences, dialogs and sound tracks. Jeff Bridges played the role of Jeff Lebowski who is an unemployed slacker and an avid bowler in Los Angeles. He refers to himself as "The Dude". In order to recover the rug spoiled by the thugs who mistakenly identified him as the millionaire, Jeffery Lebowski, he met the millionaire and his trophy wife. Later in order to recover the kidnapped wife, the millionaire commissioned the Dude to ensure the recovery of his wife by delivering the ransom to the thugs. He was assigned this task because he was familiar with the thugs and could easily identify them. According to James Berardinelli; “In a word, The Big Lebowski is a mess. But what a glorious, wonderfully-entertaining mess it is. This film, the Coen Brothers follow-up to the critically-lauded Fargo, isnt likely to generate the same degree of universal praise. In fact, those expecting something along similar lines to the 1997 Oscar nominee may be disappointed. The Big Lebowski is an off-the-wall comedy that has more in common with Raising Arizona than with Fargo. Its single weakness and what amounts to little more than a minor distraction, is that it doesnt have much of a plot, and what there is contains the kind of gaping holes that even the most obtuse viewer can identify.” (Berardinelli, 1998) ROBERT BAY VIEW OF THE DUDE The Dude was around forty year old unemployed single who use to wear loose and shabby clothes with sandals not unlike Jesus Christ with a bulky body. He told about his recreational activities that; “Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback.” (Coen & Coen, 1998). He appeared to be Pacifist when he commented that he was the member of “Seattle Seven”. It is clear that during his youth, Dude was a radical activist who was against the Vietnam War. When inquired that have he been to college Dude replied; “yeah I did attend college, but I spent most of my time occupying various, um, administration buildings–smoking thai-stick, breaking into the ROTC–and bowling. I’ll tell you the truth, Brandt, I don’t remember most of it” (Coen & Coen, 1998). This dialogue gives an insight about Dude’s character which is quiet consistent, he was a casual youngster and now he is a casual men. No much change has come; he regularly mops his house and has not much to do in life. He is not ambitious at all and leads a very simple life. Outlay vs Official The overall appearance and the carefree attitude in the beginning of the movie described Dude as an Outlay hero, he was an individual with no family life, and he was living an open life with no bounds and commitments. However if we go into details of his past it is clear that he was a very daring, daunting and adventurous activist. His body language and acceptance to the challenging task are evidence of his being a courageous and self motivated person. Dude’s personality is once again a blend of both outlay and official features and his character is a representation of a dichotomy of emotions and judgments. Similarly like an official hero he has good ideals; his friend circle includes a best friend, Walter, who was a Vietnem War Vet and a racial feminist, Maude, who was his lady friend. Aging: Dude reflects capacity of being emotional; he has a childish thinking tilted towards doing tantrums like for example; since thugs treated him badly and pissed off on his rug assuming that he is Jeffery Lebowski, the millionaire, he went to the Lebowski’s house to take revenge. His thinking he suffered because of the millionaire and that he should be punished shows his level. Talking to the thugs about the recovery of the kidnapped lady he said: “The Dude: Who gives a shit! Theyre gonna kill that poor woman, man! What am I gonna tell Lebowski?” (Coen & Coen, 1998) Women and Society: Following dialogues from the movie gives a better idea of Dude’s view of women and society: “Maude Lebowski: Does the female form make you uncomfortable, Mr. Lebowski? The Dude: Uh, is that what this is a picture of? Maude Lebowski: Do you like sex, Mr. Lebowski? The Dude: Scuse me? Incidences Maude Lebowski: Sex. The physical act of love. Coitus. Do you like it? The Dude: I was talking about my rug. Maude Lebowski: Youre not interested in sex? The Dude: You mean coitus?” (Coen & Coen, 1998) Dude is a single man with no family life; he had no women and any worldly relations. Though unlike a pure outlay hero he don’t disregard women but still he seems not interested in getting indulge in any sort of commitment. Politics and the law: Dude was panicked when he was hanged up by the kidnappers. He shouted, “Shit, Walter, you fuck, you fucked it up! You fucked it up! Her life was in our hands, man” (Coen & Coen, 1998). When the ransom hand off went wrong Dude repeatedly said: “they’re going to kill that poor women” (Coen & Coen, 1998). The above mentioned dialogues show that Dude is the man of principle and commitments. He is a man of words who value commitments and play hard to fulfill keep his promises. He has a sense of accountability which gives him courage to fight against any authority for the sake of justice. CONCLUSION “Sometimes, there’s a man, well, he’s the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that’s the Dude” (Coen & Coen, 1998). The Dude was a complete “imperfect individual”. He was content of whatever he was, to him being in peace is good and it is what makes him “Dude”. He was very confident of his capabilities as well as limitations. He had his own set criteria and he never use to grade him on the scale designed by others. His personality is a perfect representation of Bay’s Dichotomy. He is a blend of outlaw and official hero and this is what makes him acceptable to everyone. I totally loved the character of the Dude because it carries the two polar opposites so perfectly. It’s difficult to become world less, to detach one’s self from hedonism, in start I was very much annoyed by the meaninglessness of life and thought him a loser who has no goals and ambitions. He was merely breathing not living but later on I realized that it’s even hard to remain comfortable with one’s own lazy and lethargic personality. He was very much aware of his shortcomings but still had the guts to live an unapologetic comfortable life. Even if he is not a hero for everyone, to me he isn’t a loser as well. REFERENCES The Big Lebowski. Dir. Ethan Coen and Joel Coen. Perf. Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, and Julianne Moore. Gramercy, 1998. DVD. James Berardinelli. "The Big Lebowski A Film Review " Reelviews. n.p., n.d. Web. 16-4-2012. Sonia Maasik, Jack Solomon. Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. 6th ed. Bedford: St. Martins, 2008. Print. Read More