The Dude Abides, Darkly

The Big Lebowski (1998) is a classic example of the Coen brothers' characteristically dark sense of humor, depicting grim events in an almost flippant manner. “The Dude” (Jeff Bridges) shares a legal name with Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston), thereby creating the perfect context for a comedy-of-errors. Lebowski sets itself apart from other simple situational comedies through the gravity and intensity of the situations contained therein. Simon Critchley does not specifically discuss dark humor in his book On Humour, but his three theories of humor are nonetheless pertinent to an in-depth examination of Lebowski. First, a quick summary of the three theories:

1. We laugh at others, out of feelings of superiority
2. Laughter is a release of nervous energy, or a response to an awkward situation
3. Humor arises from the difference between our expectations and what actually occurs

Lebowski includes all three theories in varying degrees. Audiences laugh at the characters themselves, as The Dude & Friends are messy, unemployed bowling-enthusiasts – a perfect recipe for creating feelings of superiority, it would seem. There is also a great deal of nervous laughter, especially with regard to Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore) and her artwork. The same could be said for the scene with the ferret and the bathtub, depending on how uncomfortable small rodents on leashes make you. 

It is the third theory, though, which addresses the majority of Lebowski's humor. Critchley speaks mostly of jokes, where punch-lines depart significantly from their anticipated direction. He elaborates, saying that a “true joke, a comedian's joke, suddenly and explosively lets us see the familiar defamiliarized, the ordinary made extra- ordinary and the real rendered surreal” (10). In Lebowski, most of the situations themselves (with some obvious exceptions, of course) are more or less familiar to the viewer. We've seen kidnapping stories before; we've seen complex tales of mistaken identities (both good and less-good); we've likely even seen bowling fanatics before, though none with quite the panache of Jesus Quintana (John Turturro). It is the way that the Coen Brothers toy with our horizon of expectations that makes this movie a comedy.

I find it fascinating that this film, like most of the Brothers' dark comedies, could have easily tipped over into the realm of drama with just a few different stylistic or character-based alterations. Dark comedy is a hard genre to define, and it is an even harder genre to write within. Yet the Coens have still managed to master it. Consider the bare-bones plot: After a case of mistaken identity, which led to theft and assault in the home of an innocent man, that man becomes involved in a kidnapping scheme. When plans go awry, the alleged kidnappers send a severed body part to the abducted woman's husband as a threat. The summary could continue further, but I think you get the point. It sounds like a drama, yes? It even sounds like a bit of a horror thriller, with bloody toes being sent via USPS. Yet the disjunction between the grave situations and the various characters' outlandish (or not outlandish enough?) responses to their circumstances creates a comedic effect.

Critchley does touch on dark humor briefly, even referencing a Coen Brothers creation: “if there is a coldness at the core of the comic,” resulting from the distance from everyday life which comedy allows, “then this can also be disturbing... Consider the Coen Brothers' 1996 film, Fargo, where multiple murder is treated with a troubling numbness” (88). To be fair, Fargo leans more toward drama than Lebowski, but Critchley's comment is still applicable. The Dude is so casual in his treatment of the physical threat on both himself and the supposedly kidnapped woman, preferring to dwell on his ruined rug. He drinks White Russians and bemoans the loss of a decorative item. So yes, the plot is grim, but the characters are comedic. The same could be said for Fargo.

Does this “gallows humor” have a clear place in Critchley's compiled theories? Does it fit in one, or does it seem to combine all three? Or perhaps it marks a need for a fourth theory? For me, the humor of Lebowski is in large part due to the tension between the viewer's expectation and the film's “reality,” if you could call it that. We expect a reasonable, rational human being (though The Dude seemed to trade in reason and rationality for his unconventional title) to treat a violent situation with a bit more caution, but we delight in The Dude's buffoonery. It is a pleasant contradiction to our expectations. Is this true of all dark humor, though? Or just that of the Coen Brothers? 

The Humor of Superiority in The Big Lebowski

Critchley’s On Humor outlines three theories of humor. The longest-standing one is based upon the idea of superiority, where the audience feels themselves better than the characters being portrayed. This is the idea behind racial and sexist humor. Basically it is a humor that capitalizes on stereotypes and makes caricatures out of its characters. There appear to be several different studies of this superiority theory within the movie.

            The Dude is our protagonist, and the narrator speaks truthfully of him. He calls him the laziest man in Los Angeles, but also describes him as someone completely right for his time and place. He speaks of him as if he is a legend. And on the two instances the narrator and the Dude encounter each other the narrator treats him as an equal, or even as someone to be admired. So, the Dude is presented to the audience as an equal.

            Yet, within the movie, it is clear that the majority of the characters see the Dude as a complete loser. This is one of the functions of the Big Lebowski. When the two are introduced, Mr. Lebowski describes the Dude as society must see him. He is unemployed, not seeking employment, and is, as he puts it, “asking for a handout.” The chief of police in Malibu is our figure of societal authority and he makes his opinion of the Dude abundantly clear. He empties the pitiful contents of the Dude’s wallet and discovers his only form of identification is a Ralph’s frequent shopper card. The police chief then insults him and assaults him. In the next scene the cab driver throws the Dude out of his cab because he does not like the Eagles. The driver perceived himself as superior both in authority and music taste. A short while later we see a policeman laughing with superiority in the auto pound scene. Here the policeman, again an authority figure and our societal representative is demonstrating audience superiority.

            Walter’s character is very interesting because he is the character whose inane actions grant the audience a sense of superiority and elicit most of the movie’s laughs. But he is also the embodiment of audience superiority. At every turn, he is declaring himself better than those around him. He constantly cites ‘Nam as evidence of this. He believes he can both outsmart and physically overpower all of his adversaries. His perceived superiority appears ridiculous. In the words of the Dude, “I love ya, but sooner or later you’re gonna have to face the fact that you’re a goddamn moron.” He seems to be speaking for the entire audience here. The audience gets quite a few laughs from Walter’s belief in his superiority, but it is a parallel feeling of supremacy that prompts amusement.

            Interestingly, by the end of the movie Walter makes good on his claims. When the German nihlists return to demand payment, Walter overpowers the three of them singlehandedly. It’s clear that his original plan to grab one of them at the handoff and beat information out of them would have worked even though it seemed insane.

            The representations of the superiority theory in The Big Lebowski are designed to reveal the falsity of superiority. What is really funny about The Big Lebowski is the absurdity of superiority. Those characters who appear to us as believing themselves to be superior really just seem crazy. Walter is our overarching example whose function is to turn the idea of superiority inside out and then to do it again. There are also other smaller examples, one being Jesus. The bowler wears tight monochromatic bowling suits, lots of rings and a hairnet. His appearance is ridiculous and his bowling routine disturbing, and yet it is clear from his mannerisms and trash talking that he is confident in his supremacy. Walter’s dismissal of the man as a pervert is comical because it proves him a freak and establishes the audience’s superiority; it also reinforces Walter’s role as surrogate audience. In the same way, Mr. Lebowski is not the self-made millionaire he proclaims himself to be. In reality, he is an old cripple on allowance from his daughter. His claim to superiority is just as false as everyone else’s. 

            The Dude is the only character that never claims superiority, and in the end he is the most respectable character. The Big Lebowski utilizes the humor of superiority, but in doing so it highlight’s the construction of this kind of humor and thus holds a mirror to us, the audience and in the end forces us to laugh at ourselves.

Humor Lebowski

The Big Lebowski is a 1998 comedy about several offbeat middle aged men trying to live average live, but who get mixed up in Debt issues due to the main character, Lebowski, getting mistaken for another Lebowski and targeted by debt collectors.  This movie is clearly a comedy, and is considered by many to be an extremely funny movie.  But what about it actually makes it funny?  Humor is something that we can recognize easily, but is much harder to describe.

To answer this question, philosophers came up with various criteria of what constitutes humor.  One such explanation is the incongruity theory in which humor arises from the difference between the expected and what actually happens, as well as the distance between the two.  This can be seen as a major driving force in The Big Lebowski, especially because the very premise is based around Lebowski being targeted while really not having done anything to deserve his treatment.  For example, Lebowski is just a guy who likes to lounge around in his robe and drink white russians, but then random people show up to his house, beat the crap out of him, and hold his head underwater in the toilet.  The incongruity between Lebowski "the dude's" lifestyle and his collectors is what creates the humor.

Another theory about what makes up humor is that it is based off of a superiority complex that the viewer gets over the characters.  This is even more readily apparent in The Big Lebowski, because the main character and his friends are all pretty messed up in their own way.  Lebowski himself is just kind of a bum, and his friend has anger issues.  The other characters, too, are stricken with vice, and so while watching the movie the viewer can bask in a superiority complex over every character, and laugh at the absurd situations that stem from the character's lack of integrity.

But these are just theories, because humor is really not something we can clarify like words.  Unlike most things we experience, it doesn't follow any sort of real logic, and so we must resort to more abstract ideas to get a reading on it.  If you look though, there are patterns that can be gleaned from what we find funny or not funny, and so generalizations leave us still quite confident we know the basics of what's behind humor.