The Big Lebowski Based On The Most Overplayed Song
Ever since its 1998 theatrical release, The Big Lebowski has defied any and all theories about its deeper meanings. Now, as The Dude himself might say, “new sh-t has come to light.” According to a fan theory so bonkers it might be perfect, Jeff Bridges’ The Dude is, in fact, the narrator of the 1977 single by The Eagles, “Hotel California.”
Hotel California
If you take “Hotel California” literally, it sounds like a ghost story. Don Henley sings of driving down the highway at night, being met by a “shimmering light,” and stopping somewhere for the evening.
The narrator—whether he has anything to do with The Big Lebowski or not—tells us of a woman leading him through dark halls with only a candle. The lyrics are filled with strange images like a courtyard filled with dancers and a feast attended by would-be killers of an unkillable beast.
The narrator tries to escape the “hotel” only to be met by the “night man” delivering the famous line, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”
The Lyrics
On Reddit, fan theorist jyoung9789 sees a lot of connections between the lyrics of “Hotel California” and The Big Lebowski.
The second line in the song is “Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air,” with “colitas” potentially being a reference to marijuana which is clearly one of The Dude’s favorite pastimes.
They also connect the lyrics “On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair… Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light,” to The Big Lebowski‘s opening sequence which begins with tumbleweed rolling over the hills and then expands to show the “shimmering” lights of the L.A. skyline.
Another user responding to jyoung9789, points to “Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes-Benz, uh/She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends,” seeing a connection to Tara Reid’s Bunny Lebowski.
I’d add that the mention of “a lot of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends” immediately reminded me of the topless woman being festively thrown into the air by a large group of men outside Jackie Treehorn’s (Ben Gazzara) compound.
Checking Out, But Never Leaving
The line of “Hotel California” that has the most concrete connection to the story and themes of The Big Lebowski is the night man telling the narrator, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”
It isn’t a stretch at all to say that The Big Lebowski‘s hero, The Dude, checked out a long time ago even though he’s never left. We know precious little about The Dude’s past—only that he was a member of the Seattle 7 and that he arrived in L.A. sometime after that, and he’s been there ever since.
While at one time The Dude clearly cared about current events and social justice, The Big Lebowski goes out of its way to let us know that it unfolds during the time of the First Gulf War, but—rather than protest the upcoming conflict—this time The Dude has checked out.
He’s more concerned about making sure there’s enough cream for his White Russians than he does about this new war. The only real indication current events are making any impression at all on The Dude is the inclusion of Saddam Hussein (Jerry Haleva) in his elaborate bowling/porn/dance number as the guy handing out bowling shoes.
He Hates The Eagles
Perhaps the most interesting thing the Reddit fan theorist points out about The Big Lebowski is that The Dude hates The Eagles. They imply that the reason The Dude hates The Eagles is because he is the narrator of their bigger hit, “Hotel California,” and so blames them for his being forever checked out, but unable to leave
As you may remember, The Dude gets thrown out of a cab after asking the driver to change the station.
The station is playing “Peaceful Easy Feeling” by The Eagles and The Dude—who has just endured getting drugged by Jackie Treehorn and smacked around by a cop—complains, “I had a rough night, and I hate the f—ing Eagles, man!” The cab driver pulls over and literally drags The Dude out of his taxi.
It’s interesting because, as jyoung9789 writes, “it was so odd that The Dude could hate anything.” That’s definitely a relatable sentiment. The Dude comes off as such a live-and-let-live kind of guy, that the notion that he could so passionately hate a band—particularly a band whose music is usually as mellow as The Dude—is surprising.
After all, one of The Eagles’ hits is “Take It Easy,” which pretty much describes The Dude’s entire philosophy.
The fan theorist’s argument gets a bit stronger when you consider that The Big Lebowski portrays The Dude as the kind of guy who always craves the sort of “Peaceful Easy Feeling” that the song in the cab mentions.
Is The Theory Right?
Now I don’t ever really enjoy tearing apart anyone else’s interpretation or fan theory because even if I don’t agree, hey—if that’s how you want to enjoy a movie, what do I care?
But put the proverbial gun to my head and ask me to answer whether or not The Big Lebowski‘s The Dude truly is the narrator of “Hotel California,” then I’d have to say no.
For one thing, while there may be “shimmering” lights in the opening sequence, The Dude isn’t driving down a highway. Sure, the mention of “colitas” could be a marijuana reference, but finding a late 1970s song with a drug reference isn’t exactly the rarest of things.
If anything, I think it’s possible that while making The Big Lebowski the Coen Brothers were inspired by “Hotel California,” and The Dude’s hatred of The Eagles could be a nod to that inspiration.
After all in The Big Lebowski, Los Angeles—like most of the settings in the Coens’ films—is almost a character unto itself, and The Dude certainly has checked out even though he can never leave.
So there may be inspiration there, but arguing that The Dude is supposed to be the song’s narrator seems too literal a connection to the song.
But in the end, you know… that’s just, like, my opinion, man.
Source: Reddit
