Although The Dude and the Big Lebowski may have the same name, they come from very different rungs on the socioeconomic ladder. The plot thickens when The Dude gets tangled up in a world that's not his own. The rich Lebowski seems to be a pillar of the community—a businessman and philanthropist living in a huge mansion with a yes-man lackey catering to his every whim and a gold-digging trophy wife one third his age.
Our Lebowski and his buddies are just the opposite. The Dude is living on the margins, getting by who knows how and determined to stay there. Walter is a small-business man and Donny is … well, Donny.
The pursuit of money in The Big Lebowski drives people, like Big and Jackie Treehorn and the nihilists, to commit all kinds of nasty acts. If they are any indication, we can safely assume that Biggie was right about the whole mo' money, mo' problems thing. The rich and the wannabes aren't treated kindly by the Coens in this movie.
Questions about Society and Class
- Who are the haves and have nots in the movie? How do you know?
- Who is the biggest social-class striver in the film?
- Is extorting the rich the key to social mobility?
Chew on This
The Dude can appreciate a classy house, but he's totally unimpressed by social class distinctions.
The rich folks in the film completely exploit the people lower in the social pecking order.