The Big Lebowski and 9/11, connected

[SlavesandBulldozers]

Everybody's seen "The Big Lebowski" because it rules. I just noticed something strange about it last night and I had to share it with DU. I don't know if anybody else has noticed a strange coincidence, but in the opening scene (you know when The Dude is going thru the dairy section getting his milk for his "Caucasians" (White Russians), and then he goes to the check-out line and writes a check for like 58cents for the milk, the date written on the check is 9/11/91 - and the cashier is watching Bush Sr. on the TV saying "This aggression against Kuwait will not stand."

I know it's reaching a little bit, but an interesting tidbit nonetheless.

[LoZoccolo]

1. That's messed up then.

Not because of the coincidence, but 9/11/91 was way after George H. W. Bush made that proclamation on 8/5/90.

I remember I was in driver's ed when that happened.

[NJCher]

2. do you have the tape?

Can you double check it?

I'd be really interested to know.


Cher

[LoZoccolo]

3. Yeah, it's 9/11/91 alright.

Then again, that whole "mistake" could be a consequence of the Dude's unemployed lifestyle, where it doesn't matter what date it is so he doesn't know.

[Syrinx]

4. if I recall correctly,

9/11/91 was the date that Bush Sr. first used the phrase (publically) "New World Order."

[LoZoccolo]

5. Sorry man. Close.

That was 9/11/90.

[Syrinx]

6. do you have a link that shows that?

I would be interested in seeing that. Either way, it's pretty "interesting."

[LoZoccolo]

7. Here you go.

We forget it now, in the wake of victory (or what we used to think was victory) in the Gulf War, but Bush’s father’s speech in the fall of 1990 was flaccid by comparison. Delivered, eerily on 9/11/90, the speech was half about the coming Gulf War and half about deficit reduction. It attacked Saddam Hussein but also got into the minutiae of whether Congress should have an up or down vote on the budget resolution.

http://www.time.com/time/columnist/cooper/article/0,9565,176522,00.html

[LoZoccolo]

8. Actually that doesn't say it directly. Here's the whole speech.

http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/1990/90091101.html

[Syrinx]

10. okay, thanks!

And congrats on 1,000 posts approaching. :)

on edit: I don't have a link handy, but I swear I saw where he gave a speech one year later and used that phrase. It's mighty peculiar, at least to me. Maybe I'm paranoid. ;)

[Syrinx]

9. thanks, but this doesn't mention Bush Sr. speaking that phrase

I still think it was exactly one year later.

[gonefishing]

11. There are numerous threads on this at imdb.com

Here is one that suggest that the dude just postmarked his check in the future because he is the dude.

" I agree that there are some weird coincidences that you note, but analyzing the film as being representative of elements of the 9/11/2001 events is silly given that the film was made in 1998.

In all seriousness, a date is something that is hard to show as being anything but coincidental. With only 365 dates to choose from, the statistical likelihood of two things occuring on the same date are very high.

From a historical perspective, the newscast and the Dude's check are not congruous. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait began on August 2, 1990. US response (Desert Shield) began on August 7. President Bush's goal was to have the conflict over within 100 days. So, commentary on Iraq's aggression happened 1 year and 1 month before the dude dated his check in september 1991. Desert Storm ceasefire terms were negotiated in April 1991. Still several months before 9/11/1991. All of this tends to suggest less of a connection.

From a film continuity perspective, the date on the check is also very interesting. If the dude is actually writing the check on the 11th, it seems odd that several scenes later, Monty is reminding the Dude that "Tomorrow is already the 10th." Now, this raises several interpretations.

1. There is a major continuity error with history/Monty and the check.
2. The dude is misdating or postdating his check.
3. A month elapses between the first trip to Ralph's and several other happenings in the movie. (This seems unlikely. I just don't get the sense that the movie traverses that much time.)

I would guess that A. The Dude just wrote any date on the check and that B. Monty just picked a date as the rent date.

Anyone have other thoughts, interpretations?"

[NJCher]

12. yes

That's the linear way of looking at it. Your analysis was very interesting, however, and I'm glad you posted it. I think it shows "linear" is not the way to go in interpreting such an occurrence.

If you've ever read about the creative process or listened to artists talk about how they do their work, you will know that they say it "just comes to them." Almost as if it were "channeled." An example: I used to work for a very prolific scholar, a Harvard Ph.D. who was internationally reknown. She had dozens of books out and I recall her talking about her last one. She said, "This book wrote itself." When the artist thing is clicking, that's the way it feels.

Go sit in on an "Artist's Way" session. This will tell you volumes about how artists get their ideas. It is done intuitively, like plucking it out of the air. It is not a linear, logical process.

Artists tap into what Jung called the collective unconscious, where there is no "time." A scriptwriter put this in without even thinking about it. That it is coupled with bush sr. giving a speech is telling.


Cher

[UncleJoe]

13. Campaign commercials!

The Dems MUST use this clip as a campaign commercial! Think of what it would mean if all Americans realised what was going on here - that Shrub knew all along!