EUGENE, Ore. – Wherever you seem to go in the Eugene community during this holiday season, there are reminders of the Twilight books and movies that have a strange appeal to teen girls and women in the region.
Thus, you find lots of women taking either their husbands or boyfriends to Twilight's Breaking Dawn, or checking out "Twilight" stuff being sold in the local Eugene malls and shops.
"Twilight is special to me, but I can't tell you why," says University of Oregon student Julie with a big grin outside a Eugene strip mall; while her boyfriend, Jake, points to "the Dude," as possibly having a view on why "chicks are attracted to vampires."
Breaking Dawn and other Twilight films explained by the Dude, The Big Lebowski
The Eugene group who follow the lessons of “the Dude,” the character played by Jeff Bridges from “The Big Lebowski,” can explain to other “dudes” why “chicks want to see that Breaking Dawn flick so bad.”
Big news for gals with husbands or boyfriends who are fans of “the Dude,” because “The Big Lebowski” is now out on blue ray and lots of extras about Dudism; also, Jeff “the Dude” Bridges has just released his second album that’s filled with songs and lyrics that fans say “the Dude would sing.”
At the same time, “the Dude” has stated – in both The Big Lebowski interviews from the DVD extras, and during TV interviews that he can’t explain why some women are into the “the lure of danger or badness,” or even vampires.
In turn, millions of dudes are being dragged to see “Breaking Dawn” by their wives, girlfriends or daughters, with “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part I” being called the film that “trampled some hapless penguins on its way to the top of the weekend box office this weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday,” reported USA Today Nov. 21, while stating that this “vampire-werewolf franchise made $139.5 million, according to studio estimates from Hollywood.com.
The Dude explains why chicks are interested in vampires or werewolves
First of all, Jeff Bridge’s debut record album titled “Be Here Soon,” was released in 2000 about the same time that his film “The Big Lebowski” was gaining cult status. While his first album never caught fire, the Dude’s new album is getting a lot of attention in the country music scene. Now, with the recently released self-titled second album, critics say “the Dude” has returned to form after Bridges hooked back up with T-Bone Burnett who produced his “Crazy Heart” soundtrack. And, “the Dudes” Hollywood pad is still on the market so “be careful if you’re holding a beverage,” because it’s all for “the Dude” right now.
This background is offered because “the Dude” has frequently said he doesn’t “get why chicks like bad men,” but he has a theory” based on his view about how a certain carpet can “really tie a room together,” and that “the Dude” has been involved with lots of chicks at his Dude pad in the L.A. area.
In turn, local Dude representative Boyd says the Dude website recommends theoatmeal.com for its recent overview of The Twilight films by a chick so dudes can understand the films appeal to women.
Twilight books reviewed in “Dude” lingo so dudes can better understand
“First off, the author creates a main character which is an empty shell. Her appearance isn't described in detail; that way, any female can slip into it and easily fantasize about being this person. I read 400 pages of that book and barely had any idea of what the main character looked like; as far as I was concerned she was a giant Lego brick. Appearance aside, her personality is portrayed as insecure, fumbling, and awkward - a combination anyone who ever went through puberty can relate to. By creating this ‘empty shell,’ the character becomes less of a person and more of something a female reader can put on and wear. Because I forgot her name (I think it was Barbara or Brando or something like that), I'm going to refer to her as ‘Pants’ from here on out,” reported theoatmeal.com.
“So after a few chapters of listening to Pants whine about high school, sucking at volleyball, and being the center of attention, the second major character is introduced. Imagine everything women want in a man, then exaggerate it by ten thousand - and you've got Edward Cullen. The level of detail that the author goes into while describing Edward's appearance is remarkable. At one point while reading I started counting the number of times the author used the expression "Edward's perfect face," and it was far into the double digits. The author excruciatingly details his muscular pecs, clothing, hair, eye color - even his breath (I'm not joking),” reports theoatmeal.com, while also pointing to how “Edward intensely listens to everything Pants has to say, even if she's bitching about she had diarrhea on Christmas or her preferred method for cutting a sandwich in half. As far as the reader is concerned, Edward cares about nothing in the world more than Pants. What the author has done is created a perfect male figure - a pale Greek statue which the reader can worship and in turn be worshipped by.”
As for the Twilight movies, the Dude’s view is there about the same as the books, while theoatmeal.com stated that the first Twilight was not good, and the new one, Breaking Dawn, is also viewed by dude’s and film critics as not good at all.
“The movie is just the same uninspired crap shat out onto a film reel. If you like the taste of horse manure on your bologna sandwiches, you're probably gonna like it on your birthday cake as well. The same principle applies with Twilight. theoatmeal.com.
“Beyond that, it's just a romance novel with the occasional vampire teen drama bullshit peppered here and there. It doesn't really break any new ground in the realm of vampire fiction, other than portraying vampires as a family of uncomfortable retards who prance around the woods eating deer and bunny rabbits. There's lots of nervous lip-biting, tender kisses between Pants and Edward, and lengthy descriptions of every feature of Edward's body. Pants is a static character who never really progresses beyond being an insecure vampire fangirl who obsesses over Edward. Whether her character grows beyond that is unknown to me, I'd stopped reading by then and shifted my attention to an electric butt-massaging chair in Sky Mall.”
While that point of view from the Dude recommending theoatmeal.com for a view on Twilight books and films, there’s good news from the Dude out in L.A. and why “Dudism” is a perfect state of mine for getting through the Thanksgiving holidays, say followers of “the Dude” here in Eugene.
Big Lebowski ‘Dude pad’ for sale, while Dudism spreading in a time of recession
One reason why there’s so many “Dudes” in Eugene and other West coast towns is there’s plenty of old bungalows -- that “Dudes” such as the one actor Jeff Bridges who starred in “The Big Lebowski” – would enjoy living in; now, it seems the original property that was featured in this 1998 Coen Brother cult film is on the market down in Venice, California.
“Calling all Dudes, His Dudenesses, Duders and El Duderinos: these Venice, California realtors have six-bungalow property for sale – the very same featured in the 1998 Coen Brothers’ comedy, “The Big Lebowski,” as home to Jeff Bridges ‘The Dude’ – at the mere asking price of $2.3 million, stated MSN entertainment recently.
In turn, L.A. media have also noted that this property – that was used as a film set for key scenes with Bridges when playing the “Dude” is now being eyed by Bridges himself and other stars of the film who have a fondness for the laid-back bungalow style of L.A.’s retro Sixties homes that have often been used in various Hollywood films.
As of Thanksgiving, the Dude’s pad is still on the market, say local L.A. real estate representatives.
In turn, with a “dysfunctional Congress,” local Eugene “Dude” Harper thinks “we’re seeing more Dudes turning to Dudeism as a way to deal in a world gone mad.”
The Big Lebowski turns art into a religion with Dudeism philosophy
Dudes here in Eugene claim to be the coolest; they even model themselves after actor Jeff Bridges portrayal of Jeff Lebowski as “The Dude” in this 1998 cult film “The Big Lebowski,” that’s now attracted more than 100,000 fans into becoming Dudeist priests, states dudeism.com.
The Big Lebowski is more than just a comedy film – written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen – say fans here in Eugene who’ve taken on the persona of “The Dude” based on Jeff Bridges portrayal of Jeff Lebowski.
In fact, Mark and Patrick are two University of Oregon graduates who, like The Dude, are unemployed and avid bowlers who don’t go so far as calling themselves slackers, but admit to that role as well. “We just became Dudeist priests,” say the two friends, and according to the dudeism.com web site that means they’ve joined “the slowest-growing religion in the world – Dudeism.”
Also, one of the top Dudes in Eugene – a Dude named Harper – said that as of the end of July “we have more folks dropping by to bowl with us and to hang during our regular Friday evening showings of The Big Lebowski.”
The Big Lebowski is a film that went from cult to religion
“Dudeism is an ancient philosophy that preaches non-preachiness, practices as little as possible, and above all, uh…lost my train of thought there. Anyway, if you’d like to find peace on earth and goodwill, man, we’ll help you get started. Right after a little nap,” states dudeism.com.
Moreover, the fans – such as Mark and Patrick who’ve been ordained as Dudeist priests – say “it’s easy as going on the Dudeism web site where, according to the site, more than 100,000 “Dudes” have already been ordained.
“While Dudeism in its official form has been organized as a religion only recently, it has existed down through the ages in one form or another. Probably the earliest form of Dudeism was the original form of Chinese Taoism, before it went all weird with magic tricks and body fluids. The originator of Taoism, Lao Tzu, basically said "smoke ‘em if you got ‘em" and "mellow out, man" although he said this in ancient Chinese so something may have been lost in the translation,” states dudeism.com.
The Dude as a guru to millions of fans
“The Dude became an unintentional guru of sorts in 2005, when the Church of the Latter-Day Dude was born online,” states an overview of Dudeism in a recent edition of Mental floss.
“Over the years, filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen have solidified their status with more than a dozen critically acclaimed films, but none have had quite the same impact as the Big Lebowski. A sleeper-hit in theaters, the immensely quotable movie took off after its home-video release, and it’s often referred to as the First Cult Movie of the Internet Age,” adds Mental floss.
In fact, the film has inspired endless analysis, with one theory that the film is a critique of the Gulf War. According to Mental floss, “it has also reinvigorated bowling, buoyed the sales of White Russian cocktails, and brought back the word ‘dude.’”
Mention “The Dude,” and “you will probably get some dude smiling at you because they know,” quips Mark who dresses in short pants, baggy tee shirt while sporting long, and un kept hair like The Dude.”
Mark and Patrick also note that there’s plenty of “Dude material out there” for dads who are fans of The Dude come this Christmas. “Yea, there’s the special collector’s edition of The Big Lebowski that’s awesome with lots of special features. And, Boarders (*before it closed down in Eugene) had a box set of quotes and other stuff from The Dude that I wanted to get my dad,” adds Mark while getting ready for an afternoon of bowling with Patrick and other “dude” friends here in Eugene.
Also, Mark and Patrick like to point out that Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges “has dude friends in Eugene. Yea, Jeff hangs here, and he is The Dude, man.”
Being one with The Dude is fun, say fans
“Down through the ages, this ‘rebel shrug has fortified many successful creeds – Buddhism, Christianity, Sufism, John Lennonism and Fo’-Shizzle-my-Nizzlism. The idea is this: Life is short and complicated and nobody knows what to do about it. So don’t do anything about it. Just take it easy, man. Stop worrying so much whether you’ll make it into the finals. Kick back with some friends and some oat soda and whether you roll strikes or gutters, do your best to be true to yourself and others – that is to say, abide. Incidentally, the term "dude" is commonly agreed to refer to both genders. Most linguists contend that "Dudette" is not in keeping with the parlance of our times,” states dudeism.com that also serves as the fan site for the film and religion.
In addition to Eugene, the Dude is popular all around the nation this Thanksgiving, with most women agreeing that “the Dude” has influenced how their husbands or boyfriends have that flare for doing nothing during Thanksgiving but drinking, watching TV, eating and then going to see Breaking Dawn if they have to.
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