Dudism, and the Pursuit of Dude

So last semester I was in the class "Leisure and Society", and we were assigned a group project where we needed to analyze a movie of our choice and how it related to recreation or leisure. It didn't take long for the group that I was in to choose The Big Lebowski. The movie just exudes leisure, especially through the life of the protagonist, The Dude, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. Initially we chose the movie just because they like to bowl a lot, but soon we discovered that the movie had a pretty interesting impact on the world since it's debut.

Normally when people say the worship a movie or a character in it, they are usually just joking around, but in the case of this movie, some wouldn't be lying. A religion, based on the lifestyle of The Dude, was founded and that religion is known as... Dudism. Sure at first it seems like a joke, but then you realize that some people are actually serious about this. They have books, had specials on Dateline, and offer up the chance to become an ordained Dudist priest (which is hilarious in it's own right).

Basically, Dudism is based on a modern form of Taoism, with it's main principle being to take it easy, man. A religion where everyone lounges around in a funemployed state and rolling with the punches is definitely an interesting idea, and one that more one person has gotten behind. In short, media can have impact in unusual and unexpected ways. I'm sure the Coen brothers had no idea that a religion would spawn from the movie, but such is life. In any case, Dudism was born, and I personally feel that it is a cool faith to follow or practice, but that's just, like, my opinion, man.