Fargo and The Big Lebowski

April 14th –

We are all inside now. If we leave the house and visit our friends, then it’s against all medical science and logic or a place where the absurdity of existence has taken over. “Stay at home!” – You’ll get screamed at. You’ll shuffle on and grumble to yourself, “Well, if I’m going to get this thing, I’m going to get this thing. If I’m not, I’m not.”

And that’s about the mantra you can take with Coen Brothers movies. You’ll either get them or you won’t.

Here are some podcasts for those of you who get them. The episodes are not a complete bowing to the source material or lauding the Coens for being geniuses, but the podcast episodes also don’t rip the movies apart.

I’m listening to The First Edition song “Just Dropped In”. I would have never listened to this song had it not been for The Big Lebowski. They take obscure music, cartoony characters, bumbling thieves, and over the top violence and put it all together. The Coens’ movies are about music and mood and characters. Plot is something to be meandered through. Add all of those things together, and you get something that hits my brain and soul in the sweet spot.

I think Fargo and The Big Lebowski should be watched as close to back-to-back as you can stand. The same day, ideally. The same weekend is also acceptable.

The Big Lebowski is a retort to the brutalism of Fargo. Fargo is mostly violent and brooding, but funny in parts. The Big Lebowski is funny, but sometimes brutal and brooding.

Enjoy the Yin and Yang of these two gems. Tumble on.

Fargo: https://anchor.fm/culture-implosion/episodes/Coen-Brothers-Movie-Club-6–Fargo-1996-ecckoe

The Big Lebowski: https://anchor.fm/culture-implosion/episodes/Coen-Brothers-Movie-Club-7–The-Big-Lebowski-ecpuob

Main Podcast site: https://anchor.fm/culture-implosion

Also available on Spotify, Google, Apple, whatever. Look for the not great podcast name “Culture Implosion”.

Be excellent to each other.

-Pete