How well do you think The Big Lebowski has aged?
I'm not here to say The Big Lebowski is overrated. Far from it--I loved this movie in high school in the early 2000s (it was easily one of the most quoted films in my group of friends) and I still do today. But upon recently revisiting the film, I got to asking myself how well The Big Lebowski has aged--and if the answer is not so well, whether that could explain why many younger viewers of the film find it overrated or underwhelming.
A few quick observations/thoughts. The performances and many of the lines will always be brilliant, especially John Goodman's. Interestingly, there aren't a whole of lot of cultural and/or time references (OK, perhaps Tara Ried as the "it" girl of that time and the old cell phone, among a few others) which would make the film feel dated. But nevertheless, I couldn't help thinking on my most recent viewing that the film feels quite of its own time. The 90s were mostly a boom time in the US: lots of people getting very rich off the stock market, relative peace after the Gulf War in the early part of the decade. Young people often felt disconnected or disenfranchised from this system. Hence the appeal of the anti-heroes of the Dude and Walt. Back then, these characters were refreshing, even appealing, in their non-conformity to the capitalistic values of the US. Whereas today--where even as a contrarian or hipster, you still subscribe to the corporate ethos of our Gods of Apple and Google--they would be labeled as awkward, strange, pathetic. Although we celebrate diversity more than ever now, when it comes to diversity of character of personality, we're actually more similar to each other than ever before.
So what do you think? Is Lebowski a relic of its time or still relevant today?