Sleeping through The Big Lebowski: Sleep, Dreams, and Rest in the Coen Brothers' Films and Jeff Bridges' Music

This paper examines incidents and themes of sleeping, dreaming, and resting within Joel and Ethan Coen's early filmography and their intensification in the 1998 feature film The Big Lebowski. These incidents and themes are also present, to some degree, in certain Raymond Chandler detective stories and adaptations thereof, which influenced The Big Lebowski. The Big Lebowski involves a convoluted mystery that prevents its characters, especially protagonist The Dude (Jeff Bridges) from resting, so his quest for ultimate relaxation goes unresolved. Sleeping Tapes, a later work of sleep music by Bridges, serves as a spiritual successor to The Big Lebowski by providing the relaxation sought by The Dude and positioning Bridges as a sleep and dream guide for listeners.