Since time immemorial, scholars have studied the vaunted topics of ethics, myths, and war. Todd A. Comer finds an examination of all three in an unexpected place: The Big Lebowski, the 1998 cult favorite that turned White Russians and bowling rivalries into cultural icons.

For Comer, the Dude (played by Jeff Bridges) is a casual hero, one who counters every threat with a kind of stoner pacifism. In the grocery store scene where we meet Jeffrey Lebowski, notes Comer, a television “transmits George Bush Sr.’s famous sound bite following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait: ‘This is a call for collective action…this aggression will not stand.’” When the Dude adopts the language in a confrontation with thugs who have soiled his rug, Comer argues that “in a small way, he becomes Bush.”

In fact, the film shows repeated conflicts between aggression and pacifism. As the Dude confronts friends, nihilists, and a confused series of events, the film remains in conversation with issues of war and peace.