The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski Imagery

Tripping

After Treehorn drugs the Dude's White Russian, we see him go through a strange drug trip. The imagery is a psychedelic mind-bender that we experience with the Dude as he goes on an astral journey, from a Busby Berkeley–style production number to a miniature Dude facing a gargantuan bowling ball.

Eulogy

Walter gives a eulogy for Donny before they throw his ashes into the Pacific Ocean. The Dude and Walter are seen in a wide shot, dwarfed by the nearby expanse of water. Afterwards, Walter opens the canister that contains Donny's ashes, but the ashes are picked up by the wind and go flying into the Dude's face.

Maude's entrance

When we first encounter Maude, she is swinging from an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys from the ceiling of her giant loft. Naked, she flies overhead, splattering paint on her canvas. This image of the conceptual artist going to extreme lengths to lay paint on a canvas, is a comic representation of the absurdities of the contemporary art world.

Biting the Ear

In the final showdown with the nihilists, Walter refuses to be intimidated by their threats and begins a fight with them. It ends with him biting off Uli's ear and spitting it into the air with a flourish, a grotesquely comic display.