The Reversal of Societal Gender Roles

While women in the film were the ones with all the power and control, the men were portrayed as failures, a blatant contrast to society’s stereotypes for these two genders at that time period-although women weren’t exactly thought of as failures then, just somewhat inferior to men. If we look at the two main female characters in the film, Maude and Bunny, we see that the film essentially grows and develops through Bunny’s actions (control), and while the men in the film deceive and fight one another to gain their own perception of power and control, Maude is above them all, with the knowledge of everything that’s going on throughout the film. Knowledge is power, and while Bunny has control-although some would say unconscious control-Maude has the power in the film. If Bunny hadn’t run off, a kidnapping would never of occurred, which was the driving force behind the plot of the movie. Similarly, Maude had so much power that she used The Dude, the epitome of a male failure, for his seed so she could bear a child and willingly raise it on her own. Besides the effect she had on the male race, more evidence of Maude’s power is seen in her genuine wealth and fortune, especially when compared to Mr. Lebowski, who faked his own fame and fortune. Ultimately, an effect of the Coen Brothers’ film was an interesting, and at times humorous, interpretation of what society would be like if societal roles were reversed, and women became the ones with all the power and control. However, luckily for the male race, we still have a little ways to go in the evolution of society before that becomes a realistic possibility.