What happens: Having had his White Russian drugged by adult film baron Jackie Treehorn, The Dude has a trippy dream that takes in all of his experiences over the course of the Coen Brother's classic crime caper - bowling, Saddam Hussein, Julianne Moore, weird 90s pornos - set to the equally trippy 60s pop song "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" by The First Edition. The symbolism is...pretty obvious. Bowling balls flanking a pin, that sort of thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z92bykaeV4o What it means: "To dream that you are bowling represents the strikes, hits, and misses in your life. If you are bowling a bad game, then you may be expressing some regrets. If you are bowling strike after strike, then it suggests that you are on your way toward a successful future. The dream may also be a pun on your striking performance and/or stellar ability." I guess The Dude could be thinking about bowling. It's one of the few things he does regularly, besides getting beaten up by nihilists. "To dream that you bowl a gutter ball suggests that you are stuck in a rut and need to make some changes of where your life is headed." Well, the imaginary film The Dude finds himself in is called Gutterballs, but I think he's pretty happy with his lot in life. He just wants a rug, man. "Alternatively, bowling and bowling alleys may also be a metaphor for sexual conquest. Consider the sexual innuendos that are at play in the bowling alley. The pins and bowling balls can be viewed as masculine symbols. The pin deck is symbolic of the womb or vagina (as is with any dark receptacle like caves, bowls, containers, etc.)." That's just, like, your opinion, man.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
