Locating the Hippie Archetype in Film During the Age of Aquarius: A Study of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Inherent Vice, and The Big Lebowski

Modern American filmmakers have often turned their gaze upon Hippie culture. Three specific filmmakers have made movies that portray Hippies: Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, and the Coen brothers, Joel, and Ethan. Each of these directors presents a different and unique representation of a Hippie in their respective films, 2019’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (OUATIH), Inherent Vice (2014), and The Big Lebowski (1998). The Hippies in OUATIH are represented by their antithesis: Manson cultists. The protagonist of Inherent Vice, Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello, acts as the ideal Hippie portrait. Meanwhile, in The Big Lebowski, the main character, the Dude, is a burnt-out Hippie stoner. I argue that these three representations are so disparate because of where they land on a timeline in history. OUATIH takes place in 1969, Inherent Vice is set in 1970, and The Big Lebowski takes place in 1991. Because of the various fluctuations in popularity that Hippie culture underwent over the years, each of these settings informs a different depiction of the Hippie archetype. In 1969, the Hippies are at their height until Sharon Tate’s tragic murder at the hands of Manson’s goons. In 1970, Hippies are dealing with the aftermath of the blow delt to their movement. Lastly, by the early 1990s, the Hippies are an endangered species.

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Work Title Locating the Hippie Archetype in Film During the Age of Aquarius: A Study of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Inherent Vice, and The Big Lebowski
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Open Access
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  1. Cody Dawson
License No Copyright - U.S.
Work Type Masters Thesis
Publication Date April 27, 2022
Deposited April 21, 2022

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    • Modern American filmmakers have often turned their gaze upon Hippie culture. Three specific filmmakers have made movies that portray Hippies: Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, and the Coen brothers, Joel, and Ethan. Each of these directors presents a different and unique representation of a Hippie in their respective films, 2019’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (OUATIH), Inherent Vice (2014), and The Big Lebowski (1998). The Hippies in OUATIH are represented by their antithesis: Manson cultists. The protagonist of Inherent Vice, Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello, acts as the ideal Hippie portrait. Meanwhile, in The Big Lebowski, the main character, the Dude, is a burnt-out Hippie stoner. I argue that these three representations are so disparate because of where they land on a timeline in history. OUATIH takes place in 1969, Inherent Vice is set in 1970, and The Big Lebowski takes place in 1991. Because of the various fluctuations in popularity that Hippie culture underwent over the years, each of these settings informs a different depiction of the Hippie archetype. In 1969, the Hippies are at their height until Sharon Tate’s tragic murder at the hands of Manson’s goons. In 1970, Hippies are dealing with the aftermath of the blow delt to their movement. Lastly, by the early 1990s, the Hippies are an endangered species.
    • Modern American filmmakers have often turned their gaze upon Hippie culture. Three specific filmmakers have made movies that portray Hippies: Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, and the Coen brothers, Joel, and Ethan. Each of these directors presents a different and unique representation of a Hippie in their respective films, 2019’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (OUATIH), Inherent Vice (2014), and The Big Lebowski (1998). The Hippies in OUATIH are represented by their antithesis: Manson cultists. The protagonist of Inherent Vice, Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello, acts as the ideal Hippie portrait. Meanwhile, in The Big Lebowski, the main character, the Dude, is a burnt-out Hippie stoner. I argue that these three representations are so disparate because of where they land on a timeline in history. OUATIH takes place in 1969, Inherent Vice is set in 1970, and The Big Lebowski takes place in 1991. Because of the various fluctuations in popularity that Hippie culture underwent over the years, each of these settings informs a different depiction of the Hippie archetype. In 1969, the Hippies are at their height until Sharon Tate’s tragic murder at the hands of Manson’s goons. In 1970, Hippies are dealing with the aftermath of the blow delt to their movement. Lastly, by the early 1990s, the Hippies are an endangered species.
  • Added Cody P. Dawson Thesis.pdf
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    • 2022-04-21
    • 2022-04-27
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    • https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/
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