At least it's an ethos.

March 26, 2019 8:28 AM

A Visual Guide to the Big Lebowski. "The Big Lebowski's world is eclectic, diffuse, and supersaturated. Its plot, its soundtrack, its cast of characters, and their conversations: these elements are not centered and uniform but diverse and divergent. As Lebowski fans might put it, there is no rug that ties the room together. How, then, might viewers orient themselves within the film?" This visualization provides a means of exploring this question, for those who are devoted fans, casually acquainted with the film, or simply interested in visual representations of temporal forms. (From Steven Geofrey Braun, information designer.)
posted by Capt. Renault (23 comments total)

(Oops -- visualization link was meant to go here.)
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:29 AM on March 26, 2019

I've only seen the Big Lebowski once, but I've got to say those ads with Jeff Bridges/The Dude asking for a 'Stella Ar-Tose' are starting to ruin my good will towards the movie.
posted by exparrot at 8:30 AM on March 26, 2019 [6 favorites]

They uh, got uh, four more information designers working on the project. They've got us working in shifts!
posted by thelonius at 8:34 AM on March 26, 2019 [9 favorites]

On the topic of ruining good will, the way that exploring the visualization seems to be coupled with scrolling the explanatory text seems to me to be doubleplusungood UI design.
posted by thelonius at 8:37 AM on March 26, 2019 [6 favorites]

On the topic of ruining good will, the way that exploring the visualization seems to be coupled with scrolling the explanatory text seems to me to be doubleplusungood UI design.

Regrettably, it's true. Standards have fallen in adult entertainment.
posted by Cash4Lead at 8:42 AM on March 26, 2019 [8 favorites]

I've only seen the Big Lebowski once, but I've got to say those ads with Jeff Bridges/The Dude asking for a 'Stella Ar-Tose' are starting to ruin my good will towards the movie.

TBL has long been one of those movies that was sort of ruined by its own fandom, and the Stella ads are definitely not helping.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:49 AM on March 26, 2019 [7 favorites]

digs out old vhs tape and pre-digital TV set, watches it all one more time, without a guide. Because did the Dude have a guide? I think not.
posted by philip-random at 8:52 AM on March 26, 2019 [4 favorites]

On the topic of ruining good will, the way that exploring the visualization seems to be coupled with scrolling the explanatory text seems to me to be doubleplusungood UI design.

Yeah, I can't seem to figure out how to just explore the visualization freely. The "repeated lines" stars can't be clicked early on, but once they're explained you can't move around the visualization to look at them.
posted by notsnot at 9:05 AM on March 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

Drag and move the visualization to explore along with the text.
I eventually got this to work, sort of
posted by thelonius at 9:09 AM on March 26, 2019

Am I the only one around here that gives a shit about the rules of good UI?
posted by allkindsoftime at 9:16 AM on March 26, 2019 [20 favorites]

This isn't ux, Donny. There are rules.
posted by kaibutsu at 9:45 AM on March 26, 2019 [4 favorites]

Am I the only one around here that gives a shit about the rules of good UI?

"Gooey? How did it get all sticky?"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, DONNY.

G-U-I.

GRAPHICAL. USER. INTERFACE."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:54 AM on March 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

So.. it's a timeline? Why the curvy shape?
posted by Nelson at 10:11 AM on March 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

So.. it's a timeline? Why the curvy shape?

“To characterize the structure of a film like The Big Lebowski, one rule reigns supreme: any assumption of linearity must be banished at the door. As a nod to that rule, this visualization takes the meandering, tangled nature of the film’s narrative literally...”

... one of those movies that was sort of ruined by its own fandom ...

Yeah? Well, that's just, like, uh, your opinion, man.
posted by tempestuoso at 10:29 AM on March 26, 2019 [4 favorites]

As Lebowski fans might put it, there is no rug that ties the room together.

I seriously doubt anyone would put it like that.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:40 AM on March 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

Thanks for the quote on linearity. But it's a linear visualization! The curves don't mean anything in particular do they? Maybe it's just an aesthetic. Or maybe, like with the film, I'm just not high enough to appreciate it.
posted by Nelson at 11:39 AM on March 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

I was excited mildly to see the graphic. It was disappointingly craptastic. The scrolly business really works badly on the pad.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 12:46 PM on March 26, 2019

Everything's a fucking travesty with you, CSS.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:39 PM on March 26, 2019

The grab-and-scroll is only functional once the text is sufficiently scrolled down (about 2/3 or 3/4 of the total way), which is terrible and stupid, but hopefully me saying it is helpful to someone,. I realize this is an art project, but I really hope this person just sucks at UI design, not that crappy UI is some kind of commentary.
posted by axiom at 5:59 PM on March 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

Maybe the designer is a nihilist.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:00 PM on March 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

His girlfriend cut off her toe. She thought we were going to get easily navigable visualization.
posted by taquito sunrise at 1:51 AM on March 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

any assumption of linearity must be banished at the door,

Isn't this just wrong? There might be a series of reveals, but the narrative proceeds from beginning to end in a pretty linear fashion.
posted by each day we work at 1:55 AM on March 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

I still grab and scroll manually.
posted by condour75 at 5:10 AM on March 27, 2019 [1 favorite]