Is ambition a positive trait? When given the opportunity for a revolutionary life, should achievers be praised? The films Fargo and The Big Lebowski answer this question bare, unraveling it in service of simplistic conflicts.

The settings of each film are undoubtedly familiar to an American audience. Mentioning Fargo and Los Angeles would form images of everyday locales. But the opening credits force us to view these two locales through a different lens.

In “Fargo”, the roads between North Dakota and Minnesota are a grand endless landscape of snow, perfectly white and uniform. It is an epic setting.

The Big Lebowski opening credits show a bowling alley to ground the tone. A casual gathering place enhanced through intense close-ups and glossy texture, where every bowler achieves a strike. It’s dream-like, unreal, and we are taught to expect the grand from the ordinary.

Each film’s premise seems to follow that promise. “Fargo” presents a staged kidnapping that promises one million dollars. “The Big Lebowski” presents a staged kidnapping that promises one million dollars. Very original.

All this hype, and yet the plots are best described as comedies that delve into pitiable. How? The answer is found with the ordinary folk who orchestrate these schemes.

Gaear Grimsrud and Jeffery Lebowski are the disrupters of Fargo and The Big Lebowski settings through the promise of wealth. Yet they are the most pathetic of all the characters.

Grimsrud presents himself as a serious criminal, yet it’s him who exposes the operation by killing three people. At the moment, these killings are presented as logical, a means to an end of ensuring no witnesses, but this glosses over Grimsrud’s true nature. By the end, Jerry’s wife is killed simply because Grimsrud was annoyed. And Carl isn’t just killed, he’s put through a wood chipper, an act ludicrously violent for no good reason. Grimsrud is no professional criminal; he’s immature.

Lebowski is just as much of a poser, presenting himself rich through loopholes. The nonexistent one million dollars is treated as a throwaway in spite of Bunny alone being a danger to his social standing. And when all crashes and burns, Lebowski can only wail as he’s thrown out of his wheelchair by a common ‘bum.’

The insecurities of both summon losses onto the supporting cast and themselves. In a way, they get what they wanted: Attention, but for all the wrong reasons. Among those roped into the central plot are Jerry Ludegard and Walter Sobchak.

Jerry’s yearn for money comes from the desire to escape the mundane. His home life is dreadfully unassuming, and his job is an aimless means to an end. There’s an admirable nature to Jerry’s insistent determination, this money can go to supporting his family. But it’s all in poor faith, especially when Jerry’s refusal of police involvement makes him just as selfish as Grimsrud. In spite of people dying, Jerry hopelessly believes he will produce some profit. Jerry’s arrest is pitiable because we know he could’ve lived a humble life.

Walter rejects mundaneness because he desires to prove himself extraordinary. Being a Vietnam veteran, Walter holds bitterness from being tossed aside, and believes that the one million dollars can earn him a new life. But Walter’s involvement spoils The Dude’s peaceful life, bringing the loss of his car, his rug, and his friend. Like Jerry, you understand that Walter wants the best for himself and The Dude, which creates some empathy. And while Walter is not arrested, he is punished with the loss of Donny.

For both, in spite of their lengths, they end in worse places than they start. What’s saddest of all is that Jerry and Walter eventually yearn for their now tainted mundanity. Jerry cries because he realizes how detrimental it all was. Walter spreads Donny’s ashes so he can cope with his failure.The plot’s futility is highlighted when Steve Buscemi’s character is killed in both films.

In “Fargo”, Carl isn’t just murdered, he becomes a prop. The woodchipper murder is appalling because it represents a loss of humanity. There’s no denying Carl as an unrighteous figure, but he’s still a person who Grimswurd reduces to something less. By the time Grimswurd is placed at the back of a police car, the action’s pointlessness is realized. A human body has been discreated in service of selfish ego.

Donny’s heart attack is a culmination of how overwhelming “The Big Lebowski’s” plot is. The bowling alley was once a haven for our main cast. By the end, the nihilists have scoured it. And with it, the most innocent of the group is unable to handle increased stakes. Donny was a character too normal for this story. Two deaths, both ill-fated, both preventable.

But both stories have an anchor: Marge Gunderson and The Dude; surprising because of their initial misfit. The pregnancy makes Marge appear as an everyday figure roped into a crime drama, a combination that should not match.  And The Dude, he’s a nobody. And yet he is the hero of “The Big Lebowski,” where crime groups are running amidst. In stories composed of aspirations, why are these two praised as inspirations? Well, sometimes, a good person doesn’t have to be a hero.

There’s a reason they call him The Dude. To name yourself The Dude is to be reduced to a common noun, a name striped personal identity. But with The Dude comes humbleness. Our Dude isn’t focused on riches, he’s focused on living in a way worthwhile for him. The Dude wants his rug because he likes it, and The Dude mourns his friend because his presence was meaningful. With this gratitude, The Dude becomes the bigger Lebowski.

Marge hits a lot of the same notes as The Dude, only a lot healthier. Marge solves the murders in a roundabout way. She’s patient, and takes her time to perform thorough investigations. Throughout, we see Marge elevate her values of kindness, allowing her to find optimism greater than any of “Fargo”’s cast.Most importantly, these characters expose the good of their settings.

In spite of “Fargo”’s sinister plot, the film characterizes an outgoing setting. Marge highlights people who are pleasant and easy to handle. These people ground us, it reminds us that this is a story about everyday folk.

The Dude’s approachable nature quells the roulette of characters, The Stranger most exemplifying of this. While The Stranger recognizes The Dude’s downsides, he elevates The Dude’s qualities of humbleness. While he admits that Los Angeles is a normal place, he recognizes the nice people who reside because of The Dude’s story.

Maybe it’s alright to strive for something familiar. No matter how many times you reframe it, a million dollar goose chase remains fruitless. “Fargo” and “The Big Lebowski” tell the same story to remind us what matters in life, and how delusion can prove unpleasant. Why fuss over nonexistent money when bowling and Arbie’s can be enjoyed with the people we care about. Sometimes, there’s a person, and that can be enough to enjoy a beautiful day.

And if you disagree, well, that’s just, you know, like, your opinion dear reader.