Banners and Flags in the Big Lebowski - 1998

 Several Flags and important vexillological insignia appear in the riotously funny and quite deep and well thought out film par excellence The Big Lebowski 1998.  Although the film was released in 1998 it is set during the first Iraqi Gulf War of 1991. Here the California State flag is visible when the hero - the Dude - is taken in to police custody for disorderly conduct.

One of the more local and original banners to appear in The Big Lebowski occurs during the diner scene. It reads "Home of the Hamburgers."  Hamburgers are a national dish for Americans. They come in all kinds of varieties, you can even purchase vegetarian or vegan burgers in the US.

US Flag in The Big Lebowski with Malibu police shield. Behind the officer is the US flag.  The Malibu police badge is as sleek as the Malibu name with its name written in cursive. 

 You can barely see a Malibu Flag behind the Dude's head. The Dude is squinting because the officer of the law has just thrown a coffee cup at his head.  The flag in the background has a white fringe along it bottom.

 Notice the unique Saddam Hussein Bowling Pin emblem on his black beret.  Amazingly this film like the first Matrix film coincidentally shows the date of 9/11 before the tragic events unfold three years later in 2001.  Here during a 'dream' sequence Saddam Hussein is working at a bowling alley.  

The classical bowling lane symbol - the three pointed blue crown.

Dr. Frank-N-Furter flag from the Rocky Horror Picture Show

Flag of Dr. Frank-N-Furter from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.  It is shown in the beginning of the film atop the castle.  This film is a ground breaking cult classic.  It addresses the issues of gender identity though a semi-romantic science fiction rock and roll musical.  The film even warns the audience that they will be entering dangerous territory.   

 Arms of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the upper left on shield of arms.  Here the colleagues of Dr. Frank-N-Furter have collapsed after a wild performance of the Time Warp Dance. Although the story is supposed to take place in November - it has became a Halloween Cult Classic.




Here two regular conservative American Pie folk enter the mansion of an alien culture.  At least in the USA, in the 1970s the group ego identity of that a man should be and what a woman should be were challenged.  However by the 1980s a conservative and traditional role of male and female would ring proudly in the mass media. 

Various national flags appear during the Time Warp Dance.  Beginning from the left is the flag of Spain, Scotland, South Africa (retired), Netherlands, Japan, and Greece.

US flag in Cloud Atlas

A movie that sojurns though time and confronts the big issues of life though the media a film.  Cloud Atlas 2012 stars Tom Hanks in an incredible dream like journey though existence. This artful film for mature audiences has the potential to infuse a joyful wonder into reality.  It has the potential to shift the dream scape of Earth's deep dreamers.

In the first publicly released trailer features an 1849 version of the US flag. 

Flags from The Nightmare Before Christmas - 1993

It's the 25th again, so Merry Christmas?  Did you ever wonder what the Christmas Spirit is doing a few days before Halloween?

Back in 1993 the Christmas Spirit did indeed cross over with Halloween thanks to the imagination of Timothy Burton in the Halloween/Christmas classic The Nightmare Before Christmas. 

Notice the Jack-O-Lantern and Skull banners on the left and an orange and black Halloween-Town flag in the corner.  The banners and flag are in the town hall of Halloween-Town. 

In this movie Christmas goes bad when the spirits of Halloween attempt to do and celebrate Christmas. A tricycle with a pirate flag lays ruined in the snow in a graveyard.  The main message of the movie is to be true to your heart, but sometimes you have to fall and make mistakes in order to find yourself.  

The hero of the story does indeed find his true hearts desire.  It rings of that old line of shooting for the stars, no matter what, you will end up in the right place after tragedy and failure push you in the right direction.     

Flag in Millennium - movie from 1989

 Notice the large green, blue, and white flag 

on the right

In 1989 a strange altered definition of what happens during a plane crash was proposed in the film Millennium.  The plot of the movie centered on time travel.  However people from the distant future comeback to the 1900s in order to rescue doomed people in plane crashes.  During this process they switch the bodies with empty copies and take the people who are about to perish to the future.  Perhaps this is what happened to Laika - the first dog in space?  

Flags of several nations make an appearance during a meeting of physicists to seriously discuss the possibility of time travel.  The US flag is next the the flag of Israel and several other nations are further away.  However there is an unknown strange green, white, and blue flag that is higher than all the rest. It is a good chance that it is the flag of the institute?   

 

Serranilla Bank Flag

Sarranilla Bank is a part of the United States stuck in the twilight zone as of 2012 and the  foreseeable future. This is a flag for Serranilla Bank.  It was first charted in 1510 by Spain and claimed by the United States under the Guano Act of the 1800s.

However this island is under claim of several other nations as well, the foremost contender being Colombia.  Nonetheless this flag pays homage to the ancient Spanish Flag denoting its first charting in 1510, before mankind had yet to circumnavigate the Earth.

The five stars represents the five landforms that make up Serranilla Bank. The white stars represent the three cays while the blue stars represent the emergent rocks.  The three cays are known as Middle, East and Beacon.  The rocks are West Breaker and Northeast Breaker.  The United States claim to these islands is tenuous and in dispute.  Essentially the Serranilla Bank Islands are last parts of the USA in contention. This maybe Americas' last chance at territorial expansion. Chances are if the USA gets total control it'll be turned into a marine wild life park.

Bajo Nuevo Bank Flag

Here is a flag for Bajo Nuevo Bank.  "Little Lower Bank" island is in middle of Caribbean, closest to the North American Continent.  Currently the United States has a glimmer of hope of making this tiny of tiny islands a part of the USA.  It was claimed for the USA on November 22, 1869 under the Guano Act

The colours of this flag stem the from original colours of the Netherlands which included a blue, white and orange pattern - since the Dutch first charted these little specks of land in 1634.  The two white stripes represent the two 'large' atolls.  The orange triangle represents a drawing compass.   

Right now its national sovereignty is a kin to Antarctica.  The contenders for ownership include the USA, Jamaica, Colombia, and Nicaragua. 

Omega Centauri Flag - the alpha & omega of Milky Way star clusters

This flag represents one of the most magnificent and beautiful of 'globular clusters' to orbit our galaxy. You can think of globular clusters as a kind of 'galatic-moon'. Perhaps 'Galaxillite' is more fitting?

There are two classes of Galaxillites: the young hot clique like Open Cluster variety and the ancient and wise star network kind scientifically known as the Globular Cluster.

 The Omega Centauri cluster was academically recognized 99 years before the American revolution in 1677 by Edmund Halley, thus a seven pointed comet is in the center. The flag utilizes the Greek letter Omega with a seven pointed comet in the middle.

 Omega Centauri is our grandest of globular star cluster networks. Ironically although it may have omega in its name, it is the ALPHA of star clusters that orbit the Milky Way. And by alpha I mean the brightest and biggest!

Flag of Alpha Centauri Bb

Here is a flag for out as of October 2012, closest neighboring extra-solar planet - Alpha Centarui Bb.  The colours of the flag are black, red, and yellow.  Only four light years away - we are as much a mystery to them as they are to us. 

 Although the closest star to us is in the Southern Skies - the closest Galaxy is in the Northern Hemisphere - Andromeda. 

Swains Island Flag - the US Version

Swains Island in another part of the United States in international Limbo.  The other contender for the land down under is New Zealand. 

The US version of this flag is much like the federal flag except it has a white dove in the canton, which is sometimes facing towards the hoist.

US flag and US Calvary Flag - The Yellow Submarine 1968

The flag of the United States of America appears almost by accident in the 1968 counter culture classic - The Yellow Submarine.  The US flag appears in the head of one of the heads in the headland.  The British Flag also makes an appearance as well.





The film is basically a guide to the ego in altered states of consciousness.  Here Ringo is saved by the US 7th Calvary after 'hitting' the panic button during his amazing voyage into fantasia.  The US Calvary is carrying a guidon that is divided horizontally down the middle with US written in yellow on red and the number seven in red on the white half.

Vexilloids from the Yellow Submarine 1968 - the Blue Meanies

 Notice the Vexilloids

The Yellow Submarine 1968

 1968 was a decisive year for the Global Community.  The United States, Europe, Russia, China, Africa, and South East Asia were embroiled in cultural revolution.  It was also the first year humans were able to enter the gravitational orbit of the moon, and see the earth as one whole - torn with political strife, yet as a beautiful and peaceful sphere of joy in eye of a poet.

1968 was also the year of the Yellow Submarine.  The film takes its title from the Beatles' 10th album - The Yellow Submarine.  However this covert ship from fantasia was on a mission of love and peace.  This story centers on a musical wonderland that becomes over run with 'Blue Meanies.'  The Blue Meanies are ruled by an angry Blue King, who abhors melodic music and harmony .  Rather the Blue Meanies wish to make the world petrified of a loving life.  They assault the happy people of fantasia with negative-toxic bolts and jealously green laden fruits. 

The the army of the Blue Meanies overlooking a ledge.  They are planing their attack on the original Sergeant Pepper and the Lonely Hearts Club Band - who look remarkable like the Beatles.  Notice the two vexilloids they carry in addition to their weapons.  

The blue meanie army is composed of a varied sort - big blue fat cats, shark tummy Turks, angry alligator hand men, humanoid blue troopers, clown bombers, and tall wealthy fruit barons.  But their most impressive fighter is a big blue fist that has speed and power.

The two main divisions of the Blue Meanie Army are divided into two camps.  The blue fimbrated red lightning bolt with pink tassles division and the purple cyclops fancy golden tufted eyebrow and orange wings. 

Close Up of the Blue Meanie Vexilloids - The Yellow Submarine 1968

The Beatles Message for overcoming the 'Blue Meanies' is simply LOVE

UK flags from the animated counter culture classic: The Yellow Submarine - 1968

  The UK flag makes several appearances in the 1968 animated culturally countered escapade featuring the Beatles - The Yellow Submarine.   It appears after the opening title sequence.  

 The UK flag appears during the minute count of the song When I'm 64.  During the 'music video' the movies tells the viewer that "64 years is 33,661,440 minutes and one minute is a very long time."  As the song plays the movie shows that time is a construct in the mind of past, present, and future.  It even suggests that time can go backwards.

The white British Bulldog is wrapped in the British Union Flag.  This combination is an iconic image of British power and wealth. 

The Tower of London with the Union Flag.  The Tower of London is an ancient structure for the English Speaking Family.  Meaning that that it is the ancient ancestor of the US White House.  It was founded nearly one thousand years ago.  And shortly, in the year 2067 its foundation will age unto its 1001th year old.  The famous 'White Tower' built by William the Conqueror will turn one thousand and one years old in the year 2079.
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Watch the Entire 1968 Yellow Submarine Movie Here on Youtube