Donnie Darko PLOT explaination

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Do not read this unless you have read "The Philosophy of Time Travel"

The Artifact (in this case a jet engine) Provides the first sign that the Tangent Universe has happened. (fyi, it was made of metal!)

Donnie somehow got ouside of God's path by sleepwalking and escaping death. The cause of his sleepwalking: becoming the Living Reciever. Sleepwalking is one of the side effects of being the Living Reciever. Other side effects are increased strength, telekinesis, mind control, and the ability to conjure fire and water. Donnie knew what he had become, which is why he had the creepy smirk. (Note how Gretchan says "Donnie Darko? What kind of name is that? It sounds like the name of a superhero." Then Donnie says "what makes you think I'm not?)

He became the Living Reciever by escaping God's path. So which came first? This one event had no single cause to it. (Debating it loops continously)

The Philosophy of Time Travel states:

"The primary universe is fraught with great peril. War, plague, famine and natural disaster are common. Death comes to us all.

The Fourth Dimension of Time is a stable construct, though it is not impenetrable.

Incidents when the fabric of the fourth dime(n)sion becomes corrupted are incredibly rare.

If a Tangent Universe occurs, it will be highly unstable, sustaining itself for no longer than several weeks.

Eventually it will collapse upon itself, forming a black hole within the Primary Universe capable of destroying all existence."

So if Donnie were not to return the Artifact in time, both universes would be destroyed all life would end. When Frank said the world would end, he didn't mean the universe would end. He said the world as we know it would end. We only know the world as far as we can conciously experiance. If we are dead, we cannot conciously experiance the world. If you die, the world (for you)ends.

the moment he escaped death, one member of the Manipulated Living (Frank) tells him when the Tangent Universe in which he has just created (by escaping God's path) will end.

In the Tangent Universe, every person associated becomes the Manipulated Living. Metal is the transitional element of time travel. The Manipulated Living caused events which point the Living Reciever to bring the metal (jet engine) back to its original universe, thus creating a new time portal back to the last event of Go'd original path before the Tangent Universe was created.

Every event that happened had a purpose. The Manipulated Dead have the ability to set traps for the Living Reciever, which lead him to bring the Artifact back into the Primary Univers (God's destined present/future)

Frank was a Manipulated Dead, he set a trap for the Living Reciever(Donnie) so he could complete his mission. This was Frank's trap:

He purposly ran over Gretchan, because Gretchan was the only thing he cared about in this world. Frank knew it would make Donnie angry, so that Donnie would kill Frank. Since Donnie killed Frank, he was going to prison, and he knew that.

That way, Donnie would have even more inclination to return the artifact to the Primary Universe, because if he didn't, not only would the world(s) end, but Donnie would die alone in prison. So Donnie had no choice but to use his Fourth Dimensional Power to send the Artifact back into the Primary Universe, and make all things begin at where God's plan left off. That was Frank's trap.

All the Manipulated Living wake up in the end, when they are no longer living in the Tangent Universe, but in the Primary Universe. They are crying because they portrayed everything that actually happened in the Tangent Universe to be a dream. All the irrational, and bizzare behavior they took part in for a purpose, disturbed them in their dreams. This is why they cried. (Jim Cunningham, Gym Teacher, etc.)

So this Tangent Universe was comparable to, say, a rabbit cage. like an inclosed yet false(not in God's plan) environment.

All the people in the environment(Tangent Universe), are comparible to, say, rabbits.

Frank was a rabbit acting like a human.

All the humans were humans acting like "rabbits" metaphorically speaking.

This is why in the movie theatre, Donnie asks Frank, "Why are you wearing that stupid bunnie suit?" Frank then replies, "Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?

Cellar Door: What it stood for was that the most artistic, beutiful thing can be "ugly"(cellar door), but the beauty behind it is that it is art. It had no meaning. The beauty of its exsistence having no meaning at all can be...beautiful. The english teacher(Manipulated Living) writing it on the board was another act to guide donnie into returning the Arifact. It made Donnie open the cellar door to Roberta Sparrow's house, so that he and Gretchen would be in a dark place. This dark place would be a good place for them to get "mugged" by that highschool punk kid. This event led to Gretchen being thrown into the middle of the road, which led to Frank killing her, which was the beginnig of Frank's plot in the first place.

Extra Notes:

How did Donnie get the axe in the Middlesex High statue made of pure bronze? Controlling metal is one of the powers a Living Reciever has.

Also notice how he used water to flood the school. Just a thought.

The fat guy in the orange suit seemed very random at first glance. Its not. If you watch carfully, the fat guy in the orange suit is also one of the FAA agents from the beginning (at the scene of the jet engine). The FAA are following Donnie Darko around.

Donnie Darko is a movie full of metaphorical meaning, some not contributing to the plot.(humans/bunnies, vice versa)

Did that explain the story better or am I completly wrong here?

 
All I know is that I want to go watch Donnie Darko again.

Thanks, that's certainly not going to help my senior thesis get itself completed.
 
thats pretty tight.

my religion teacher told me that there it is a really religious movie too. like symbolism between characters in the movie and religious history

[eg: donnie=jesus(had to sacrifice himself), frank=god, people in tangent=people jesus died for, jim cunningham=pharisees, ect...(goes on and on)]
 
yup. Like I said, there are tons of metaphors in that movie. I have only noticed a few. theres probably more.

and in case you haven't read this yet...

The Philosophy of Time Travel

Chapter One: The Tangent Universe

The primary universe is fraught with great peril. War, plague, famine and natural disaster are common. Death comes to us all.

The Fourth Dimension of Time is a stable construct, though it is not impenetrable.

Incidents when the fabric of the fourth dime(n)sion becomes corrupted are incredibly rare.

If a Tangent Universe occurs, it will be highly unstable, sustaining itself for no longer than several weeks.

Eventually it will collapse upon itself, forming a black hole within the Primary Universe capable of destroying all existence.

Chapter Two: Water and Metal

Water and Metal are the key elements of Time Travel.

Water is the barrier element for the construction of Time Portals used as gateways between Universes at the Tangent Vortex.

Metal is the transitional element for the construction of Artifact Vessels.

Chapter Four: The Artifact And The Living

When a Tangent Universe occurs, those living nearest to the Vortex will find themselves at the epicenter of a dangerous new world.

Artifacts provide first sign that a Tangent Universe has occured.

If an Artifact occurs, the Living will retrieve it with great interest and curiosity. Artifacts are formed from metal, such as an Arrowhead from an ancient Mayan civilisation, or a Metal Sword from Medieval Europe.

Artifacts returned to the Primary Universe are often linked to religious Iconography, as their appearance on Earth seems to defy logical explanation.

Divine intervention is deemed the only logical conclusion for the appearance for the Artifact.

Chapter Six: The Living Receiver

The Living Receiver is chosen to guide the Artifact into position for its journey back to the Primary Universe.

No one knows how or why a Receiver will be chosen.

The Living Receiver is often blessed with a Fourth Dimensional Powers. These include increased strength, telekinesis, mind control, and the ability to conjure fire and water.

The Living Receiver is often tormented by terrifying dreams, visions and auditory hallucinations during his time within the Tangent Universe.

Those surrounding the Living Receiver, known as the Manipulated, will fear him and try to destroy him.

Chapter Seven: The Manipulated Living

The Manipulated Living are often the close friends and neighbours of the Living Receiver.

They are prone to irrational, bizarre, and often violent behaviour. This is the unfortunate result of their task, which is to assist the Living Receiver in returning the Artifact to the Primary Universe.

The Manipulated Living will do anything to save themselves from Oblivion.

The Manipulated Dead

The Manipulated Dead are more powerful than the Living Receiver. If a person dies within the Tangent Dimension, they are able to contact the Living Receiver through the Fourth Dimensional Construct.

The Fourth Dimensional Construct is made of Water.

The Manipulated Dead will manipulate the Living Receiver using the Fourth Dimensional Construct (see Appendix A and B).

The Manipulated Dead will often set an Ensurance Trap for the Living Receiver to ensure that the Artifact is returned safely to the Primary Universe.

If the Ensurance Trap is succesful, the Living Receiver is left with no choice but to use his Fourth Dimensional Power to send the Artifact back in time into the Primary Universe before the Black Hole collapses upon itself.

Chapter Twelve: Dreams

When the Manipulated awaken from their Journey into the Tangent Universe, they are often haunted by the experience in their dreams.

Many of them will not remember.

Those who do remember the Journey are often overcome with profound remorse for the regretful actions buried within their Dreams, the only physical evidence buried within the Artifact itself; all that remains from the lost world.

Ancient myth tells us of the Mayan Warrior killed by an Arrowhead that had fallen from a cliff, where there was no Army, no enemy to be found.

We are told of the Medievel Knight mysteriously impaled by the sword he had not yet built.

We are told that these things occur for a reason.
 
let me correct myself:

Frank was a manipulated dead, not a manipulated living as I stated in the beginning

Frank's trap did not start when gretchen got run over. Frank's trap started the moment Donnie escaped death. That is all.
 
i love donnie darko... but it got wayyyy too played out. when i was in high school, all these kids thought they were so indie and underground because they watched donnie darko and of course they "understood every bit of it". sooo lame. it's still a dope movie though.
 
-i get it man

-OH! i know man, isnt it just crazy

-for sure dude, i was just like WOAH!

cant tell you how many of those conversations ive heard
 
lol he didnt read it silly ahahah. he is just sharing it with us.

anyway yeah, donnie darko has a lot of symbolism hidden. religious and the like.

it also sends a universally understood and respected message.
 
Yeah, does anyone have an answer to that? I always thought it was wierd and never got how it fully fit into the time travel thing. Also at the end when Gretchen waves at her and then she waves back and then the kid raises his hand to wave too... wasn't that sort of wierd/seem like it meant something?
 
haha no I actually wrote that whole thing.

the philosophy of time travel, i did not write, but the first post was written all by me. It may suprise you, but theres more to me than peeing in people's butts.
 
the Engine was the artifact and the portal was a way the artifact could be sent between the Tangent and th Primary Universes.
 
nothing special. all turbines on engines have a spiral paint job on them so if you were to look at it, you could tell it was spinning. if it were only one color, you might not be able to tell it was on and you may get sucked in like that guy on the aircraft carrier video.
 
false. it symbolizes eternity and the universe and how it continues to spin round and round and never end, but for donnie it did, hence the slowing of it
 
the point of the spiral is explained on the donnie darko website

the going to jail theory sucks

the reason they wave is because gretchen knows subconciously that donnie died for her and the mother also knows this

the living reciever has super strong strength therefore breaking the statue

notice how the living reciever can control fire and water (donnie flooded the school and burned jim's house down)

donnie did not have to die, he choose to die so gretchen would not have died

the reason donnie laughs at the end is because he finally realizes the irony of the bunnies

also note how jim shows the slideshow and tells them that FRANK is a troubled boy. later donnie calls him the fuckin anit-christ
 
^nice thinking on the anti-christ because isnt Frank god in the movie supposedly

And i think donnie returned everything so he wouldnt hurt the people he loves by just ending all of the mess that was about to happen
 
oh wait nevermind that. The one I posted was my first draft, and I made a few mistakes (i.e "donnie able to vandilize statue because of ability to conjure metal")
 
when the movie first came out people said it was ambiguos and made so it ddnt make sense but richard kelley says that its not
 
Perfect except he got the axe in the statue because he also gains superhuman strength. Water is a source of power for all the powers, thats why he floods the school and why the mirror has ripples in it.
 
Nice job. Since you've gone this far, why not expand on the meaning of the movie? You could have some interesting ideas if you develop the human/bunny thing and the idea that the world only exists as long as you're there to experience it. I also really liked this part; "The beauty of its exsistence having no meaning at all can be...beautiful". That's a very anti-religious statement in a film with such strong ties to religion. You could really do an interesting analysis of the film if you want, and I think it would be more rewarding than a plot explanation.
 
thanks dude i really needed that

im real into the whole meanings of movies thing a lot and all but the most memorable part of that movie is the part where hes talking about fucking to his psychiatrist and she asks about his family and he says "idont think about fucking my family thats gross" dude thats so hilarious i laughed pretty hard at that
 
but uh does the fact that the object came from the plane hisd mom and sister were in at the end have anything do with this? also what about the poem the teacher was having them read does this have any connection to the time travel stuff?
 
Just saw this movie, really a brain cruncher, crazy shit to be thinking about. Good movie though i really liked it, i missed, oh the first 9 mins i think but i still got it pretty good. Confusing shit but after reading this i now get alot more of it.
 
I just watched this movie...thanks Tanaka for explaining what the hell is going on in that flick...but here's one thing I still don't understand. Whats up with those worm things that came out of their chests?
 
haha yeah word.

I saw it in like 2001 when it came out.

then told a few people about it last year..... and then all the sudden its some big popular thing.
 
Well I haven't seen it yet just because well... I never had a reason to. Reading this thread though is wicked entertaining and interesting so now I really want to go and see this movie now.
 
haha i just watched it for the 2nd time last night and i was really looking for an explination on some things and this more than cleared it up.

one more question though- when donnie and his science teacher are talking about time travel and such, why does he say that he could loose his job if he keeps talking to donnie about it?

thats one thing that was bothering me
 
wow i loved that movie soo much and watch it at work all the time but i never realized it had all the religious symbolism. Time to tell my teacher to let us watch it in ethics. thank you for your wonderful insight
 
i read the Da Vinci code and saw donny darko and i bet that donnies girlfriend is mary magdelena or whatever her name is(jesus's girlfriend)
 
just picked up donnie darko Director's Cut DVD and it's fucking great, lots of new stuff... i suggest checking it out
 
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