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| Donnie Darko: an interpretation ASSUMPTIONS AND HYPOTHESES Donnie isn't insane; the events of the movie are actually happening as we see them; they aren't the product of Donnie's mental issues. Frank, the rabbit, is God. Donnie was destined to die when the aircraft engine fell through the roof. That was "God's channel" for his life (a phrase that surfaces later in the movie during talks about predestination). Donnie did not die as he was supposed to. As a result of this, reality is tearing apart and the world will end soon. To restore reality and save the universe, Donnie must return to God's channel--he must go back in time and die as he was originally supposed to. All of the characters Donnie encounters in the movie--Gretchen, Jim Cunningham, Grandma Death, his therapist, all of them--are there to guide him to the right choice. Between Frank's guidance ("I will show you the way") and the subtle encouragement of the other characters, Donnie is guided towards his final choice and arrives at the end prepared to make the right decision. This point probably merits some elaboration. Almost everything that happens to Donnie in the film leads progressively him further along the path of knowledge and discovery, further along the path towards his ultimate choice. He is being nudged and prodded by all the other characters in the film towards his choice. For instance, Frank tells Donnie to break the school water main. As a result, Donnie meets Gretchen and they start going out. Gretchen and her advice play a major role in Donnie's choice (in the final moments of the film, he remembers her quote about going into the past to undo wrongs). Grandma Death and the Noah Wyle character are there to help Donnie understand the concepts of time travel and free will/predestination, so that he knows the stakes he's dealing with. The therapist's final speech with Donnie is quite blatant in this regard--she warns him not to let the world end; she also draws subtle connections between Frank and God. Drew Barrymore's character pushes Donnie towards his encounter inside the "cellar door" at Grandma Death's. Even slimy Jim Cunningham is there to warn Donnie not to be afraid--to make his choice based on Love, not Fear. At one point, Donnie's gym teacher urges his mother to direct Donnie down the "path of righteousness." And throughout the whole movie, of course, Frank tells Donnie what to do next--he himself never tells Donnie what is going on, but he urges him to take actions and meet people who will prepare him for his final choice. Donnie makes the correct choice at the end, choosing to sacrifice himself to repair the broken universe. Using the time travel knowledge he has learned, he "rides" the airplane engine back into the past to die. The universe is saved. Why did Frank (God) pull Donnie out of his chosen channel to start with? Because he wanted Donnie to choose his fate instead of simply blindly going along without free will. By pulling Donnie out of his predestined channel, Frank takes the risk that Donnie will choose "wrong." But, as was the case with Adam and Eve, righteousness chosen freely has more value than righteousness predestined. This movie is essentially a treatise on the concept of free will vs. determinism. |
| Free will vs. Determinism |
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| Posted by jrau at January 15, 2003 10:16 PM @ the staging point.com |