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"I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to."

LITERARY DEVICES

THE TRAGIC MODE

Irony: Donnie's Criticism of the Life Line

Irony: Donnie as a Christ Figure

Many people interpret Donnie as a Christ figure due to the fact that he sacrifices himself at the end to save mankind. If this interpretation is correct, it is also somewhat ironic since Donnie does things that are considered to be "sins". When Jim Cunningham is speaking at the school, he mentions that there are three temptations that teenagers succumb to: drugs, alcohol, and premarital sex. Donnie engages in all three throughout the movie. He smokes cigarettes, drinks beer, and has sex with Gretchen at the Halloween party. Whereas Christ saves people by saving things, Donnie saves the world by destroying things, tying into the theme of destruction as a form of creation.

"I guess people are just... born with tragedy in their blood."

When Miss. Farmer gives the class a series of exercises related to the Life Line, Donnie criticizes the entire concept of the Life Line in front of the class. In the movie, the Life Line is a line that is used to measure how people make their decisions. There are two sections on the Life Line, the side of fear, and the side of love. According to Miss. Farmer, fear and love are the two most powerful human emotions, and that they dictate how we make our choices. Donnie believes that the Life Line does not make any sense, as it ignores all of the other emotions humans experience. The irony in Donnie's criticisms is that fear and love are the two emotions that have the biggest impact on his decision to save the world.

"What if you could go back in time and take all those hours of pain and darkness and replace them with something better?"

Donnie Darko as a Shakesperian Tragic Hero

Connections: Characteristic 1, Characteristic 5, Appearance vs. Reality

Connections: Fear vs. Love, Gretchen and Frank

Hamartia: Donnie's hamartia is his fear of dying alone.

Peripeteia: Throughout the movie, Donnie struggles with his tragic flaw, which is his fear of dying alone. When Frank, the 6-foot rabbit, tells him that the world is going to end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds, this makes Donnie afraid of how he will die, and whether or not he'll be alone when the world comes to an end. In a series of visions, Frank tells Donnie to commit a series of crimes, such as flooding the school, and burning down a self-help guru's house, in order to make sure that he will not die alone when the world ends. As Donnie is confused about what is happening in the world, he decides to listen to Frank's advice. At first, these actions make Donnie happy since flooding the school allows him to meet Gretchen, and burning down Jim Cunningham's house makes the firefighters find out that he is a pedophile. However, these actions also have unintended consequences, and lead to Donnie dying alone in the ending.

Anake: Donnie is the Living Receiver, which means that he is fated to die and bring the Artifact back to the Primary Universe. He struggles with this fate and his role in the universe throughout the entire movie.

Connections: Hamartia, Magnitude, Characteristic 3, Characteristic 4, Plot

Connections: Thanatos, Characteristic 2, Types of Conflicts

Connections: Characteristic 3, Characteristic 4, Gretchen and Frank, Types of Conflicts

Characteristic 1: An exceptional figure, that is, a figure of great standing in other men's eyes

Symbolism: The Fibonacci Spiral and the Jet Engine

Foreshadowing: The Mirror Scene

Symbolism: Gretchen and Frank

Thanatos is the hero's "death wish" against their anake

Donnie is shown to be a very intelligent teenager that has gained the respect of his peers, including some of his teachers. After he yells at Miss. Farmer, the gym teacher, Principal Cole remarks that Donnie's IOWA test scores are "intimidating", showcasing his intelligence. It is shown that his fellow classmates at Middlesex Ridge School also respect him when they burst into an applause for after he criticizes Jim Cunningham's motivational speaking in front of the whole school. It also shows that he is the only person brave enough to do this in front of the entire school, giving him a sincere, almost child-like quality.

While the PTA Meeting is going on at Donnie's school, he stays at home and has to take his pills. Before he takes them, he starts to see Frank again, but this time behind the mirror. Donnie takes a knife and starts poking at Frank's right eye in the mirror, making Frank's eye become very bright. This scene foreshadows Frank's death when Donnie shoots him in the right eye.

It can be argued that Gretchen and Frank are the two most important characters in Donnie's journey, as they influence his decision the most to save the world. Gretchen symbolizes love. She teaches Donnie how to feel love, as it is something that he is missing at the beginning of the movie. Donnie is a troubled teenager that hates people and society, but Gretchen is able to show Donnie how beautiful the world can be and why it is worth it to sacrifice his life for the lives of others. Frank is Gretchen's foil, and he is symbolic of Donnie's fear. He represents Donnie's fear of dying alone, as Donnie sees how Frank dies and realizes he does not want to die either. Frank also delivers Donnie instructions on how he should complete his mission, all of which rely on Donnie's fear of dying alone. Gretchen and Frank's deaths are also symbolic of the Life Line, as Gretchen dies lying on the side of love, while Frank dies lying on the side of fear. When Donnie picks up Gretchen's body, it symbolizes the fact that he saves the world based on love, rather than fear.

After the jet engine is pulled out of Donnie's room, the camera moves in on a close-up on a spiral in the centre of the jet engine. This spiral is symbolic of the Fibonacci Spiral, which could have several different interpretations of its relation to the film. The first interpretation is that the Fibonacci Spiral is the basis for the "time-spheres", forshadowing their existence in the movie. The second interpretation is that the Fibonacci Spiral is related to the motif of rabbits in the movie. The Fibonacci Spiral is related to a sequence of numbers that mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci discovered while he was researching the rate at which rabbits breed.

Thanatos: Donnie lets the jet engine fall on himself at the end of the movie so he can save the world and complete his role as the Living Receiver.

Catharsis: After Donnie and Gretchen go into the cellar door, they are attacked by Seth and Ricky. The audience starts to feel fear for the survival of the characters. They also feel pity for Donnie when he shoots Frank.

Connections: Donnie as a Christ Figure

Connections: Fear vs. Love, The Life Line

Connection: The Movie Theater Scene

Connections: Gretchen and Frank, Characteristic 2, Under the Milky Way

Connections: Anake, Catharsis, Magnitude, Characteristic 5, Characteristic 7, Fear vs. Love

Connections: Characteristic 6, Pathos

Pathos is felt when catharsis is evident

This is related to hamartia

Anagorisis: Donnie is confused about Frank's message about the end of the world. When his science teacher, Professor Monnitoff, gives him The Philosophy of Time Travel book, Donnie starts to gain knowledge on the events in the movie.

Characteristic 2: Man's Destiny is not entirely God-given, but contains an element of choice

Pathos: The audience feels pity towards Donnie after he has suffered so much tragedy in his life including the deaths of his family and girlfriend, as well as his inability to cope with the fact that he murdered Frank.

Connection: Plot

Connections: Catharsis, Characteristic 6

Getting the book is one of the most important moments in the movie

Fate vs. free will is a major theme in Donnie Darko, as he is fated to die from the beginning. This movie brings up the idea of destiny being God-given through the form of "time-spheres" that appear out of people's chests. These time portals are visual manifestations of the destiny that God has given man, and only Donnie can see these time portals. Donnie argues that if he is able to see his destiny appear before his eyes, he has two choices: either choose his own path, or travel in "God's channel", referring to walking in the path of the "time-spheres". Donnie chooses to travel in this path, since he is afraid that something bad will happen if he creates his own destiny.

Setting

Types of Conflicts

Plot

Catastrophe: Donnie travels back in time so that he can save the world and sacrifice himself.

The main conflict in Donnie Darko is person vs. fate. From the very start of the movie, Donnie is fated to die as he must sacrifice himself in order to save the world. He does not accept his fate until the climax of the movie, after he loses everyone he loves in the climax.

The second conflict is person vs. self, as Donnie needs to face his inner flaws throughout the movie. He comes to terms with his fear of dying alone, and learns how to love.

The third conflict is person vs. society. Since Donnie Darko is also a satire on Conservative America and suburbia, Donnie is against the society he lives in. He hates how society is so appearance-focused, and the lies that are taught in his school.

Magnitude: Donnie floods his school, and burns down Jim Cunningham's house. While these events have little to do with each other, the effects of those events cause Donnie to sacrifice himself at the end of the movie.

On October 2, 1988, troubled teenager Donnie Darko starts having visions of a 6-foot tall rabbit named Frank telling him that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. After Frank saves him from a jet engine that falls in his bedroom, Donnie sets out to discover the meaning behind his visions. Frank pushes Donnie to flood the school, where he then meets Gretchen Ross, the new girl at school. Donnie eventually falls in love with Gretchen, and the two start dating. After seeing "time-spheres" come out of people's chests, Donnie asks his science teacher, Professor Monnitoff, about the meaning of the "time-spheres". Monnitoff gives Donnie a book called The Philosophy of Time Travel, written by Roberta Sparrow. Frank then tells Donnie to burn down a self-help guru's house, which he agrees to. It is then revealed that the self-help guru is actually a pedophile, which causes Donnie's mom to go on the Sparkle Motion plane instead of the gym teacher. Since Donnie's family is gone, he throws a Halloween party with his sister on October 31, 1988. At the Halloween Party, Donnie starts to have visions of the cellar door at Roberta Sparrow's house, causing Gretchen and him to go there. They get attacked by Seth and Ricky, the school bullies, and Gretchen gets run over by a car. This car turns out to be Frank's car, prompting Donnie to shoot Frank in the right eye. Meanwhile, the plane that Donnie's mother is on is revealed to be the car that the jet engine came from, as it gets sucked into a wormhole. Distraught over the fact that his girlfriend is dead and he has become a killer, Donnie takes Gretchen's body and drives over to the lake where the wormhole appears. He goes into it and travels back in time to October 2, 1988, but the jet engine falls on him this time. After he dies, the characters in the movie have a moment of deja-vu, seeming to have vague recollections of the events in the movie.

Donnie Darko takes place in the year 1988 in the fictional town of Middlesex, Virginia. It starts on October 2, 1988, ends on October 31, 1988 (Halloween), before Donnie travels back in time to October 2, 1988. In the director's cut and the commentary for the theatrical cut, it is revealed that the movie takes place inside of a Tangent Universe, up until the part where Donnie travels back in time. From that point onward, the movie takes place inside of the Primary Universe. The time period works because of the movie's deconstruction of 1980's suburbia and the music used. Donnie Darko can also be interpreted as the opposite of It's a Wonderful Life. It's a Wonderful Life takes place on Christmas, whereas Donnie Darko takes place on Halloween. George Bailey is also given a look at how bad the world is without him in it, but Donnie Darko is sees how bad the world is with him in it. Halloween also works as the movie's setting because it is a celebration that is typically associated with death, which is a major theme in Donnie Darko.

The series of disasters are related to the magnitude of how much they affect the tragic hero

Connections: Magnitude, The Opening Scene, The Fibonacci Circle

Connections: Fear vs. Love, Magnitude, Characteristic 6

Connections: Characteristic 4, Plot

Connections: Characteristic 2, Donnie as a Christ Figure, Plot, The Opening Scene

Connections: Types of Conflicts, Characteristic 4, Magnitude, Head Over Heels, Setting, Anagorisis

Connections: The Opening Scene, Plot

These are the actions that have the most significant impact

Characteristic 3: The hero possesses a tragic flaw which brings the character to ruin

Series of Disasters in Donnie Darko

Donnie's tragic flaw is his fear of dying alone. He mentions this when he is talking to his psychologist, Dr. Thurman, "I don't want to be alone." When he learns that the world is going to end, he listens to Frank because he thinks that Frank will help him make sure that he does not die alone. While Frank's advice eventually prevents the end of the world, it is not without it's cost. Everyone Donnie loves and cares about, including his girlfriend and his family, die as a result, leaving Donnie to die alone. Donnie travels back in time to October 2, 1988, and sacrifices himself to prevent the end of the world from occurring, ensuring that his loved ones will not die.

Theme: Love vs. Fear

Theme: Appearance vs. Reality

Donnie floods the school because Frank told him to

Connections: Hamartia, Characteristic 4

Frank accidentally runs over Gretchen and then gets shot by Donnie

Donnie takes Gretchen to the cellar door where they are attacked by Seth and Ricky

Flooding the school allows him to walk Gretchen home and fall in love with her

From the very start of the movie, Donnie is seen as a very troubled teenager that is afraid of the world around him. His biggest fear is dying alone, and he is confronted with this fear throughout the entire movie. Frank is a physical representation of everything he fears, pushing him to commit crimes he would normally be afraid of doing. When Gretchen is introduced in the movie, Donnie learns how to love. After Gretchen and Donnie's family die, Donnie travels back in time and kills himself, dying alone in his bed knowing that Gretchen will never meet him. This represents that love is stronger than fear, as Donnie traveled back in time due to his love for Gretchen. Even though Donnie knew that traveling back in time would cause him to die alone, his love for Gretchen was so strong that he decided to sacrifice himself so she could live.

Appearance vs. reality is a theme that can be seen in many different forms in Donnie Darko. The most debated form among scholars is whether or not the whole movie actually happened. Donnie is introduced as a paranoid schizophrenic, who suffers from "daylight hallucinations". Because of this, many have interpreted the events of the movie as just something Donnie created in his head, so he would believe that his suicide would seem heroic to himself. Did the whole movie actually happen, or did it just take place inside of his head? While the director's cut explicitly says that Donnie is not mentally ill, the theatrical cut leaves this open to interpretation.

The second form can be seen within the hidden secrets of the main characters. Jim Cunningham is a self-help guru that gives advice to troubled people. It is later revealed that this is only to cover up the fact that he is a pedophile, and it is not discovered until Donnie burns down his house. The audience also assumes that Donnie is just a troubled teenager at the beginning of the movie, but in reality, he is the savior of the world. Donnie Darko shows that you can not judge people at first glance, as there is always something hidden beneath the surface.

Donnie meets Frank

Donnie, distraught over the death of his girlfriend and family, and also the fact that he murdered someone, decides to go into the wormhole and travel back in time to the day the jet engine fell

Connections: Gretchen and Frank, Plot, Hamartia

Connections: Donnie as a Christ Figure, Head Over Heels

Donnie burns down Jim Cunningham's house

The plane gets sucked into the wormhole and Kitty and Samantha get killed

Cunningham is outed as a pedophile following the fire, forcing Rose to board the Sparkle Motion airplane instead of Kitty

Frank tells Donnie to burn down Jim Cunningham's house at the movie theatre

Characteristic 4: The exercise of this flaw starts a cycle of disasters that affects the character's personality

Donnie exercises his flaw by becoming increasingly afraid of the end of the world. Since he takes Frank's advice, it all leads to the climax of the movie where Gretchen gets run over by Frank's car, and Donnie shoots Frank in the eye, killing him. As he knows the world is coming to an end, Donnie also decides to unleash his destructive personality. He takes great pleasure in flooding his school and burning down Jim Cunningham's house, almost as if these are things are a part of his bucket list. Donnie's fear of the world's end sends him into a depressed state near the end of the movie, causing him to make amends with his family. The ironic thing about Donnie's tragic flaw is that it also makes him become a better person, as he finally learns how to love. Knowing that he doesn't have much time left alive, he falls in love with Gretchen, and tries to make the most of his time with her.

FILM ELEMENTS

Connections: Characteristic 3, Peripeteia, Magnitude, Gretchen and Frank

Music in the Opening Scene (The Killing Moon)

The Opening Scene

The movie opens with a long-shot of Donnie lying down on the roadway of a mountain. The long-shot here gives the audience a feeling of isolation, which works perfectly as it establishes that Donnie feels isolated from the rest of society. It also foreshadows that Donnie will die alone at the end of the movie.

Characteristic 5: The death of the main character is significant

The theatrical cut of the movie opens with the song The Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen (the director's cut opens with INXS' Never Tear Us Apart). This song was a perfect choice for the opening, as it not only sets the tone for the movie but it also establishes on of the major themes of the movie; fate vs. free will. Part of the songs lyrics are:

Fate

Up against your will

Through the thick and thin

He will wait until

You give yourself to him

Throughout the movie, Donnie struggles to accept his fate, and he eventually gives in to it. The Killing Moon is also one of the darker songs from the 80's, setting up the 80's setting as well as the darker tone of the movie. At around 2:10 in the video, the lyrics "The killing time, unwillingly mine" are heard. At exactly the same time, a red car passes Donnie. This red car is later revealed to be Frank's car, with the lyrics forshadowing the part where he accidentally kills Gretchen.

When Donnie dies at the end of the movie by letting the jet engine fall on him, it can be interpreted as a sacrifice. Given that his death results in the Primary Universe being saved, Donnie's death can be seen as a sacrifice, as he does it to save the world and also everyone he loves. Since most of Donnie Darko takes place inside a Tangent Universe, Donnie sees all of the bad things that will happen if he remains alive. He realizes that the selfless and heroic thing to do is sacrifice himself and bring The Artifact (the jet engine) back to the Primary Universe by committing suicide. Donnie's death is arguably the most significant part of the entire movie, as he fulfills his purpose of saving the world, and dies with the knowledge that his death will save Gretchen and his family.

The film then moves into a close-up on Donnie's face as he looks over Middlesex. The audience can see the confusion on Donnie's face at first, as if he doesn't know how he got there, before he gives an odd smile. This smile is never explained, creating a mysterious atmosphere for the movie. It is also interesting to note that the river that is used for Donnie to travel through time at the end can also be seen in this opening scene.

Connections: The Killing Moon, Setting, Types of Conflicts

Connections: The Opening Scene, Anake, Characteristic 2

Connections: Magnitude, Love vs. Fear, Thanatos, Donnie as a Christ Figure

"Fate... up against your will."

Tears for Fears - Head Over Heels

The Movie Theater Scene

Characteristic 6: The tragic downfall of the hero produces a feeling of sympathy, pity, and sadness in the audience

Most of the tragedy in Donnie Darko stems from the fact that he is fated to die from the beginning of the movie. Ever since the jet engine falls in his house, Donnie becomes the Living Receiver, and is fated to die by sacrificing himself in order to save the world. The audience follows the titular character as he finds himself changed by the people he touches. As a result, Donnie becomes a much more sympathetic character as the movie progresses, as opposed to the rebellious teenager we see at the start. When Donnie finally dies, he seems enlightened by his experience in the Tangent Universe, making the audience sad that he didn't live long enough to see Gretchen again.

The Head Over Heels montage is one of the most famous scenes in Donnie Darko. It opens with a sideways shot of the bus Donnie gets out of, with very bright lights illuminating the entire scene. The bright lighting gives a very dream-like atmosphere to the scene, tying into the theme of appearance vs. reality. Director Richard Kelly's frequent use of slow-motion and fast-forwards could highlight the instability of the Tangent Universe. We then see the different characters in the movie and their interactions with others at Middlesex Ridge School. There is a lot of character development in this montage, as almost all of the main characters are introduced in it. It also sets the stage for many of the future events to come, such as the Sparkle Motion dance, and the love story between Donnie and Gretchen. The close-ups highlight the emotions on the actors' faces, while long-shots establish the many events going on at the school. The close-ups are primarily used to further character development, while long-shots introduce plot points.

The "Movie Theatre" scene is arguably the most suspenseful scene in the entire movie. It starts off as a normal date between Donnie and Gretchen (also their first), but quickly takes a darker turn when Frank shows up, as Gretchen sits between the two, asleep. Up until this point, the viewer knows nothing about Frank. When he finally takes off the mask from his "stupid bunny-suit", the audience is surprised when it turns out that Frank is actually just a normal human. This provides a lot of character development for Frank, as it humanizes his character. Richard Kelly's decision to leave James Duvall's voice for Frank un-altered hightens this aspect. Frank's right eye is also bloody, forshadowing the ending where Donnie shoots his right eye. The creepy music and dark lighting add an intense and suspenseful atmosphere to the scene. The surreal image of the portal opening up on the movie screen is also very bizarre. Jake Gyllenhaal and James Duvall's portrayals of Donnie and Frank respectively here are equally excellent. Gyllenhaal perfectly acts as a scared and confused teenager who does not know what Frank will do, while Duvall highlights the human, as well as the mysterious aspects of Frank's character. The slow movements from both actors also add to the intensity of the scene. Very few cuts are used in order to highlight the suspense.

Connections: Pathos, Catharsis

Connections: Under the Milky Way, Plot, Appearance vs. Reality

Connections: Anagorisis, Frank and Gretchen, The Mirror Scene

The Church - Under the Milky Way

Similar Film Techniques in Head Over Heels and Under the Milky Way

Similar film techniques are used

Characteristic 7: The tragedy has universal implications to all levels of society

At the Halloween party, Donnie and Gretchen walk down the stairs in slow-motion while Under the Milky Way by The Church plays in the background. I believe that this is the most moving scene in Donnie Darko, because of its combination of music, cinematography, and plot. The slow-motion and close-up of Donnie and Gretchen holding hands while they are walking down the stairs in a wide-angle shot highlights their genuine love for each other, as well as the purity of it. The music adds a very romantic feel to the scene, and makes the audience very emotionally invested in the relationship. As The Church is also a psychedelic Rock band, the psychedelic parts of the song are in line with the surreal image of the "time-spheres". Becuase this scene takes place on Halloween, the lighting is very dark, hinting at the tragedy to come in the next scene. When Donnie walks away from Gretchen, the camera gives a close-up on Jake Gyllenhaal as the camera spins around 360°. The spin transitions from slow-motion to fast-forward very quickly, to highlight the increasing instability of the Tangent Universe. The expression of Gyllenhaal's face expresses the confusion and fear Donnie is feeling from this knowledge.

Donnie's death at the end of the movie is implied to have a huge effect on society at the end of the movie. When Donnie saves the world, the people in the Primary Universe seem to have vague recollections of their experiences in the Tangent Universe. These recollections appear as nightmares for the characters, that haunt them and force them to become better people so that they avoid making the same mistakes they made in the Tangent Universe. Since Donnie Darko is also a movie about deconstructing the Conservative American ideology, it is also implied that Donnie's sacrifice inspires people to change their beliefs.

The Head Over Heels montage and the Under the Milky Way scene both are two instances where music is used to enhance the movie's atmosphere, and they also use similar film techniques. Both scenes start off with the camera turning around in a spiral motion. This could represent how the story of Donnie Darko goes full-circle at the end; the movie begins and ends on October 2, 1988. In addition, both scenes use slow-motion and fast-forwards to heighten the coming of the end of the world.

Frank without his mask in the theatre

Connections: Head Over Heels, Under the Milky Way

Connections: Head Over Heels, Gretchen and Frank, Fear vs. Love, The Fibonacci Spiral

Connections: Conflicts, Magnitude

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