Great catch your last entry, Jet

Donnie in the bathroom striking the big bunny's left eye...the same place Donnie shot and killed Frank.

The Bunny is similiar to the Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland :

a.for both Rabbits time is an important factor within the plot.

b. After following the Rabbits both characters find themselves in a new confusing reality.

The "cellar door " mentioned by the English teacher ( a Living Malipulated) is a hint for Donnie....often in fantasy stories a door in our reality can become a portal to another world.

By sunshine:

Great catch your last entry, Jet

Thank you, M'Lady. Allow me to respond in kind. I had not caught the "Alice In Wonderland" connection. Rather embarrassing since we've been discussing "Shore Leave" over on the TOS board.

The day Gretchen and Donnie meet ..Gretchen makes fun of his name and says it sounds like a superhero's name... a subtle insight that the Chosen One , Donnie , the Living Receiver will accomplish several superhuman action to save the Primary Universe.

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@sunshine62 said:

The day Gretchen and Donnie meet ..Gretchen makes fun of his name and says it sounds like a superhero's name... a subtle insight that the Chosen One , Donnie , the Living Receiver will accomplish several superhuman action to save the Primary Universe.

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Which brings me to another question. When that thug assaults Donnie in the boy's lavatory, why didn't Donnie throw him all over the room?

by Jet: Which brings me to another question. When that thug assaults Donnie in the boy's lavatory, why didn't Donnie throw him all over the room?

To answer your question I have to take a step back first.

In a recent post you were willing to agree with me that when Donnie wrote “They made me do it” the “they “ could well have been be referring to Frank , Pomeroy and God or at least some powerful godlike force.

I have given this some more thought and I think we can safely say that the “mastermind” in question is actually God if we take as a clue that at the cinema hall where Donnie and Gretchen went the “The Last Temptation of Jesus Christ” was screening.

Now back to your question.

I believe that having used the superhuman strength given to him to destroy the water pipes in the school and plant an axe firmly in the head of the school's metal mascot statue , was a clear indication that Donnie had embraced entirely the idea that he had been chosen to fulfill the mission of saving the world and humanity.

To confirm this theory was Donnie’s reply to Gretchen the next day when she said “ Donnie Darko? ..What the hell kind of name is that ? It ‘s like some sort of superhero or something “…and Donnie replied. “What makes you think I ‘m not?

So in other words Donnie felt his role was similar to Jesus’ .. a Saviour....the Chosen One who had been "selected" by God to save the world , humanity and hence he acted just like Jesus…Jesus could have shown his strength to the King and the religious people in power that had condemned him to death , he could have struck down the soldiers that whipped him and bedded a painful thorn crown on his head but he chose not to because he wasn’t there to demonstrate how powerful he was ….his mission was to save the world and mankind,sacrificing himself .

At the same token Donnie ,when he was attacked by Seth, didn’t strike back using his superhuman strength because said ability ( among others)had been given to him solely for a SPECIFIC and significant purpose : to help him succeed in completing his mission , which was to bring back the artifact , close the Tangent Universe and ultimately save the Primary Universe and mankind.

He would have been misusing his God given ability had he stopped Seth with it ...giving the school's bully a lesson wasn't why he was given those powers.

Does that make any sense to you, Jet?

Yes, it does. That is pretty much the reply I was expecting. But, IMHO, it would have been fun to see him make Seth cry like a little girl. (No offense) Of course, this would have put a glitch in Gretchen's death scene later. You're a pretty sharp cookie, sunshine.

by Jet:

Of course, this would have put a glitch in Gretchen's death scene later.

This also occurred to me but Donnie didn't know that ..at that point not even Frank ,with the bullet hole in his left eye , had revealed himself yet.

So Donnie's non reaction towards Seth's assault had nothing to do with the fact that later Seth would play an active part in the death of Gretchen and causing Donnie to kill Frank .(The Ensurance Trap)

Let me clarify. I was speaking from outside the fourth wall as a viewer. I meant that Donnie going ballistic on Seth in the lavatory would mess up the movie's continuity in regard to Gretchen's death scene.

@ to Jet.

Last thoughts.

a.This idea that the world was going to end in 28 day , 6 hourse ,42 minutes and 12 seconds if Donnie didn’t return the Artifact to the Primary world gave a sense of doom to the narrative....knowing after that all the characters instead had been stuck in a time loop for me was a bit like an anticlimax.

b. The glitch: To save Donnie from being killed by a jet engine Frank goes back in time in the Tangent universe ..all the characters are in a time loop as we find out …..so the glitch is : MDFrank can’t be there to save Donnie the first time because no time loop effect is yet in motiom.

...it’s also very clear that without the help of other characters (who thanks to the repetition of their actions in the time loop know exactly how to direct the Living Receiver ) Donnie could never have actually completed his mission.…so the premise of the story ….. there is 28day..etc before the world ends…. really doesn’t make sense.

c .Roberta Sparrow: I always thought that having two Living Receivers from the same town was a bit far fetched .

d. How did Frank actually find out about Cunningham’s double life as a (child) pedophile ?

Manipulated Dead Frank just tells Donnie to burn Cummingham’s house …we are never told how his secret was discovered in the first …seeing its importance in the bigger picture , I think it should have been explained.

e. The therapist was already giving Donnie meds before He meets Frank/Bunny but then later on ,not only does she tell his parents that likely Donnie is schizophrenic , he tells Donnie that the new meds he has been taking after the jet engine disaster were just placebo medications . This part is muddled .

I think initially he should have been healthy and stable and only after the jet engine ordeal sent to see a therapist that gave him placebo as medications …

All of your points are quite valid, sunshine. However, you must admit it's a fun movie. Why else would we be debating it all these years later?

@ to Jet.

Donnie Darko has been labelled a cult classic but actually it's more of a classic with several different themes ..mystery , sci-fic, psychological thriller and unlike a cult movie , it captured the interest of a wider audience.

It’s weird in an engaging way (not like Space 2001 ). I like the stormy, eerie atmosphere and Donnie ‘s dark side . And your're right ,the film makes interesting debating material.

Thanks for spending time discussing the film with me ,Jet . I enjoyed every minute.

@sunshine62 said:

@ to Jet.

Donnie Darko has been labelled a cult classic but actually it's more of a classic with several different themes ..mystery , sci-fic, psychological thriller and unlike a cult movie , it captured the interest of a wider audience.

It’s weird in an engaging way (not like Space 2001 ). I like the stormy, eerie atmosphere and Donnie ‘s dark side . And your right ,the film makes interesting debating material.

Thanks for spending time discussing the film with me ,Jet . I enjoyed every minute.

As did I. Thank you.

@sunshine62 said:

Great catch your last entry, Jet

Donnie in the bathroom striking the big bunny's left eye...the same place Donnie shot and killed Frank.

The Bunny is similiar to the Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland :

a.for both Rabbits time is an important factor within the plot.

b. After following the Rabbits both characters find themselves in a new confusing reality.

The "cellar door " mentioned by the English teacher ( a Living Malipulated) is a hint for Donnie....often in fantasy stories a door in our reality can become a portal to another world.

The rabbit also reminds me of the friendlier one in the movie "Harvey (1950)".
It's name is Harvey, and it is over six feet tall. And he can manipulate time too.

The writer and director of "Donnie Darko (2001)", Richard Kelly, has denied any link between the rabbits in the two movies.

"I have never even seen the movie, it never occurred to me."

“I've still never seen Harvey."

He might not have seen it, but is it possible for a film director and writer to have never heard or read of James Stewart and his movies? Didn't anyone around him ever mention it? There are other movies with giant rabbits: he must have done some research when writing the script.

@ to wonder2wonder.

It seems a bit far fetched that the Director had not even heard of the film ...I'm personally not a fan of James Stewart but I have seen the film many years ago.

Unlike the bunny in DD ,Harvey's invisible bunny/ interlocutor could well have been a dog or a cat ...there is no allegoric meaning behind the choice..... Harvey's "friend" is just supposed to be friendly.

....the huge bunny in Donnie Darko instead symbolises rebirth, new life.

Donnie's mission is to return the artefact from the Tangent universe to the Primary Universe ....if he fails both universes will be destroyed along with Donnie's family and friends.

Frank ,the bunny saves Donnie and helps him complete his mission .

According to the Director, his choice of a bunny came from the novel "WaterShip Down ". Fiver , a bunny ,has a dream that his "world" is about to be destroyed and he saves his companions just like manipulated Frank saves Donnie .