Donnie Darko?: Philosophy Forums

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Donnie Darko?

Cadrache
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Posted 06/16/09 - 10:24 AM:	#11
If the current existing universe is merely the culmulative effect of quantum interference; with the next moment being a causatative effect of qi+1; then you could argue that Mr. Darko is somehow able to see a larger spectrum of possibilities then other people. Observational effects from our perspective would be that we don't see an alternate ball dropping prior/before or during the action then the ball we see. Any individual who is able to do this; falls under the definition of schizophrenia - seeing what others do not. The Darko, on the car is not an 'alternate' darko from an alternate universe; but is more of a negative of the original darko. Certain quantum states supposedly travel backwards in time. The movie itself... some of it I liked quite a bit. The idea portrayed of time travel is not one you normally see. Edited by Cadrache on 06/16/09 - 10:31 AM. Reason: changed sentence structure, forget to delete a word.
"...There was a writer who asked why it was that when we find positive experiences we say that only the physical facts are real, but in negative experiences we believe that reality is subjective. He made an example of those who say that in birth only the pain is real, the joy a subjective point of view, but that in death it is the emotional loss that is the reality." - Tony Ballantyne, Recursion. _____________________________________________ Truth is want. - The internal state of matters. Truth is Need. - The external state of affairs.

Yobuba
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Posted 06/19/09 - 06:54 AM:	#12
I actually think it is a very good film. I also think its very sad in the way that it portrays an internal view of elements of schizophrenia. I don't think the film is about teenage angst personally. I don't think its designed to entirely make sense. But I do think it presents philosophical aspects in a very interesting way, along with the growing issues of schizophrenia. I am also glad that all the ridiculous technical jargon is left out, and the film is presented in an accessible way (a lot more than I can say for many of the posters idea's on this forum).

Cadrache
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Posted 06/19/09 - 07:03 AM:	#13
Shrugs. Run a post on Schizophrenia then.
"...There was a writer who asked why it was that when we find positive experiences we say that only the physical facts are real, but in negative experiences we believe that reality is subjective. He made an example of those who say that in birth only the pain is real, the joy a subjective point of view, but that in death it is the emotional loss that is the reality." - Tony Ballantyne, Recursion. _____________________________________________ Truth is want. - The internal state of matters. Truth is Need. - The external state of affairs.

B_TheGreat
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Posted 06/19/09 - 10:18 AM:

#14

Do not watch S. Darko.

litkey
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Posted 06/19/09 - 02:02 PM:	#15
Really good film. There were times during the making of the movie where the director worried about the film being too obscure, and he thought clarity might be slepful. However the actors (Jake for example) and others were adamant that the film should remain to its origin/ to its storyboard/ script. The film is obscure then, and the narrative is not easily grasped and explained - but this is part of the movie, a puzzle.
That's what tyrants get! - John Wilkes Booth “This is an impressive crowd: the Have's and Have-more's. Some people call you the elites. I call you my base.” -Bush Something cannot come from nothing.

oag
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Posted 07/11/09 - 07:11 AM:	#16
I agree with those who say the movie isn't meant to be about something in the story sense of it. It is meant to give you emotional response. You are meant to feel sympathy for Donnie and to relate to his teen angst but also his feelings of helplessness. In the alternate time line he overcomes those feelings of helplessness and you are meant to feel gratified by the results of his apparently mindless, criminal acts. They have very obvious and gratifying positive results. It is out and out emotional manipulation and IMHO it is well served. Even Donnie shooting Frank in the head serves that purpose. We may not do something like that ourselves but we identify with Donnie's mood and feel a sense of "Yeah, good shot!" when he does it. It seems fair retribution in the moment. Had that time line continued Donnie would have been (rightly) convicted of murder. The looping back to the death of Donnie gives us the escape and leaves him a righteous martyr-like, tragic character. It didn't actually happen but it happened to him and we went along for the ride. It was a roller coaster. It ended where it began so we didn't go anywhere but the ride was fun as hell. That is art. It doesn't have to be a good movie, painting or song to get you to respond. Sometimes that is all the artist wants. They don't want your praise for the beauty and perfection of their work. They just want you to respond. Apathy toward the work is far more appalling to them than a storm of negative feedback. In fact, in some cases, the bigger the storm the better because it means they hit you deeply. As a songwriter I'd like nothing better than to have a few people freak out and raise hell over something I'd written and performed. At least I'd know I got their attention.

arthurfex
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Posted 07/11/09 - 01:53 PM:	#17
donnie darko is trapped in some sort of time loop. It is unclear how many times he has experienced it but the movie only shows the end result where he escapes the tangent universe and gets killed by the jet engine thus ending the time loop. If you watch the movie and pause it when the pages of the book are flashing on the screen or just read the book the entire movie and the plot makes a lot more sense.

Ratheius Netheros
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Posted 07/11/09 - 01:56 PM:	#18
I do not try to make sense of the movie. I just enjoy it. It's one of my favorite films just to watch mindlessly. I'm not sure it has any coherency or rationality to it. I just know the part of my brain that I consider the "insane" part is rather found of the film. It's kind of like a therapy for my subconscious. It doesn't sit there trying to analyze everything. It just enjoys the ride.

richie3622
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Posted 07/14/09 - 05:12 PM:	#19
arthurfex wrote: donnie darko is trapped in some sort of time loop. It is unclear how many times he has experienced it but the movie only shows the end result where he escapes the tangent universe and gets killed by the jet engine thus ending the time loop. If you watch the movie and pause it when the pages of the book are flashing on the screen or just read the book the entire movie and the plot makes a lot more sense. Ditto. People also seem to forget the scene at the end of the movie where all of the main characters of Middlesex are waking up in the "real world", reacting as if they had all experienced the alternate universe with Donny - they just didn't know what the heck it was, and most probably assumed it to be a dream. But it wasn't. The direction and cinematography makes the movie watchable for me. It establishes an excellent atmosphere, IMO.

oag
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Posted 07/14/09 - 09:33 PM:	#20
I don't get that they have any recollection of Donnie's alternate time line. In fact, the characters not being familiar with one another indicates that they did not go along for the ride.

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