...completely and would think that continued in motion solely because of its own wish. This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined.

--Spinoza, Letter to G.H. Schaller (October 1674)

The critical discussion of Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko (2001) tends, naturally enough, to revolve around its conclusion. Plagued by apocalyptic visions of a giant rabbit named Frank, Donnie travels back in time in order to die, and thus undo the terrible events that occur in the film. The consensus among critics is that Donnie's death is a necessary and forceful denouement, one that ties together the narrative into a tragic and yet morally satisfying finale. Annie Frisbie, for example, writes: "Donnie is back in his bed on the night of his death. He laughs. He should laugh: he has time traveled, and now he will die--but Gretchen won't be murdered. His family will weep but the world won't come to an end at the close of twenty-eight days. He's sacrificed himself to prove that God exists, that God is indeed sovereign over everything--and if God exists then no one dies alone, it is safe to die, and the world doesn't have to come to an end. His death does change the future, profoundly, but he laughs because he's learned that death isn't the worst thing that can happen to a person, not by half". Elvis Mitchell's less sympathetic assessment of the film is equally rooted in a view of Donnie as "a martyred teenager, a sacrificial victim of his own empathy". While more tentative in tone, Jason Cowley also adheres to this interpretation: "Donnie, in a moment of revelation and mutuality, gives his life to save not only the girl he loves but, it seems, the world itself. That, at least, is my interpretation of the final third of a film which resists all interpretation" (14). The goal of this paper is to offer a different reading of Donnie Darko, one that challenges the prevalent moral interpretation of Donnie's death as an act of "poetic justice".

The film's thematic concerns with the nature of uncertainty are reflected in the way it blends different cinematic genres. Donnie Darko transitions seamlessly from a surface realism to surreal dream sequences to science fiction without settling firmly on any one style. Playing with time and history, furthermore, the film is firmly embedded in 1980s culture, a context it manipulates in order to blend the warm nostalgia of popular culture with biting reminders of the conservative ideology that existed alongside it.

Elizabeth: I'm voting for Dukakis.

Eddie: Hmm, well. Maybe when you have children of your own and they need braces, and you can't afford them because half of your husband's pay check goes to the federal government, you will regret that decision.

Elizabeth: My husband's pay check? Anyway, I'm not going to squeeze one out till I'm, like, 30.

[...]

Rose: Do you honestly think Michael Dukakis will provide for this country till you're ready to squeeze one out?

Elizabeth: Yeah, I do. (1)

This evocation of Dukakis's doomed campaign begins the film's general critique of the way humanity attempts to overcode historical events with a morality of "choice". In the face of an uncertain future, humanity has developed a strategic outlook that reduces the openness of the future to a false set of morally bound alternatives. This attitude manifests itself in the political realm, in this opening example, as a distinction between left and right, an attitude that reduces the complexity of political discourse to a simplified binary opposition. The film contrasts this simplistic logic to the complexity of life itself, shifting the debate from the particulars (Dukakis versus Bush) to a more general critique of how humanity views the world.

The debate over Dukakis thus transitions thematically into the amusing but poignant confrontation between Donnie and his teacher, Ms Farmer. Introducing pop psychologist Jim Cunningham's philosophy to the class, Farmer explains: "As you can see, the Life Line is divided into two polar extremes. Fear and love. Fear is in the negative energy spectrum. And love is in the positive energy spectrum". Just as the realm of politics has been polarized into an opposition between left and right, this scene shows how an antagonistic way of thinking has permeated all levels of contemporary culture. This binary mode has become the basic model of power within the institutional framework. Even Cherita, the school outcast, is rewarded for submitting to its precepts. The film thus sets up a recurring clash between this moral tunnel vision and those who seek to challenge its hegemony by insisting on the complexity of life. When asked to contribute to the "discussion" of fear and love, therefore, Donnie refuses to adhere to Cunningham's restrictive parameters.

Donnie: Ling Ling finds a wallet on the ground filled with money. She takes the wallet to the address on the driver's license but keeps the money inside the wallet. I-I'm sorry Ms.

Farmer. I don't get this.

Farmer: Just place an X on the...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



More articles from Post Script
Annual bibliography of film studies 2004.(Bibliography), September 22, 2005

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