Philosophy within Donnie Darko

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In the movie Donnie Darko a jet engine from the future crashes into Donnie's bedroom and starts a parallel world which will end in twenty eight days. Donnie's sister, Elizabeth, gets dropped off by her boyfriend, Frank, seconds before the jet engine lands in Donnie's room. Donnie was not hurt in this freak accident because he was called outside during his sleep by a giant rabbit named Frank. (And as the movie continues Donnie gets farther and farther away from his house every time he sleep walks. This shows Donnie's feelings about leaving home.) Frank tells Donnie, "Im here to save you because the world is coming to an end; twenty-eight days, six hours, forty-two minutes, twelve seconds." The relation that both characters' names are Frank is not an accident. Frank the giant rabbit is a premonition from the future. Frank, Elizabeth's boyfriend, dresses as a scary giant rabbit for a Halloween party when Donnie kills him. Mr. Darko, Donnie's dad, also mentions, during the movie, a man named Frank Feedler; a friend from high school that died on the way to his prom. Frank Feedler had also mentioned before his death that he was "doomed." An important philosophical point in the movie is Donnie's thoughts on religion. Donnie say's to his Consoler, "To search for God is absurd." His Consoler thinks Donnie's imaginary friend Frank (the giant rabbit) "May be a sign from God"; but Donnie knows he is not. His Consoler explains during a deleted scene that Donnie is not an Atheist like he thinks he may be. An Atheist is a person who denies all together the existence of God. Donnie is an Agnostic. This is someone who believes there is no proof of God but does not deny his existence. He needs to know this before he dies. Another interesting deleted scene is also in Donnie's Consoler's office. This is when the Consoler tells Donnie the medication she has been prescribing him where nothing more than Placebo's, which are pills made of water. This means Donnie is not crazy, and anything he thought he visualized is really from the parallel world. A very important philosophical character in the movie is Donnie's love interest, Gretchen. Gretchen shares a quality with Frank. This is during the scene where Donnie and Gretchen are in the movies and she is asleep.

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