Donnie Darko Explained

You may want to read this before jumping into our Donnie Darko episode(which will be uploaded this coming Friday the 19th of March). We mention it several times but I don't break it down in detail during the show.  This may not be 100% accurate, but it's my best theory given the film and the Philosophy of Time Travel.


Now it should be noted that Donnie's journey can be understood just by watching the film, there are certain things that couldn't be explained in the movie the way it's written. There's no mention of advanced beings experimenting with time travel and the Philosophy of Time Travel is alluded to, but little of its contents is explained or given context.

What I plan to do in this post is give context to the PoTT and the terms contained within. The "book" is freely available online and it's actually quite short. While it isn't required to follow the story, I feel it is important in order to understand why things happen the way they do.

http://www.donniedarko.org.uk/philosphy-of-time-travel/

It isn't explicitly stated, but basically some advanced civilization(the PoTT alludes to something godlike compared to humans) caused a corruption in spacetime, leaving an artifact(the jet engine). this created a paradox, the only solution to which was to create a Tangent Universe and select a Living Receiver who would be responsible for sending that artifact too that point in spacetime where the artifact initially appeared from "nowhere."

This is the basic explanation. For the more in depth explanation, we'll go a section at a time through the PoTT. (this may get a little recursive)

The Tangent Universe
The PoTT tells us that corruptions in spacetime are extremely rare, but that when corruptions do occur a Tangent Universe is created. This Tangent universe can only be sustained for a few weeks at the most(in the case of the movie 28 days 6 hours 42 minutes and 12 seconds).

It also says that the fourth dimension of time is a "Stable construct." Meaning it has a tendency to maintain it's existence, unlike the Tangent universe. This "Stable Construct" is the Primary Universe. This "Stable construct" is not "impenetrable" though.

The implication here is that something\someone "pierced" the Primary Universe and caused a sort of error in causation and a jet engine appears in the Primary universe from "nowhere." It isn't until the end of the film that we see a Wormhole form in the Tangent Universe which pulls an engine off a plane which then falls through said wormhole and into the Primary Universe and it's given a reason for existing in a causational sense.

Water And Metal
In this section the PoTT refers to what the structures involved are made from. The boundaries of Fourth Dimensional Constructs(like a wormhole) are water, and artifacts(like the jet engine) are made of metal.

This is why we see water like ripple effects whenever Donnie attempts to make physical contact with Frank. There is a barrier between them which is "made" of water.

The Artifact And The Living
This section starts by explaining that Artifacts like the jet engine are the first sign that a tangent universe has begin(though in the movie it actually begins when Donnie is woken up by Frank).

In the Tangent Universe, the engine that fell on Donnie's house already exists. It's on the plane that Donnie's mother and sister will be on later in the film. But when they find it on his house, it's still on that plane. It's an Artifact of an event that hasn't yet occurred.

It then goes on to state that "divine intervention" is the only logical conclusion for the appearance of an Artifact. But that's really only a matter of perspective. But any being capable of bending spacetime to their own purposes would certainly seem godlike to us.

The Living Receiver
This is Donnie's role in the film. The whole Tangent Universe is centered around the Living Receiver and guiding him towards completing his mission. Specifically, guiding the Artifact to the Primary Universe and fixing causality.

To accomplish his mission he's granted certain super powers(for lack of a better term). These include increased strength(axe in the dog statue), telekinesis, mind control and the ability to summon fire(Cunningham's house) and water.

He also has the ability to see causality to a certain degree. Seeing the path people will take before they're taken. Which the "Divine Beings" use to guide Donnie, when we see him following his on path which leads him to his fathers gun(which we'll come back to later).

It mentions that the Living Receiver will be tormented by nightmares and hallucinations. Which to a person who doesn't understand what's going on, would seem to be what Donnie experiences during his encounters with Frank throughout the film.

It also alludes to why certain characters seem weirdly confrontational and aggressive towards Donnie. Everyone aside from Donnie who occupy the Tangent Universe are what is known as the Manipulated(more on them later), and they're afraid of the Living Receiver for reasons they can't really put their finger on consciously. This is why the bullies seem rather extreme in their treatment of Donnie.

The Manipulated Living
As I mentioned in the previous segment, most of the people occupying the Tangent Universe are Manipulated. Those who survive the entire existence of the Tangent Universe are Manipulated Living. This includes Grandma Death, Donnie's teachers and his family.

It says that they're prone to irrational and violent behavior, which again explains the bullies. But their job is still to guide Donnie towards his ultimate goal, which again is to solve the error in causality. Though they are not consciously aware.

It isn't explicitly mentioned in the PoTT, but it's my belief that the "Divine Beings" are able to Manipulate the Living by controlling the "spears" which Donnie sees projecting from peoples chests at various points. We actually see Donnie beckoned by his "spear."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQp7gw-qVK8

This to me is showing the Manipulation. Whatever is behind the creation of the Tangent Universe is guiding the Manipulated around via a fourth dimensional leash. But many react poorly around the Living Receiver because somewhere deep in their mind is the knowledge that their existence is coming to an end and that Donnie is at the center of it.

Ensurance Trap & The Manipulated Dead
I'm going to combine these two because it's virtually impossible to explain one without the other. Frank is what the PoTT refers to as the Manipulated Dead. This type of entity is capable of transcending the Fourth Dimension and moving around the Tangent Universe at will.

It's the Manipulated Deads job to set up a string of events that will inevitably lead to the Living Receiver using his Fourth Dimensional Powers to send the Artifact to the Primary Universe and fixing causality. The PoTT refers to this as an Ensurence Trap.

Should the Ensurence Trap fail and the Living Receiver not send the Artifact to the Primary Universe, the Tangent Universe collapses and takes the Primary Universe with it.

Dreams
At the end of the film Donnie sends the engine to the Primary Universe fixing causality and causing his own death when the engine lands on his own bedroom, without Frank being there to wake him up.

It appears that many of the characters who played major roles in the Tangent Universe have some memory of what occurred in the Tangent Universe. We even get a shot of Frank putting his hand to his eye where he had been shot.

That's all I've got for now, but I hope that solves any questions folks may have about the film. If not, I'm open to questions.