# "Donnie Darko".......WHOOSH!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donnie-darko-whoosh/188539>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 15, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donnie-darko-whoosh/188539 "2003-07-15T01:49:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donnie-darko-whoosh/188539/1 "2003-07-15T01:49:07Z")

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I dont get it…any of it…help.

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**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donnie-darko-whoosh/188539/2 "2003-07-15T01:53:54Z")

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[Try this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=106812&highlight=Donnie+Darko)

Here are some general comments and ideas:

–There’s quite a bit of stuff going on and it takes some doing to piece it together…but don’t expect it to all add up logically.

–Look at it as science fiction.

–Watch it more than once.

–Search Cafe Society back at least a year for more Donnie Darko threads.

– **viva**

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**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donnie-darko-whoosh/188539/3 "2003-07-15T03:58:40Z")

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**vivalostwages** is right, there have been several DD threads in Cafe Society, some of them with very insightful discussion.

In addition, if you have the DVD, you may wish to listen to the director’s commentary (although I suggest coming to your own conclusions about the movie before hearing what the director had to say).

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**Author:** ![Mr\_Tambo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@Mr\_Tambo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Tambo)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donnie-darko-whoosh/188539/4 "2003-07-15T04:09:38Z")

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Not to detract at all from the interesting discussions there have been about _Donnie Darko_ and similar films, but I think to get hung about what it all means and what the film is “really” about is to miss part of the point.

Eerie, strange films like _Donnie Darko_ are all about creating a mood and an atmosphere. Do they have to mean something? Does a painting, or a sunset, or a rose, have to mean something? I think you can just enjoy them for their own sake.

Also, putting the pieces of the puzzle together for yourself is good. You may not come up with an interpretation the director, or the writer, would agree with, but they don’t have a monopoly on interpretations. If your explanation pleases you, it’s valid.

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**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donnie-darko-whoosh/188539/5 "2003-07-15T06:10:32Z")

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I’ve got a friend who just _loves_ this movie (I found it compelling myself) - she has watched repeatedly, and tried it with the director’s commentary after she showed it to me. She’s told me that, having heard the director’s thoughts, she’s even more confused than she used to be.