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Donnie Darko

Paranoid Schizophrenia or Time Travel/Parallel Realities

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Discussion Questions

  • Do you believe Donnie is experiencing symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia or that he is able to time travel/access a parallel reality? Cite evidence from the movie to support your answer.

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Discussion Questions

  • If given the chance, would you go back in time to save a loved one? Would you still do it if it meant that you would die in the process so that he/she may live?

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Discussion Questions

  • What do you think is the significance of the fact that Donnie was only on a placebo drug for his “issues?” Why did the movie take the time to show this?

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Discussion Questions

  • Donnie is the “Living Receiver.” It is his job to return the Artifact (the jet turbine) to the Primary Universe. What evidence do you see in the movie that would support the idea of Donnie having super powers like super strength, telekinesis and the ability to see into the future?

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Discussion Questions

  • The Manipulated (basically everyone else in the Tangent Universe besides Donnie) are “supposed to” help direct Donnie to return the turbine to the Primary Universe. What evidence do we see in the movie that would suggest that this is indeed what the Manipulated are doing?

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Discussion Questions

  • A friend who thinks that there are no sci-fi elements to Donnie Darko, the it is just a film about Donnie’s descent into paranoid schizophrenia says: one trait of the budding schizophrenic is the creation of coherent, if unlikely, narratives tying together the hallucinations and paranoia often manifested as part of the illness.

What evidence do we see in the movie that would support this claim?

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Discussion Questions

  • What is “Frank’s” purpose in the Tangent Universe? Is he a friend or foe to Donnie?

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Discussion Questions

  • One website says that Frank is an example of the “Manipulated Dead”? (If you die in the Tangent U. then you can appear at different times and places in the Tangent U. and have some knowledge of “what needs to happen”) What is the problem with this logic?

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Discussion Questions

  • Roberta Sparrow tells Donnie that every living thing dies alone. What is the significance of this? Does Donnie die alone? Or does he avoid that fate? (Think of Donnie’s smiles and laughs at the end/beginning of the film.)

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Discussion Questions

  • Discuss destined fate vs. free will. Which theory would you say this movie supports? What do you believe?