Donnie Darko and the philosophy of time travel

I dont know if you have seen the excellent film Donnie Darko but it raises some pretty interesting ideas about time travel and parallel universes. I am interested as to what you all might think. If you have discussed this before the just ignore me...
Here are some of the theories as told in a book written by a character called Roberta Sparrow:

The Tangent Universe
The Primary Universe is fraught with great peril. War, plague, famine and natural disaster are common. Death comes to us all.

The Fourth Dimension of Time is a stable construct, though it is not impenetrable.

Incidents when the fabric of the fourth dimension becomes corrupted are incredibly rare.

If a Tangent Universe occurs, it will be highly unstable, sustaining itself for no longer than several weeks.

Eventually it will collapse upon itself, forming a black hole within the Primary Universe capable of destroying all existence.

Water and Metal
Water and Metal are the elements of Time Travel.

Water is the barrier element for the construction of Time Portals used as gateways between Universes at the Tangent Vortex.

Metal is the transitional element for the construction of Artifact Vessels.

The Artifact and the Living
When a Tangent Universe occurs, those living nearest to the Vortex will find themselves at the epicenter of a dangerous new world.

Artifacts provide the first sign that a Tangent Universe has occured.

If an Artifact occurs, the Living will retrieve it with great interest and curiosity. Artifacts are formed from metal, such as an Arrowhead from an Ancient Mayan civilization, or a Metal Sword from Medieval Europe.

Artifacts returned to the Primary Universe are often linked to religious iconography, as their appearance on Earth seems to defy logical explanation.

Divine intervention is deemed the only logical conclusion for the appearance of the Artifact.

The Living Receiver
The Living Receiver is chosen to guide the Artifact into position for its journey back to the Primary Universe.

No one knows how or why a Receiver will be chosen.

The Living Receiver is often blessed with Fourth Dimensional Powers. These include increased strength, telekinesis, mind control, and the ability to conjure fire and water.

The Living Receiver is often tormented by terrifying dreams, visions and auditory hallucinations during his time within the Tangent Universe.

Those surrounding the Living Receiver, known as the Manipulated, will fear him and try to destroy him.

The Manipulated Living
The Manipulated Living are often the close friends and neighbours of the Living Receiver.

They are prone to irrational, bizarre, and often violent behaviour. This is the unfortunate result of their task, which is to assist the Living Receiver in returning the Artifact to the Primary Universe.

The Manipulated Living will do anything to save themselves from Oblivion.

The Manipulated Dead
The Manipulated Dead are more powerful than the Living Receiver. If a person dies within the Tangent Dimension, they are able to contact the Living Receiver through the Fourth Dimensional Construct.

The Fourth Dimensional Construct is made of Water.

The Manipulated Dead will manipulate the Living Receiver using the Fourth Dimensional Construct (see Appendices A and B).

The Manipulated Dead will often set an Ensurance Trap for the Living Receiver to ensure the Artifact is returned safely to the Primary Universe.

If the Ensurance Trap is successful, the Living Receiver is left with no choice but to use his Fourth Dimensional Powers to send the Artifact back in time into the Primary Universe before the Black Hole collapses upon itself.

Dreams
When the Manipulated awaken from their journey into the Tangent Universe, they are often haunted by the experience in their dreams.

Many of them will not remember.

Those who do remember the Journey are often overcome with profound remorse for the regretful actions buried within their Dreams, the only physical evidence buried within the Artifact itself, all that remains from the lost world.

Ancient myth tells us the Mayan Warrior killed by an Arrowhead that had fallen from a cliff, where there was no Army, no enemy to be found.

We are told of the Medieval Knight mysteriously impaled by the sword he had not yet built.

We are told that these things occur for a reason.

Sorry its very long and its a complete work of fiction but wht do you think about the possibilites?

Look www.donniedarko.com
www.tangent-universe.org

Yes I've read this as well, I am a great fan of the film. It's actually an intelligent theory for something used only for filmic purposes, but I wouldn't read too much into it.

Morgan here.
Sertant things that you consum,
will give a pretty realistic point of view.
Your body begins to burn,
but no sweat. You completly understand EVERYTHING.
In the end, you'd figure that the 'meaning' of life, is death.

You might just feel as a goust.
Seeing a redish haze around everyone, except maybe 1 or 2 people.
those are others just as you are.

if it happens t you,
then you'd agree.
so take some red devils.
peace nigga.

Donnie Darko is a very interesting film.

It is intelligent and thrilling, without resorting to too many cliches. It has an amazing cast of actors. Yet it was a failure at the box office, yet has been a tremendous success on dvd. So much success on dvd, that we have forgotten it's initial release. Why?

An article from April 2002.

"Donnie Darko" was released in October of last year without an ounce of publicity promoting the film. It debuted in a truly limited release on only 58 screens around the country. While the film was well received by critics, it was not enough to bring people into theaters and the film earned a meager $500,000 at the box office.

www.michigandaily.com...

Without spoiling the plot for those who have not seen the film, it involves an airplane crash, and the consequences of that crash, and the ability to travel in time and stop the crash. That plot device, in the wake of the 9-11 airliner attacks, caused a very limited release. Or was it the theories presented in the film? You be the judge...

The so called "Industry" has deemed the plot device and "Franchise" to be vital enough to release a sequel, S.Darkodirect to dvd.

One has to question if the collective memory will remember S.Darko the same way as Donnie Darko. I would imagine that many of you had no idea that the release of Donnie Darko came with so little fanfare. Nor would you have thought to scrutinize the theories presented in it, with that in mind.

I imagine that it would have been a harder pill to swallow, if there had been a movie that came out 28 days after 9-11, that shows its viewers a hero who learns to travel back in time 28 days to fix the crash. At the very minimum, it would have caused more scrutiny towards those who may have had prior knowledge of 9-11 instead of clearing brush on their ranch.

The limited release of this film happened the month after the 9-11 attacks. It was then held back for almost a year on the international releases, where it fared much better and was viewed by many more cinema goers. From here the cult following of this movie began, and the DVD release of the film brought it again to American audiences.

en.wikipedia.org...

Instead, there is the Donnie Darko Cult to join and follow, right?
DocMoreau

Wanted to add this interesting blurb from the wikipedia, but for some reason the edit wouldn't work.
en.wikipedia.org...

Box office performance
Donnie Darko had its first screening at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2001, and debuted in U.S. theaters in October 2001 to a tepid response. Shown on only 58 screens nationwide, the film grossed $110,494 in its opening weekend. By the time the film closed in U.S. theaters on April 11, 2002, it had grossed $517,375.[5][6]
Despite the poor showing at the box office, the film had attracted a devoted fan base. It was originally released on DVD and VHS in March 2002. During this time, the Pioneer Theatre in New York City's East Village began midnight screenings of Donnie Darko that continued for 28 consecutive months.[7]
Critical reception
The film received plenty of critical acclaim—Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an 83% rating, while Metacritic gave it a 71% rating. Critic Andy Bailey billed Donnie Darko as a "Sundance surprise" that "isn't spoiled by the Hollywood forces that helped birth it." Jean Oppenheimer of New Times (LA) praised the film, saying, "Like gathering storm clouds, Donnie Darko creates an atmosphere of eerie calm and mounting menace -- stands as one of the most exceptional movies of 2001." [8] Writing for ABC Australia, Megan Spencer called the movie, "menacing, dreamy, [and] exciting" and noted that "it could take you to a deeply emotional place lying dormant in your soul."[9]
[edit]Awards
2001 — Richard Kelly won with Donnie Darko for "Best Screenplay" at the Catalonian International Film Festival and at the San Diego Film Critics Society. Donnie Darko also won the "Audience Award" for Best Feature at the Sweden Fantastic Film Festival. The film was nominated for "Best Film" at the Catalonian International Film Festival and for the "Grand Jury Prize" at the Sundance Film Festival.

I find it particularly 'eerie' that Donnie Darko was screened for the first time on January 19, 2001, and then was not able to be fully released because of 9-11.

George W. Bush was inaugurated January 20, 2001.
en.wikipedia.org...

He was the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being sworn in as President on January 20, 2001.

I don't know why that creeps me out so much, but it does. Something with the connection and connotations the two things share.

DocMoreau