Essay about Donnie Darko Belonging

A common human characteristic is the yearning to feel a sense of belonging through connections and different forms of relationships made in life. A sense of belonging or not belonging can emerge from feeling connected to people and places, whether they have been freely cast there or not. An individual will only feel a true sense of belonging through the understanding of those connections, which are created by experiences and can only come within.

Belonging is defined as the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of understanding, inclusion and identity to a member trying to fit into a certain group and place. It is a perception of acceptance.

Belonging can be defined as the process of the association with the human race as socially active characters. It is part of the human condition which represents the need for security, safety and acceptance. An aspect of belonging such as isolation can be associated with the concept of belonging, as not belonging is a reciprocal process of belonging. Belonging allows for the authentication of characters through the formation of identity and connections.

‘An individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging.’

“Donnie Darko,” is the first film of writer/director Richard Kelly, starring Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze came out on October 26, 2001. However, three years later, “Donnie Darko” was re-released in a director’s cut version, with remastered sound, picture, 20 minutes of new footage and new visual effects. This marked the film’s impressive success on DVD sales – taking in more than $10 million to date in the U.S. sales alone. When I first saw this film, I couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of the whole story, but now seeing it for a whopping 7 times I can now call it one of my all-time favorite movies to watch.

Donnie Darko is an almost confusing film about time travel, schizophrenia and the manipulation of one 's fate. The film focuses on a teenage schoolboy named Donnie Darko. Donnie is not mentally healthy but he is very intelligent and has extremely high Iowa test scores. He also has a tendency to hallucinate and do destructive things when sleepwalking, such as flooding his school and burning down a house, due to this he is on strong medication and sees a therapist on a regular basis. After a near death experience, Donnie starts seeing an imaginary friend known as Frank. Frank is a seven foot tall, demonic looking rabbit, who tells him about how the world is going to end and of the possibilities of time travel. Frank saved Donnie from this

Donnie Darko In recent years, Hollywood has specialised in churning out mainstream trash; generic fodder not even fit for the cutting room floor. Yet despite these movies' shortcomings, they continue to enjoy success at the box office. Sequel upon sequel, photo fit remake upon photo fit remake, frequently taking the box office by storm whilst simultaneously relegating smaller independent projects to the now relatively unheard-of arthouse cinemas. The tragedy is that the independent filmmakers are often those with the most talent; the most creativity; the most flair.

A connection to a physical location may present us with the perception that we either belong or not belong however, it is the connections that we form with people in places, memories of previous places and ones response to experiences within places that heightens ones sense of belonging or alienation. The concept of belonging through connections with people, experiences and memories in certain places is explored in the texts Romulus my Father a memoir by Raimond Gaita and Oranges and Sunshine directed by Jim Loach.

A sense of belonging to me is fitting in or just belonging to a place. Like having a special connection to a place that I feel comfortable at. A place I could belong is where I’m born or my house or a certain place that I feel a connection to.

the movie about a boy shows different issues ( highlighted ) within a humorous context Techniques such as ridiculous situations, irony and vivid imagery to encourage the audience to laugh while watching and challenging the viewer to think about issues such as mental health and relationships. I chose two scenes including the dead duck and godfather scene to illustrate this well from the movie.

The concept of belonging refers to how comfortable and accepted an individual feels in a given community. This is influenced quite strongly by the individuals multiple different identities and the nature of their citizenship. But it also relates to the other two concepts of context and participation (as they all connect). A sense of belonging could be argued to have been achieved when you have a clear understanding of your own identity and feel connected to that certain place. A sense that you are ‘of this place’ or Turangawaewae. For me personally, I grew up in west Auckland and moved to the Hibiscus Coast when I was 12 so for me, the Coast is where I feel most connected to and like I belong.

A Production design metaphor grabs on to an idea and translates it visually to communicate the theme of the story. A design metaphor changes or transforms a common object to portray a particular aspect of the narrative, thus adding it’s own complex meaning. The degree of its complexity may vary but the viewer can easily comprehend the reason behind it. Unlike the intangible words in poetry that create multiple meanings and symbolic imagery in the reader’s mind, images in movies are rock solid.

It is often easier to support the alternative realities created by the mentally weak. Due to their mental state, disregarding what they believe to be true can carry several consequences. In ‘Death of a Salesman’, Willy’s wife Linda remains supportive throughout her husband’s delusion. He claims she is his “foundation (and) support”, which is simply conforming to the expected role of a 1950’s housewife. Another example includes the 2010 movie directed by Martin Scrosese titled ‘Shutter Island’, which clearly highlights the importance of accepting the alternative realities created by the mentally weak. The film’s protagonist Teddy Daniels believes himself to be a U.S marshal assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island mental institution. However, in true fact, Teddy is actually Andrew Laeddis, one of the institution’s most dangerous

Belonging is a feeling that all humans want and need to survive. Without being accepted by anybody you will feel left out and alone, you wouldn’t have anybody to guide you or even help you make good quality decisions in life. With a sense of acceptance you would feel on top of the world and ready to take on anything because you know that the people with you will always have your back. But belonging means something different to everybody, some people feel like they associate to a group of friends/communities/sporting teams, while others may think they are attached to a certain place. Texts explore many aspects of

The image above illustrates how the director subtly responds to his own work. It is an example of postmodern irony and the ‘new sincerity’ because it serves as a subversive function, as Moonrise Kingdom (2012) makes a critique about the characters in Bottle Rocket (1996). It happens at the beginning of the film and it immediately establishes the type of roles the adults and the children play. The congruity between the two films is the collection of bottle rockets on the desk. The incongruity comments on the maturity of adults and children. Dignan (in Bottle Rocket (1996)) is a reckless individual and lights a rocket when it suits his mood, for example, out of the window of a moving car. These children (above) are responsible because they are capable of making the rockets, and they are making them in a safe environment. Norton’s character, the scout master, purposefully directs his cigarette towards the camera, to not set them alight. The ‘postmodern’ term of postmodern irony suggests a consciousness (explained in chapter one) and the narrative is designed to consciously know that is it a film. By commenting on a previous film, the director is able to reply with the ‘new sincerity’ about the condition of his characters and it heightens the fact that the audience is watching a film. The subversive function occurs when the illusion of reality is broken, as the filmic devices are made evident.