Donnie Darko Graffiti

May 2, 2003 7:07 AM

They Made Me Do It  is a collective of artists emerging from the UK graffiti scene...The first project,  from which the collective and name originated, was based around  [Richard Kelly's]  film  Donnie Darko...with each artist producing a canvas in 6 hrs 42 min and 12 seconds inspired by the cult film...
[...a little more inside.]
posted by Shane (18 comments total)

Fun for fans of Donnie Darko: this is more proof that the film has achieved cult status. Various Donnie Darko lists and message boards are growing daily (despite the fact that DD was released in late 2001 in the U.S. and more recently in the UK), and are already filled with thousands of comments, questions and musings about the labyrinthine conundrum of the plot. Not bad for a writing/directorial debut.
posted by Shane at 7:08 AM on May 2, 2003

(Link via Mark Taylor on the Yahoo Donnie Darko lists. Thanks Mark!)
posted by Shane at 7:29 AM on May 2, 2003

oh man the one with the smurfs is wrong. haha
posted by trbrts at 7:40 AM on May 2, 2003

Sometimes I doubt your dedication to Sparkle Motion.
posted by xmutex at 7:57 AM on May 2, 2003 [2 favorites]

The art here is really cool, but am I the only one that found Donnie Darko to be an incomprehensible piece of garbage? (And that's saying a lot, coming from a David Lynch fan) Everyone I know loves it, but not one of them has been able to give me an acceptable explanation as to what the point is. All their solutions are based on assumptions they make about actions in the film, not on information displayed by the film. I'm all for movies that are puzzles that need to be solved, but if the movie only gives you half of the pieces, why try?
posted by emptybowl at 8:04 AM on May 2, 2003

eh. pretty cool idea, but most of the canvases just aren't very good. I only like the smurfs and the teacher with the fear/love lifeline.

I really didn't need anymore "proof" that donnie darko was a cult movie. I mean, what's the point of proving cult status? I don't think the movie will gain more fans by being labeled "cult classic."

And anyone still confused about the plot and the ending should rent the dvd and read the book written by grandma death that's included on it. it explains the whole thing. granted, people shouldn't rely on dvd extras to explain the movie, but the explanation is there if you want it.
posted by dogwalker at 8:10 AM on May 2, 2003

I saw the movie on DVD, read the book, *AND* listened to the commentary, and if anything, it made even less sense after that. Just none of it jived with itself. And it never even came close to answering the question, "Why?" I can't really go into any more details without getting into movie spoilers, and totally derailing this thread. Anyone looking for an argument is welcome to email me.

All that aside, is there any way I could get the "FFUUCCCKKK" one as a desktop background? That's the greatest thing I've ever seen.
posted by emptybowl at 8:21 AM on May 2, 2003

You people should view the website. Then you'll see.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 8:27 AM on May 2, 2003

What's the point? I saw it mostly as a meditation on free will and fatalism, but I suppose the point would be the act of sacrificing oneself to save others. (In this case either his girlfriend, mother and sister or, if you believe the DVD commentary, the entire universe and everyone everywhere. Kind of like Bruce Willis at the end of Armageddon.)
posted by toothless joe at 8:30 AM on May 2, 2003

Seen the website, too. Don't get me wrong, I understand the basic premise and themes of the movie, and what happens, but all the pieces don't fit together into an explanation about *WHY* they happen.
posted by emptybowl at 8:32 AM on May 2, 2003

Heh! Here we go again!

I think the plot is a moebius strip. Each question answered raises a new question. I've watched people chase their tails endlessly in circles on the e-mail lists, some reaching a point where they're okay with the conundrum while others meditate unendingly (and somewhat masochistically) without ever finding a satisfying answer.

I enjoy the film for what it says about people. For example, doesn't everyone wish they could go back and change the past?

For me it's just an intriguing concept that generated great performances from talented actors, wonderful directing and design, and FRANK! Frank is sooo cool.
posted by Shane at 8:43 AM on May 2, 2003

the pieces don't fit together into an explanation about *WHY* they happen.

The same reason why the universe exists.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 8:45 AM on May 2, 2003

Donnie Darko made pretty good sense to me, as a parable about predestination and revelation. Donnie doubts God's plan, and is shown the illusory nature of man's free will. He welcomes his death once he sees the sad result of his survival. Basically, "It's A Wonderful Terrible Life".

Whether the weird time-travel story makes internal sense I don't know; I haven't seen any ancillary material but I don't remember the movie itself promising that Donnie's experiences were real.

And, Maggie Gyllenhaal, sigh.

Flash, on the other hand, still sucks.
posted by nicwolff at 9:08 AM on May 2, 2003

Donnie Darko is, in its essence, a religious movie, and doesn't even try to be very subtle about it ("The Last Temptation of Christ" etc.). That's why it doesn't make much sense, but it provides you with enough information to pretend it does ("Living Receiver", "Manipulated Dead" etc.). I'm waiting for the first Donnie Darko cult to form, worshipping the Living Receiver ..
posted by Eloquence at 9:28 AM on May 2, 2003

i don't bother to try to analyse films such as this one. i liked donnie darko as it was an interesting tale about a confused young man growing up. that is all it was. don't worry about what it means, that doesn't matter, if it means anything at all i am sure you will interpret it subconsciously in any way you choose or want to.
like 2001, i never cared what it supposedly meant, i just liked the experience of watching it, the set design, the colours, the cinematography, the stilted dialogue. i know it all means something, that everything there is deliberate, but that stuff will filter through into your subconscious mind, and that adds to the pleasure, that there is depth to it. that is like food for your brain. it doesn't matter what it means in literal terms, it is not meant literally.
posted by mokey at 12:02 PM on May 2, 2003

mokey - good explanation of what makes Donnie Darko so great. I was surprised that it got such a mixed response from critics. In ten years, after everyone's forgotten about American Beauty and Mulholland Drive, people are still going to be watching this film that does both suburban alienation and nonlinear weirdness with the light touch that those two just couldn't pull off. It's only a puzzle at the least interesting level - you don't need to know exactly what happened to be affected by it
posted by transona5 at 1:08 PM on May 2, 2003

Why do you wear that stupid man suit?
posted by cyphill at 3:44 PM on May 2, 2003

Sometimes I doubt your dedication to Sparkle Motion.

Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion. ;)
posted by dobbs at 7:45 PM on May 2, 2003