What Does The Ending Of Donnie Darko Really Mean?
1. A Dark New Era
The period setting has personal resonance for its director, but it cannot be dismissed as coincidental; why would Kelly pick this year of his life as the setting for armageddon, and no other? The 1980s, so often presented nostalgically on film, are here depicted by an '80s child with rose-tinted specs as a carefree time of sunshine and affluence - only darker elements are encroaching on the dream.
The characters are entering a new era, and they're in the midst of a presidential campaign that will see George Bush Sr come to power, thus ushering in a time of war and uncertainty in the world that wouldn't cease up until Donnie Darko's 2001 release (and past it, of course, though it's unlikely that Kelly can see into the future).
This is a film obsessed with fate, being propelled along towards a sinister unknown; not just for the USA, but also Donnie, who's a regular teen (aside from the hallucinations) struggling with his changing mind and body, as he prepares to leave behind the innocence of childhood and come out the unfamiliar other side. It could be that the film's coming apocalypse is really just a figurative one, a manifestation of fear - though is it America's, or Donnie's?
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