Setting Analysis

In the film Donnie Darko, director and writer Richard Kelly pays homage to the 1980s through his use of politics, music, and films. There are many political and cultural references sprinkled throughout the film, such as the 1988 Bush/Dukakis presidential race, the Smurfs cartoon characters, and especially the musical montages. In addition to Echo and the Bunnymen, the soundtrack features Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, and Joy Division. The '80s films Kelly references include Back to the Future, E.T., Evil Dead, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Poltergeist. Set in an upscale, Midwestern area called Middlesex that houses a local "hero" in the form of motivational speaker Jim Cunningham who is actually a pedophile, the movie exposes the dark underbelly of suburbia. The contrast of sunny and stormy skies, of bright daylight and murky darkness, provides a fitting backdrop for Donnie's journey through a tangent universe that is simultaneously familiar and strange.