Cellar Door

     Nothing shouts postmodern like an indie, science fiction film about an angst ridden, slightly psychopathic teenage boy who’s followed around by a spooky guy in a rabbit suit. However, what strikes me as the kind of “narrative collapse’ that Rushkoff discusses in his novel, Present Shock, isn’t the obviously eccentric plot points that the movie Donnie Darko is so well known for, but instead the deeper messages that lie behind the film, and the ways in which the filmmakers chose to portray said messages.
     Although released in 2001, Donnie Darko takes place in 1988. One of the main premises of the movie is to poke fun at the “perfect” lifestyles of middle-class, suburban Americans, and the director most likely felt that the most appropriate time period to do so was in the 80s. However, the movie was not written, filmed, or created during this time, and the actors’ choices, along with the topics chosen by the writers, are therefore prime examples of presentism, a topic brought up by Rushkoff in his book, Present Shock. Leading into a new millennium, the late 90s and early 2000s were consumed heavily by science fiction, with ideas such as time travel and powerful external forces circling the minds of all of those who were waiting for the type of future they believed would come with the 21st century. Therefore, with “The Philosophy of Time Travel” being a common motif throughout the film, despite the desired time periodization, it is made clear that some ideas behind the making of the movie were influenced by presentism. When discussing this phenomena in Present Shock, Rushkoff states, “Our society has reoriented itself to the present moment… It’s more of a diminishment of anything that isn’t happening right now—and the onslaught of everything that supposedly is” (Rushkoff). Although the director maintains the feel of a 80s movie, using proper clothing choices and appropriate characterization, Donnie Darko still focuses on something that the creators felt was important and interesting in 2001.
     Donnie Darko also challenges the idea of a strictly linear narrative. There is no clear beginning to the story, as we are almost instantly introduced to the conflict, when an airplane engine falls on the roof of the Darko house. Viewers are left slightly confused, as it feels almost expected by the filmmakers that we already know who the Darkos are, considering there is no clear introduction to each of them or their lives in Middlesex, Virginia. It also feels as though we should just accept the fact that an airplane engine has fallen from the sky, and landed perfectly in Donnie’s bedroom. Viewers are therefore left confused, until the plot is explained further, and each piece slowly begins to fit into the puzzle, as the storyline gets more and more complex. Then, when you almost think the last two hours you’ve spent finally make sense, everything contradicts itself in the last five minutes of the movie. However, this type of scattered chronology is a prime example of a “narrative collapse” which makes us question everything believed to be key to traditional story making.
     Some may argue that challenging traditional narrative formats creates the risk of a confusing storyline. Although a valid concern, considering many feel Donnie Darko isn’t worth the blurred line between reality and hallucinations that is often crossed too leisurely throughout the film, writers shouldn’t just stop taking risks, as it is important to separate ourselves from past generations. “As Korzybski put it, we see further because we ‘stand on the shoulders’ of the previous generation. The danger of such a position is that we can forget to put our own feet on the ground” (Rushkoff). Although building upon an already solid foundation left over by previous writers and thinkers is a valid strategy, it’s also not a bad idea for new writers to take the risk of creating a new format that may better fit the message of their piece: hence, the influx of postmodernism.
     In conclusion, the film Donnie Darko is a prime example of ideas expressed in Rushkoff’s Present Shock, such as presentism and “narrative collapse”. Although seen as a postmodern, breakaway story from traditional narratives, Donnie Darko still expresses traits of a hero’s journey. Donnie is called to adventure by Frank the Rabbit, goes through multiple steps of a hero, and finally ends the movie, and his life, by sacrificing himself in the wormhole. Although Donnie goes back and forth between both the antagonist and protagonist, the overall message of needing a hero that is commonly prominent in stories is still fairly clear. However, in Donnie Darko, the hero isn’t necessarily a person, but one could argue that it is instead the sanity of Donnie himself.

         Works Cited:
Rushkoff, Douglass. Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now. New York: Penguin, 2013. Print.

But can you describe that Moveable Feast in immense detail?

     Ernest Hemingway is known for his arguably excessive use of details and descriptions in order to back up his points in writing. However, in his novel, A Moveable Feast, I feel this extent of detail was almost necessary in order to get across his desired points. Being a reoccurring element in Hemingway’s writing, it comes to no surprise he utilizes in-depth descriptions for topics as simple as his meal for the day. For example, Hemingway reminisces, “…I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine…” (Hemingway, a Moveable Feast). Such details also provide a fairly straight forward, relaxed nature to the book. Considering the premise of A Moveable Feast was to be a recollection of Hemingway’s “better years” in France throughout his 20’s, this kind of straightforwardness allows readers to feel closer to Hemingway as an individual, rather than just as a writer.
     Although it is implied that A Moveable Feast takes place during Hemingway’s early life, a clear statement is never made informing readers as to whether the book is fictional or nonfictional, and what time the stories occur. Therefore, readers are left to interpret each part of the novel in whatever way they feel fit. That being said, Hemingway’s use of details makes it fair to assume the stories he shares are at least memories of actual events that occurred, and would therefore take place around the early 1900s. This fact is important to keep in mind when reading A Moveable Feast, as he discusses taboo topics rather openly, which allows the readers to have an inside look into what social life was like in Europe nearly a century ago, as subjects such as homosexuality, adultery, and a use of drugs and alcohol are discussed fairly heavily throughout the novel. Hemingway’s honesty towards such behavior of even the most patronized artists and intellects allows readers to feel comfortable with the material he writes, and therefore allows the purpose of his documentation of his life to come out very clearly.
     The purpose of reading this novel in our AP Lang class was most likely to both further our abilities to analyze an author’s implied opinions and messages, and also to take note of how different styles used by different authors aid their writing in different ways. I believe Hemingway wrote A Moveable Feast with the intentions of warning younger people to not let the prime of their lives go to waste. Considering the darkness that Hemingway suffered with throughout the latter years of his life, it is relatively clear that he felt he took advantage of the opportunities and people that he was provided with in France. It, therefore, is not entirely surprising that, later in his life, Hemingway would decide to write a book about his favorite or most notable memories of his glory days in Paris: A Moveable Feast.

    Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. A Moveable Feast. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1964. Print.