O.K. a milestone today. Salon posted one of my letters. Since I love Salon enough to pay for a subscription, it was nice to see my thoughts woven into the fabric of their most delightful online magazine. The letter (here in its entirety) was a reply to an excellent Dan Kois article about the cult classic Donnie Darko (newly released in a Director's Cut).
"First off, thanks to Dan Kois for filling in the blanks on this compelling and confounding movie. I will have to check out the director's cut if only to enjoy a bunch of "Aha!" moments offered by his insights. That said, I think the Byzantine nature of the Tangent Universe puzzle is very similar in structure to God's challenge with Job.
The point is not simply to save the universe, but to offer Donnie a chance at healing his fractured spirit. As Kois points out, Darko is a troubled young man (and not chemically imbalanced, as Thurman later reveals). While in Tangent Middlesex, Darko uncovers insights into his despair through his interactions with nearly everyone, but especially with Sparrow and Thurman. At the core of his problem is his teen-angsty lack of connection with the people around him.
Fortunately, Tangent Gretchen teaches him that he can make the intimate connections that appear to have eluded him in the real universe. For Donnie, that revelation alone is enough to justify his sacrifice and thereby save the life of the woman he loves and, consequently, the universe.
As with Job, God could have made his point more simply. After all, the modern mind boggles at how "replacement children" could soothe a parent who has lost others so tragically. However, God's bet was just part of Job's challenge; the greater part was his internal discovery of the depths of his faith. That's something Donnie obviously appreciated."
Addendum: OK, exactly how self-involved do you have to be to repost something from another site's letter column? This self-involved apparently! I'm about to do the same thing with some stuff from Slate.
"First off, thanks to Dan Kois for filling in the blanks on this compelling and confounding movie. I will have to check out the director's cut if only to enjoy a bunch of "Aha!" moments offered by his insights. That said, I think the Byzantine nature of the Tangent Universe puzzle is very similar in structure to God's challenge with Job.
The point is not simply to save the universe, but to offer Donnie a chance at healing his fractured spirit. As Kois points out, Darko is a troubled young man (and not chemically imbalanced, as Thurman later reveals). While in Tangent Middlesex, Darko uncovers insights into his despair through his interactions with nearly everyone, but especially with Sparrow and Thurman. At the core of his problem is his teen-angsty lack of connection with the people around him.
Fortunately, Tangent Gretchen teaches him that he can make the intimate connections that appear to have eluded him in the real universe. For Donnie, that revelation alone is enough to justify his sacrifice and thereby save the life of the woman he loves and, consequently, the universe.
As with Job, God could have made his point more simply. After all, the modern mind boggles at how "replacement children" could soothe a parent who has lost others so tragically. However, God's bet was just part of Job's challenge; the greater part was his internal discovery of the depths of his faith. That's something Donnie obviously appreciated."
Addendum: OK, exactly how self-involved do you have to be to repost something from another site's letter column? This self-involved apparently! I'm about to do the same thing with some stuff from Slate.
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