Why is Donnie Darko set in the 80s?
The movie Donnie Darko is timed in the 80s (to be precise 1988), but the movie was released 2001. I can see no significance, to put it in the past. Yes, there was the presidential election, but that is only background for the plot in Donnie Darko. The same plot would have been possible to place in 2001.
Best Answer
I think this was done as a way for Kelly to show a more simplistic time rather than a time with all the technological advances being made. Also, there is a theory I saw here, in fact about the way the number 88 is a theme in the movie which would explain a lot about using this time period.
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Why is Donnie Darko set 1988?
6 Richard Kelly Was Encouraged To Make It More Contemporaneous. While Kelly's collaborators and filmmaking friends encouraged him to set Donnie Darko in the present, he was adamant the film should take place in 1988. According to Flickering Myth, Kelly told his dissenters, "No, it has to be in 1988!Is Donnie Darko set in the 80s?
So, I was waiting and waiting and waiting until if finally felt right to write a narrative, feature-length screenplay and finally, in October of 1998, Donnie Darko came out of me in a 28-day period. I wrote it in the same time period as the movie. And yeah, that was it. Why did you decide to set it in 1988?What year is Donnie Darko set in?
Richard Kelly, writer and director of the 2001 cult-classic Donnie Darko, says he's been working on a script for a proper sequel after being inspired by James Cameron. Donnie Darko was followed up in 2009 with S. Darko, a spinoff story following Donnie's sister that had no creative input from Kelly. S.Perché Donnie Darko è un cult che ci ha cambiato la vita
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Answer 2
Quoting from IMBD FAQ page:
Richard Kelly has given various reasons for this:
- It was a favorite time, when he was a teenager.
- Very few films have been set in the '80s.
- He didn't feel comfortable setting a teenage film now, with no knowledge of current teenage life.
(It could also be a reference to Back to the Future as both movies take place in the 80's and the movie is also referenced at some point during the film- And don't forget the DeLorean needed to reach a speed of 88mph in order to time-travel.)
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