The creativity is considered to be one of the unique features of human beings and the progress the mankind has achieved is basically predetermined by humans’ creativity and imaginative power. At the same time, often the creative process remains hidden from the public eye and even from individuals’ conscience. However, the most marvelous discoveries are made in the imaginative journey when individuals are totally absorbed by their own imagination. It is worthy of mention that the imaginative journey can be traced in many literary works and works of art and, naturally, many specialists could not fail to devote their researches to this problem.

Donnie Darko

On analyzing the concept of the imaginative journey, it is possible to refer to such a work as the film “Donnie Darko” where the main character suffers from a bunch of problems that put him in quite a difficult position to the extent that the viewers can easily believe that he has some serious mental problems. At the same time, it is obvious that the creators of the film attempted to show an individual, an adolescent, who is simply getting lost in the real world he lives in and it is only in his imagination he can find reconciliation and protection from the problems of the real world. Remarkably, Donnie, being a kind of outcast and lacking friends, has a hidden internal potential and his own secrets that can be unlocked only with the help of hypnosisys. This hidden secrets and potential of the main character turns to be so powerful that it saves his own life when an engine falls of the plane and destroys his room while Donnie was not their conversing with Frank. In such a way the author of the film attempts to show the internal power that may be hidden in each individual and, in actuality, the isolation of Donnie and his presumable mental problems are rather the indicators of his superiority over others than his backwardness. In fact, the film makes the audience think about this hidden potential every individual may possess, though, it seems as if “Donnie Darko” is too concerned on the supernatural phenomena to the extent that it is really difficult to avoid the impression of irrelevance of the events depicted in the film to the real life. However, this is probably the main point that helps fully realize the imaginative power of human mind the creator of the film probably wanted to convince the audience in.

In actuality, it is quite difficult to determine whether the author of the film manages to do it or not since the audience of the film can be quite large. On the one hand, it will be quite interesting to watch this film to the adults who have children, especially if they are in their adulthood, since the film will help them better realize the problems of their children. It is obvious that, despite certain exaggeration and probably hyperbolic depiction of the inner state of Donnie and his imagination, the main character has problems similar to those many other adolescent have and it is very important to their parents to realize these problems and help their children. On the other hand, it will be equally interesting to adolescents to watch this film and be inspired by the possibility to change their life dramatically for better by revealing their own hidden potential just like the main character of the film does. Continue reading →