In the movie Donnie Darko (2001), what was the reason for inclusion of the obese girl who is highlighted in several scenes but does not seem to play any part in the overarching plot?
Is she supposed to be symbolic or representative of something, or to have a greater meaning in the wider scope of the story?
Director Richard Kelly has stated that she represents an archetype of victimised teenhood. She was intentionally cast because she's not the typical 'outcast' trope character you often find in American movies (e.g. still slim and otherwise attractive).
CHRIS NEUMER: But on the same topic. One of the characters whom I enjoyed the most was Cherita Chen. It was like you didn’t treat her with any kid gloves. Here was this girl who was just emotionally brutalized. And every high school had like five of these kids. Everyone knew they were there and if you’re watching some movie with Freddie Prinze Jr. or Jennifer Love Hewitt, you’re not seeing those people. The losers can talk to all the cool people, the cool people just make fun of them behind their backs. This was totally different.
RICHARD KELLY: That was one of the most important characters. I was a little worried that they would make me cut her out. “What’s she doing there? She’s not doing anything.” Well, she’s adding everything. She’s the whole point of this horrific environment that high school creates where kids are so maliciously cruel to each other. There are always 4-5 that are the scapegoats and the targets for everyone. They’re the victims of the worst kind of verbal, psychological abuse you can imagine and it permanently damages these people. Her character was meant to put a human face on that character type. In all these other teen movies, if someone’s an outcast, it’s what’s-her-face in She’s All That–
CHRIS NEUMER: Rachael Leigh Cook? The girl with the glasses and ponytail?
RICHARD KELLY: Nerdy glasses and a ponytail! She’s ugly. But take off the glasses and the pony tail and wow!
CHRIS NEUMER: My God! I never saw it coming.
RICHARD KELLY: I would never have figured it out. Things like that just insults the viewer. The fact that it makes money is just insulting and embarrassing to our culture.
