the Unbreakable David Dunn [movie spoilers]

[Ragitsu]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

It's not obvious to me how he does it.

A leading alternative though would be simple Precognitiion. That already comes in flashes and feelings and can take a variety of viewpoints.

ISTR that his clothes were damaged in the train wreck. He looked like hell, he just turned out to be virtualy uninjured after he got to the ER.

I don't see how it can be Precognition when he is viewing the past (once again, from a perspective outside that of the offender's).

What does ISTR mean? But yeah, the part that was shocking is that he didn't even suffer a scratch.

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I never saw the movie, but how in bloody heavens does one not notice a lifetime of no sickness or injury? I and my brother have never had the flu, and that alone seems unusual to many people.
Did they cover that, or does he have cluelessness?

You'd be surprised what people miss, especially when the person in question works at a fairly low-key job. There's also the issue of how many friends he has around, let alone family (none that I saw besides his son/wife).

[SuedodeuS]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I never saw the movie, but how in bloody heavens does one not notice a lifetime of no sickness or injury? I and my brother have never had the flu, and that alone seems unusual to many people.
Did they cover that, or does he have cluelessness?

Dunn is vaguely aware of his abilities, but has deluded himself into believing they are not there. He seems to have convinced himself that the visions he sees are actually just a "gut feeling," and until Elijah realizes (and conveys) the truth Dunn honestly seems to believe he suffered a career-ending injury in a car crash back when he was in high school.

As a sidenote, I find it humorous when people automatically assume that someone who has lived a subtly-abnormal life would have to be an idiot/clueless to not somehow realize something was going on. It wasn't until my father's funeral that I myself realized I hadn't cried in slightly under 6 years (now over 14 years), despite having all manner of reasons to have done so. In fact, I hadn't realized it had been that long until I just now calculated it out, and I don't think I'm clueless.

[Kyle Aaron]

Most of us just live our lives, we don't observe them for any implausible anomalies :p

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

I don't see how it can be Precognition when he is viewing the past (once again, from a perspective outside that of the offender's).

What does ISTR mean? But yeah, the part that was shocking is that he didn't even suffer a scratch.

Where does the belief that he sees the past come from?

What I remember from the first time we see it happen is the vision of the big chrome handgun. This could have been the guy thinking about his gun or a vision of him getting ready to draw it in the future. There's no reason to think it's him putting the gun on.

The vision that shows up when he goes on patrol in his green poncho is even better evidence against viewing the past. Dunn's vision of the guy doing the home invasion was either what the bad guy was planning to do or a precog of something he was going to do. It certainly wasn't what he had done in the past.

By the way 'ISTR" is "I Seem To Recall".

[LemmingLord]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

The vision that shows up when he goes on patrol in his green poncho is even better evidence against viewing the past. Dunn's vision of the guy doing the home invasion was either what the bad guy was planning to do or a precog of something he was going to do. It certainly wasn't what he had done in the past.

The home invasion happened in the past. David touches the guy in the evening and follows him right over to the invaded home. In the vision, the home owner opens the door for the invader and there is daylight streaming in. Clearly the invasion occurred before the vision.

[Ragitsu]

Thank you, LemmingLord. Also, I have never heard of anyone else thinking he was viewing the future.

[Darekun]

When he reads the villain in the end, that stuff is definitely in the past. The chrome gun is probably the best place to look to see if he can read the future…

When watching the movie, I'd interpreted that ability as a form of mind-reading, not precognition or psychometry, but it's not really tested. In that case, he'd be able to read plans, but not future actions in general.

[Ragitsu]

All we (as the audience) see, is that he can view the scenes where evil actions have been done by the people he's touched. Anything else is just speculation.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

All we (as the audience) see, is that he can view the scenes where evil actions have been done by the people he's touched. Anything else is just speculation.

The chrome handgun scene does not show that. It shows a potential threat and not a past crime. It didn't show anybody being shot or indeed anything except the presence of the gun.

[LemmingLord]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

The chrome handgun scene does not show that. It shows a potential threat and not a past crime. It didn't show anybody being shot or indeed anything except the presence of the gun.

We don't see what david sees on the gun. He may have seen a flash of the man putting the gun in his holster or showing the man thinking about the gun that he put in his holster. :)