Groundhog Day

It is February 2nd, so I sort of had to write this!

 

I was recently invited to take part in a time-travel movie blogathon, hosted by Silver Screenings and Wide Screen World.

The idea is that each person involved will write a blog-post about a movie that features time-travel in some way.

I immediately thought of making a combined post about Groundhog Day and Source Code.

But then I went on Twitter, figured out that the real Groundhog Day is actually today, and here we are.

So my entry to the blogathon will just be Source Code by itself.

 

Bill Murray is an asshole!

In the movie at least, I’ve heard he is great in real life!

He plays a TV weatherman named Phil Connors, on an assignment to make a segment about the Punxsutawney groundhog (also named Phil).

There is a real-life “belief” that if Phil (the groundhog) sees his own shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. Due to it being February 2nd, he almost always sees his shadow.

 

Phil (the human) shoots the segment, while treating his coworkers and the entire town of Punxsutawney like crap. He then goes to bed. The next day, it is the same day. He is stuck in a time-loop, and cannot leave the town.

At first he takes advantage of the situation, doing whatever he wants, still thinking only of himself. But after many of these same days, he gets so depressed that he kills himself several times. But he just awakens in his bed, the same day every time.

After some time he starts to improve himself, noticing other peoples problems and helping them with his “powers”. He also falls in love with his female coworker, Rita.

With a combination of his self-improvement and knowing all about her from “using his powers”, he wins her hearth. The next day, it is the next day!

I think the time travel in this movie is a metaphor for being in a rut, and the correct ways to get out of a rut.

If you feel trapped in your own life, you should not double down on your previous way of being. You should try to find ways to improve yourself, in ways that makes you feel better about yourself.

What broke Phil out of his loop were not that other people started liking Phil better, they forgot his actions once each loop ended. What broke him out was that he changed how he viewed himself.