Groundhog Day Blog #2

Groundhog Day Movie Poster

In the movie "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray, the main character, Phil, gets caught up living the same day (Groundhog Day) over and over again. In the movie Phil is a very sarcastic and narcissistic anchorman for his local news station. For lack of a better word, he is an asshole. Throughout the movie however, he slowly works his way to being a better human being. He goes through a Buddhist-like experience and in the end, becomes enlightened.
According to Buddhism, life is full of pain, grief, and suffering. The reason we experience these terrible things is because we present ourselves with false ideas and realities. Hence when someone dies, we feel grief, because subconsciously we never thought of life without them, and what it would be like when they are gone. For Phil, his false reality became Groundhog Day. He refused to believe that he was stuck in this day for the rest of his life and as a result, he felt grief and suffering.
That is not the end of the Noble Truths however. According to Buddhism, once we accept what reality truly is, we reach nirvana. That is exactly what Phil did. Although some people believe he only relived the same day for a few weeks and others believe he was there for years, in the end he went through all stages of grief and finally accepted his reality. He used his time to master skills and help others, causing him to truly be happy. In the end, this results in him finally win the heart of his "crush"/ co-worker, Rita. BEing with Rita in the end and escaping the cycle of Groundhog day, was a metaphor of Phil finally reaching nirvana in life.

Groundhog Day Blog #1

Stage - Anger
Event - When Phil smashes the alarm clock
Explanation – Breaking things and/or violence is typically a sign of anger because people being controlled by their anger often make choices that they will regret and wouldn’t have made if they were in a calm and rational state of mind

Stage - Denial
Event - When Phil is confused waking up in the morning and thinks he dreamt the whole first day.
Explanation – Phil tries to make up a logical excuse for why this illogical thing is happening to him. He doesn't believe that he is reliving the same day over and over again.

Stage - Bargaining
Event - When Phil tries to save the old homeless man's life repeatedly.
Explanation – Phil believes that maybe if he uses his time doing good deeds, he will be freed from the madness of Groundhog Day. To him he is making a deal with god. Saving the homeless man would be his ticket to a normal life in his eyes.

Stage - Depression
Event - When Phil tries to kill himself in various ways.
Explanation – Phil trying to kill himself shows that he has given up on life. He doesn't see an end to his misery and Groundhog Day and thinks that taking his own life may be the answer. Suicide can result from major depression.

Stage - Acceptance
Event - When Phil uses his time to master various skills.
Explanation – Phil accepts that he is stuck in Groundhog day forever and instead of letting it make him miserable and depressed, he decides to take advantage of the day. He masters ice sculpting, the piano, and works to bring others joy in the process.

Platos Cave

Plato's allegory of the cave represents the possibilities of what life can be for us. To me, being imprisoned in a cave is like getting stuck in an everyday rut. The only difference is that our reality is our every day routines, rather than shadows on the wall. People sometimes fail to realize that there is a whole world around us, not just our town, city, etc. I often here people say, "I can't wait to get out of Lowell" and to me they sound ridiculous. They are in the cave. No one is holding you against your will to stay in this nice town, if you want to leave that badly, then leave. Its a prime example of someone imprisoning themself in their own cave.