The Story of Phil Connors, the weatherman
Tom Hanks counts among my top
five actors of all time!
And that’s how I ended up
watching ‘Groundhog Day’, mistaking Bill Murray for Tom Hanks, decades back!
;-)
Look alikes they seemed to me!
 |
| Actor Bill Murray as Weatherman Phil Connors |
But trust me, it was a
fortunate fumble of sorts, thankfully!
Back then, during our
college days, when we watched the movie, no possible hermeneutic joy came out
of it! We watched the movie, as we did, JC’s Titanic, just for the joy, the feel
and the hang of it!
But later on, in the year
2004, as Course Teacher for a particular paper titled, ‘Experience of
Literature’, I happened to screen the very same movie for my students, and
asked them to give their own hermeneutical takes on it, giving them all further cues
from Aaron Copland’s essay for hints!
And at the end of our
discussions, one student by name Murali walked right up to me, and said, ‘Sir, in my
opinion, the movie is all about how we should live our lives’.
I was so happy at this, his
delightful take! And yes! he was so apt to a tee on that!
In fact, the movie could be
seen as a rumination and a reflection on how to live our lives!
Added, Nietzsche’s theory
of eternal recurrence has suchmuch resonances here in the movie!
But above all, the film
is a positive, gentle nudge to engaging our lives in amazingly proactive ways!
The lead
character Bill Murray,
ends up repeating the same day over and over again, for days without end!
Each year, 02 February is celebrated in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, as Groundhog day. Hence, Phil Connors, (Bill
Murray) the weatherman, along with news producer Rita and their cameraman, go
there to cover the event.
But Phil Connors is quite
mean, self-centred, and egocentric in all his actions.
Every person and every action
serves to bring out this, his ego-centric attitude out into the open!
[For example, when he
orders a drink at a local pub, with Rita beside him, he is very cold and rude in his demeanour towards the waiter, while Rita orders a drink with a pleasant smile on her face, garnishing
her graceful words with a ‘please’ and a ‘thank you’!]
Phil is unfortunately
caught in a time loop, and hence he has to relive the same monotonous day over and over again much
to his chagrin and disappointment!
Sensing that there is no way
he could escape from this time loop, he now decides to eat, drink and make merry,
indulge in one-night stands, rob the local bank, etc.
He even tries to woo his
news producer Rita many a time, but fails miserably every time!
Depressed and dejected
he finally decides to end his life, by jumping down a building, but then, since
he’s caught in the time loop, he, as usual, wakes up to his monotonous day,
every other day!
Finding no real joy or happiness whatsoever, in his self-centred way of life, in utter desperation he pours his heart out to Rita on his miserable situation.
Rita now suggests that he make use of the time to improve and to equip himself in any many ways possible.
Phil takes her advice quite seriously, and starts taking affirmative action. He now begins to see himself from an entirely new perspective!
Moreover, now that he’s quite sure on how the day will go for him each day, he resolves from now on to learn some skills to better himself, and also to be of service to others. This way, he learns to play on the piano, learns to speak a new language – French, and also learns to sculpt ice!
Rita now suggests that he make use of the time to improve and to equip himself in any many ways possible.
Phil takes her advice quite seriously, and starts taking affirmative action. He now begins to see himself from an entirely new perspective!
Moreover, now that he’s quite sure on how the day will go for him each day, he resolves from now on to learn some skills to better himself, and also to be of service to others. This way, he learns to play on the piano, learns to speak a new language – French, and also learns to sculpt ice!
But in spite of his best
efforts at helping others, he feels bad when he is unable to save a destitute
man from dying!
Any regional film
resonances here? ;-) Sample a line from the movie for cues and clues! ;-)
Phil Connors: I’m a god.
Rita: You are God?
Phil Connors: I’m a god, I’m not the God.
Any guess?
Any guess?
Coming back - Finally, because of a change in
his attitude, he is able to come out of this stifling time loop, and thereby experiences
a true sense of liberation in the process!
From being self-centred, he
now becomes service-centred!
From being selfish, he now
becomes selfless!
From being arrogant, he now
becomes amiable!
And this transformation
happens in him, when he finally admits that, his is not the only life that matters.
With this amazing change
effected in him now, in the second part of the film, Phil tries to make others’
lives better, and by the third part, Phil has become truly selfless!
And now, he’s finally released
from the timeloop!
Probably, many of us may be living the same day over and over again in our lives!
But remember, satisfaction
comes only when we stop focusing on ourselves, and start focusing on helping
others in any possible way we can!
Be it to the birds, the trees,
the plants or the animals, or be it to the elderly, or the sick or the poor!
I very highly recommend
this movie for everyone especially during these covid curfew days, when many of
us might quite possibly be living the same day over and over again in our lives!
;-)
Happy watching, folks!
Suggestions for further reading –
1. Nietzschean Marxism on our past blog post dt. 06 March 2014, HERE
2. Nietzsche’s Life Sentence: Coming to Terms with Eternal Recurrence by Lawrence J. Hatab
1. Nietzschean Marxism on our past blog post dt. 06 March 2014, HERE
2. Nietzsche’s Life Sentence: Coming to Terms with Eternal Recurrence by Lawrence J. Hatab