There are two major existential themes that evolve in the movie Groundhog Day. One of the major themes is the loss of identity that evolves throughout the story. When Phil (the anchorman) realizes that he wakes up on Groundhog Day every day, he begins to do things that he wouldn’t normally do, like stealing Punxsutawney Phil, or running from the police while under the influence. The second major existential theme is, “When is life worth living?” Phil gives up on life when he gets the idea that his life no longer has meaning. He repeatedly tries to commit suicide, but all efforts fail. He later realizes that there is more to life than keeping yourself happy.
The first theme that I found was Phil’s loss of self identity. He no longer had a specific personality, because he had been a different person every day. He was a bored, lonely weather anchor one day, and the next day he was a crazy lunatic running his truck off a cliff with Punxsutawney Phil riding shotgun. What made him lose his sense of self identity in the first place? It was the fact that he didn’t have any responsibilities anymore, so he could do and be anything he wanted to be. George Eliot once said, “The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.” Phil grew wiser when he realized that even though he would probably never get to his tomorrow, he could try and make it as painless as possible by helping people. Instead of caring for himself and himself only, he started helping the poor, getting to know the woman he loved, and helping people in need. Phil’s good deeds helped him find his self identity.
The second theme is the question, “When is life worth living?” To me life is always worth living because of the fact that for all we people know life only happens once. In Groundhog Day, Phil thought life had lost purpose when he realized what he did wouldn’t make a difference the next day. He figured there wasn’t anything to work for because he knew that no matter what he did everything just reset itself once he awoke. He knew what happened the day before, and would know what happened the next day. Though it may be hard to believe, something good came from this experience. He started to observe things better when he had nothing else to do, and to keep on schedule as he saved a boy from falling out of a tree every day. Life became worth living when he realized that he truly did love his co-worker and started making a difference in not only his life but other people’s lives as well.
Groundhog Day had one thing that only one or two of my other existential reads and/or movies had. It kept me watching because it actually had a plot. I’m sure that nothing existential that I’ve seen or read had much of a plot at all. The Metamorphosis had a plot, but that book lacked suspense. Groundhog Day portrayed both. These two differences separate Groundhog Day from other existential and philosophical works.
Groundhog Day was overall very existential, except for the ending. One would think that after being in the same place, and the same day for over a week that one would want to get a far away as possible. The movie had to have some unexistential aspect to it, and the ending was that aspect. However, 500-700 words aren’t enough to explain how much existentialism was in Groundhog Day. I liked the movie, and I thought it was a very existential and influential to watch. I liked the movie and I encourage anyone looking for a movie where he/she can see any amount of existentialism he/she wants to watch it.
Reference:
- www.hookedonfacts.comBibliography About. The New York Times Company. May 14, 2006.
