the groundhog day project

There will not be a lot of words today. Yesterday I actually had the blog entry ready before the movie was even on (because I shared part of a paper I’m working on for grad school dealing with Phil Connors as Christ-Figure) so I was trying to watch closely, see if I could spot anything new on the blu-ray copy. The only thing I really noticed new was that at the end of god day, when Rita is asleep in Phil’s room, someone has eaten one of the chocolates that is always on the table. So, I guess they skipped dinner and the candy shop. See, I’m doing something different today. I’m labeling things. This might take a while to load. What you’ll be seeing is some labeled screencaps, with character names and some nicknames I’ve put on some extras. Enjoy. And, that’s enough of that… for now. Today’s reason to repeat a day forever: I may have mentioned this one before but I could use a frame by frame breakdown of the film. And I still haven’t finishe...

A bit of a rough beginning for a paper that's going to involve Groundhog Day : In the latest Superman film, Man of Steel , we see once again deliberate similarities between Superman and Christ. Metaxas (2013) suggests that these similarities are not deliberate this time but rather the “oft-noted parallels between Superman and Christ” are simply not obscured by director Zach Snyder. For example, Superman, in this film is 33, the age of Christ at his death. In 1978’s Superman: The Movie , Superman was 30, the age of Christ when he began his ministry. This is just one of many parallels. For more, we can turn to Kozlovic’s (2002) exploration of Superman as Christ-Figure, in which Kozlovic outlines 20 Superman-Jesus parallels and 8 Christic personality traits shared by Superman. More generally, Kozlovic (2004 and 2009) outlined 25 structural characteristics that all cinematic Christ-Figures share. Kozlovic (2009) points out, “not all of these elements must exist in the one character, o...

So, Phil is a bodhisattva. In Buddhism, the bodhisattva is a human (sattva) who has achieved enlightenment (bodhi) and now carries out altruistic acts. Unless one wants to argue that Phil is still selfish at the end of the time loop, then whether we take the film as a Buddhist treatise or not, Phil still qualifies under the umbrella of the bodhisattva. Soka Gakkai International tells us, "Compassion, an empathetic sharing of the sufferings of others, is the bodhisattva's greatest characteristic." Phil demonstrates his compassion even before we see him attempting to save O'Reilly or performing any of his good deeds on the last resumption of the time loop. His inspirational interaction with Chubby Man, his bringing pastries for Larry and Rita--these are already signs that Phil has learned to have compassion where before he would make fun of someone before he's ever consider trying to relate in any genuine fashion. Mrs. Lancaster is nothing but nice to Phil but...

Just noticed and my mind is blown by: opening scene, Phil says he's "gonna go out on a limb" then at the end of the time loop, he saves a kid who has literally gone out on a limb... Ok, my mind wasn't really blown. But, hey, if there are more examples like that, I could certainly make an argument about the mirrored structure. In other news, a mistake--or just evidence that Phil is a fantastic performer: the news footage showing in the newsvan at the beginning of the date night sequence-- --is the same footage shown on Day 1. But, that's not what I want to talk about today. Today's business: Phil Connors may be a Christ-Figure , but that doesn't mean he's nothing else. I've spent plenty of time talking about other things Phil represents of course. Today, I wanted to get started down the road to the Bodhisattva , even though I've got a binder of articles on cinematic Christ-Figures and a paper I could be drafting about that very topic. ...

In the first revision of Rubin's script--which I cite only by way of Ryan Gilbey because I have yet to get my hands on the thing--Buster chokes on fish not steak. Ryan Gilbey describes: Rubin's first revision included even more examples of Phil's good deeds - pumping the stomach of Janey, a lovesick girl who has attempted suicide; removing an old lady from the path of a truck - but the real ingenuity comes when he devises some short cuts to help maximize limited hours. He places a rock in the road so that the lorry carrying the fish to the restaurant - the fish that Buster will later choke on - will not make its delivery. He tells Janey that the object of her affection had feelings for her. And he puts chewing gum on the pavement to delay the old woman on her way to the road. I actually quoted a little more than I had intended there because I wanted to comment on the Janey situation. I am glad that one didn't make it into the film. Not just because we didn't need...

Today, I finally saw About Time , which at least one IMDb user called a combination of The Butterfly Effect and Groundhog Day . Billed as being from the creator of Love Actually , Notting Hill , and Four Weddings and a Funeral , the description on IMDb goes like this: At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think. Actually--and SPOILERS minor and major may be coming, so if you've an urge to see the film, go see it before reading any further--"getting" the girlfriend is fairly easy, but there is a lot more going on afterward, which is what pushes About Time , in my opinion far above many a romantic comedy. Hell, like Four Weddings and a Funeral (which stars Andie MacDowell, coincidentally), About Time has some quiet somber moments and a couple rather painful decisions on the part of it...

I realized today I don't really experience the feeling in O'Reilly's death in the alley anymore. I know it's a sad moment and an important moment but to me it's become just another thing that happens in the movie. Just last night I was asked if the film was getting old yet. It isn't. I still recite lines along with it. I still notice new things now and then. But, I suppose that bit of feeling being gone means it's on its way to getting old. Maybe. In other news, an addendum to my recent Doctor Who -related entry: operating under the time lord version of things, Phil gets out of the time loop because of a specific good deed. Since, under that theory, Buster is The Master, and it's his hitting of the gavel at the start of the auction that ends the time loop, Phil doesn't get out of the time loop because he's a better person or because he's earned Rita's love but because he saved Buster's life. Every other day of the time loop, we can...