the groundhog day project

Time for some Christ-Figuring. (If you're new, check Days 93 and 94 ) regarding Phil Connors or the inaugural Kozlovic-Black Scale--when I Christ-Figured Rambo . You're welcome.) Now, I can barely imagine Tommy Wiseau being clever enough to deliberately make Johnny a Christ-Figure, but so much of it is deliberate that it had to at least be a subconscious thing... Or rather, sacrificial characters, betrayed within their circle of friends is such a trope that it's the sheer amount of fitting details that separate our the wheat from the chaff, as it were. As I've said before, the scale is scored out of 25 but there are more than 25 items on the list. It's a thing. 1 tangible This is always the easy one. (1/1) 2 central Tommy Wiseau makes himself (or rather, his character) central to everything he makes, so yeah. (2/2) In fact , Johnny is so central here, and his and Lisa's apartment such the hub of activity for their circle of friends, he fails to get the...

Day 207 - more than anything else began a three-day obituary of sorts for Harold Ramis in this blog. During phase one of this blog—if you’re new, that’s when I was watching Groundhog Day every day—I would include a “reason to repeat a day forever” at the end of the entry. That particular entry ended with a rather lengthy one... “I will forego the obvious, trying to keep people from dying,” I began. As Phil learns in the third act of Groundhog Day sometimes that is a pointless exercise. If we didn’t have death looming off on the horizon, life wouldn’t have the value it does. If we’re lucky enough or bold enough, we live life to the fullest. And, when death comes for us, we face it with dignity and resolve, knowing that we have lived. So, no, I would not necessarily try to keep anyone from dying. But, for those who I cannot save, I would be with them, to be sure they are neither panicked nor confused. I would give comfort where I could and maybe rage alongside those more resistant to...

There's danger ahead. See, I want to run Hedwig through the Kozlovic-Black scale, but I know my arguments regarding 15.75 atonement might offend some. Or should . Anyway, let's just do this. Hedwig is quite 1 tangible and 2 central and an 3 outsider . 3/3 Regarding 4 divinely sourced , Kozlovic (2009) explains, "Christ-Figures usually arrive onto the scene through some form of deliberate outside intervention, sometimes by a distant God-figure" (p. 6). The stress there is mine because obviously Hedwig is not in America because of a distant God-figure. He's there because of Luther... who coincidentally shares a name with the founder of a branch of Christianity. There is outside intervention. 4/4 Hedwig's birth is not exactly a 4.5 miraculous birth but Hedwig is born from Hansel because of an accident. I'm driven to Merriam-Webster for what should be a basic concept-- miracle . The first definition is "an extraordinary event manifesting div...

So, consider yesterday a part one to today's part two about the character of Martin Riggs. We are not accounting in any way for Lethal Weapon 2 or 3 or 4 , just the original. Also, consider this a part... whatever part it may be to my original Kozlovik post about Phil Connors in Groundhog Day . Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of the week again in which we compare our protagonist to Jesus Christ. Let us just get into it--taking our list from Kozlovic (2009) as usual. (And stick around for the twist ending.) #1 - tangible... yes, Martin Riggs is a real guy in the movie. (1/1) #2 - central protagonist... he shares it with Roger Murtaugh, but I will give him the point. (2/2) #3 - outsider... Martin Riggs has been rejected by vice, and as he explains, no one wants to work with him. So, check. (3/3) #4 - arrives through outside intervention... this one may be a stretch, but Martin Riggs is transferred into Roger Murtaugh's life just as a new case arrives and he ...

I am not going to argue that Kevin McCallister is a Christ-Figure. Let us just get that out of the way right off. He’s closer to the Satan-Figure, really, but I’m not sure anyone has set criteria for that. Instead, I will be dealing with a character with a lot less screentime—Old Man Marley. Once again, I will be using Kozlovic ‘s scale... actually, I will probably deal with my Kozlovic-Black scale, taking into account Larsen’s (2013) insistence on a sense of atonement . Now, on with the Christ-Figuring. For those of you new to this process, Kozlovic lays out 25 structural elements for the cinematic Christ-Figure. I tally the Christ-Figure ness out of 25 (probably with a bonus point if Larsen’s atonement is present. 1. Christ-Figures must be tangible. Simple element, and Old Man Marley fits it. 1/1 2. Christ-Figures are the central protagonists of the story. Old Man Marley is not , so he’s already down a point. 1/2 3. Christ-Figures are outsiders. As a rumored mass murdered, Ol...

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...