A Moral Criticism Of The Movie Groundhog Day
This is one of the lines said by Bill Murray’s character in his 1993 film “Groundhog Day”. Simple as it may seem but let’s face it, most of us act as prima donnas in this society thinking that the world revolves around us and “only” on us.
In the movie, weatherman Phil Connors was trapped in this time-loop wherein he constantly experiences the same day over and over again. In one of Rita’s lines, the one wherein she shared a poem (The wretch, concentered all in self, living, shall forfeit fair renown, and doubly dying, shall go down, to the vile dust from whence he sprung - unwept, unhonored, and unsung), one can infer that what Phil is experiencing is a form of punishment by stating that an egocentric person should go down. Throughout the film, Phil was shown as someone who doesn’t give a crap on anyone - he constantly lashes out at his cameraman Larry, considers the people around him as morons and thinks of himself as a God by claiming that “he” is the one who is making the weather.
For me, this film is a perfect depiction of the basic doctrines of Hindu Dharma most especially the “Law of Karma” which states that every thought or deeds of ours has a consequence and that we human beings get exactly what we deserve based on our actions. In the film, one can say that the time-loop wherein Phil was in is a symbolism for the doctrine of Samsara or the continuous cycle of birth and death. On the other hand, Phil’s desire to wake up for “tomorrow” can be hypothesized as a symbol for a person’s desire to attain Moksha which is the liberation from the Samsara. The doctrine of Karma states that in order for us to attain Moksha, we must learn that we are responsible for our present and future condition in life and that this understanding will lead us in making right choices, thoughts and desires.
In the film, wherein Phil experienced the time loop for the first time, he thought that the thing that he is experiencing is an opportunity for him to enjoy his life without any consequences thus doing things such as excessive eating, drinking, self-harm or suicide and even crimes such as stealing. In the scene when he was lying in bed with Rita, a shot of the window pane with an eye-like smudge was shown right after Phil’s dialogue stating that he already found out what true “life” is like. This scene can be inferred as his waking point (thus the eye-like symbol) of how he freed himself of his selfish deeds and on how he realized that social interest is way more essential. Phil waking up knowing that the loop is finally over can be considered as his good karma (he finally attained Moksha) for his unselfish actions. In summary, this movie is showing the audiences of the importance of social interest and challenges us to properly exercise our freedom and to take responsibility for our thoughts and actions.
