The Film Groundhog Day And He's Not The Same Man

Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus once remarked, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” The film Groundhog Day demonstrates the same concept discussed in the quote. The movie is about a man’s philosophical journey about spirituality and the very nature of immorality. Through this topic, Groundhog Day narrates a platonic morality tale. This links with the Greek theater’s purpose at the time to promote and teach good citizenry to the audience. The Groundhog Day explores the primordial question on Nietzsche’s key philosophy of eternal recurrence by using ordinary character in the narrative. In Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche argues that the Greek tragedy was born when the Dionysian worldview

He is not handsome, rich, brave, good, nor fun. He is in fact another dissatisfied salary man that is going through his mundane life with sarcasm and a frown on his face. He is a true portrayal of ordinary people in this world because many people feel like every day is the same from yesterday, and thinking they will never be able to escape from the reality’s suffering. This is demonstrated in the film as Phil confesses his agony to a man named Ralph at the bar saying, “What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?” To this Ralph replies, “That about sums it up for me.” This ordinary issue torments most people. Continuous pain that comes from not realizing the reason or purpose to live is eternal recurrence. However, Phil Connors demonstrates that we as citizens have free choice to change the circumstances we are in and our reactions to it. Connor’s initial reaction to his recurrence represents the common stages of depression that people experience: denial, anger, depression, and acceptance. The plot shows Phil’s multiple suicide attempts as he comments, “I have been stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, hung, electrocuted, and burned” in order to escape from his

Then he fully enjoys his god-like position for a short time. Phil becomes “egoistic” and selfish because he thinks he is eternal, but this leads him to find the reality more boring. After he realizes that he is not able to die, his depression gets worse. The film portrays possible choices of attitudes one can take when faced with a struggle such as this. One can go insane or sane but stressed constantly. Connors chooses to accept his fate and actively make the best out of it. He gets educated and becomes a musician, doctor, artist, and linguist. At the end, Connors reaches something of self-enlightenment through self-transformation. He is reborn with his true self-worth and identity. In Groundhog Day, Phil is devastated when he realizes that the beggar will die. This feeling of loss triggers Phil to transform himself to become a better person. This represents the process of recreation. If the hero were originally noble, then there would have been no reason for a rebirth and conclusively a learning process such as this that would reveal a lesson the audience can learn. The moment one accepts and affirms one’s life is when one can free oneself from the constraining struggles and pain of life. This is when one has become a Nietzsche’s Übermensch, the supreme life-affirmer. In other words, Nietzsche is telling us the message of “carpe diem” to seize the moment and live in the present rather than the past