Groundhog Day

1. Groundhog Day

2. Cause and Effect • Didn’t affect him • Learning skills • Figuring out what each person’s needs were • Hitting on Rita • Committing suicide • The culmination of them all • Eventually began using this to his advantage

3. Temporal • Throughout the movie, when he would fail, it wouldn’t play the entire day through again, but rather cut to that moment where he was able to fix his actions to accomplish his goal (hitting on Rita at the bar)

4. Range • The audience had unrestricted range • Phil eventually caught up, and both the audience and he progressed at the same rate in terms of knowledge • He surpasses us at one point, when he knows what to expect from people

5. Emotional Meaning • We are here to love; Life is what you make it • Phil is initially a self-centered jerk • He spends his time improving himself once he realizes his predicament

6. Referential Meaning • Phil is Greek for “love” • Cold Weather is a metaphor • “I’ve Got You Babe” is a song about two lovers • Theme Song – Weatherman • Tells the tale of someone who is depressed until he realizes he can’t rely on himself for happiness

7. Implicit Meaning • Being nice to others could benefit yourself • Life is what you make it • When he’s sad and down, he ends up feeling terrible • When he works on self-improvement, he lives much happier life and works on helping others

8. Explicit Meaning • When Rita flat out called Phil a jerk • Rita was impressed by Phil’s nice personality towards the end of the movie

9. Is it a Good Story? • Unified Plot • Told through small individual subplots • Plausible • Took advantage of his situation once he realized what happened • Went on a journey of self-improvement • Aside from the impossibility of repeating the same day over and over

10. Externally Observable Truths • We are here to love • Life is what you make it • Sometimes there isn’t anything you can do to change a situation no matter how hard you try • What goes around comes around (positive light)

11. Internal Truths of Human Nature • Man vs. Man • Man vs. Time • Man vs. Life

12. Suspense • Is created whenever he undertakes an endeavor • Saving the old man from dying • Hitting on Rita • Killing himself in a variety of ways • Mini-suspenseful situations • Created when he repeats actions, such as stepping in the puddle or what he is going to do to Ned

13. Complex • Complex in the way of tying together all the mini-subplots, which we don’t see until the end • Simple • Relatively easy to understand what’s going on and each day is in the same order, so we know what will happen up to a certain point everyday

14. Emotional Material With Restraint • There is humor in this movie, so all emotions have an underlying factor • Isn’t as serious a movie, but emotions are still present and portrayed in a manner where you sympathize with Phil

15. Themes • Loss of identity and purpose • Redeeming acts – anything that corrects a previous wrongdoing • When is life worth living?

16. Intent/Message • The message is that when we get over the hardships and see past all that is bad in life, life becomes much better • Before the time loop, Phil was unhappy and rude, but after the time loop, everyone wanted to know him and he was nice

17. Human Nature: Phil was at first depressed and killed himself several times, but after the time loop ended he became much nicer • Social Problems: Phil wasn’t popular or liked by all before the time loop, but after he became popular and everyone wanted to know him

18. Symbols • Clock – Always resets everyday at 6 am and the radio starts at 6, signaling a new day • Groundhog – Phil hates the groundhog, and ironically shares the same name • Diner – Phil ate at the same diner everyday showing hopelessness • Radio – Reminds us when the day starts over

19. Symbols • The people around him seen everyday • Ned • Old, dying man • Rita • The puddle – signifies he’s learning

20. Subplot 1 • Killing himself – He found out he could do whatever he wanted to and nothing would happen to him • This is his downward spiral and problem he has to overcome

21. Subplot 2 • Trying to get with Rita – He realized he had feelings for Rita despite hating her early on, and he attempted to change so she would like him by manipulating what he said

22. Subplot 3 • Trying to make everyone happy – He found a new purpose in his life when he changed to save the peoples’ lives around him • This marks the beginning of the end of the Groundhog Day for him

23. Subtext • Phil tells Rita, “I don’t worry about anything anymore” • This shows Phil is telling Rita something is wrong (In his case being stuck in a time loop)

24. Phil tells Rita, “I have a life wish I’m just trying to enjoy it. Taking pleasure in the little things. Don’t you ever just want to cut loose and go wild”? • This indicates Phil has changed; he used to be grumpy and never happy, but now he is talking to Rita about cutting loose and having fun

25. Phil tells Rita: But there is no tomorrow for me” • This indicates that Phil knows Rita will not remember the conversation the next day so he is trying to make the most out of their day together

26. Titles/Opening Credits • The opening credits are in the sky and clouds are moving, signaling a passage of time. In the opening newscast, Phil predicted there wouldn’t be a blizzard, or a metaphorically storm, but there in fact, happened to be one

27. Story/Plot/Narrative • Set-Up: Phil was asking around and learning several skills which set up for the ending of the movie • Key Motives: • Sad: When Phil was trying to get with Rita but couldn’t • Enraged: When he kept repeating the same day over and over

28. Non-Diegetic/Diegetic Elements • Non-Diegetic Elements include: The music that would play; the titles • Diegetic Elements include: All things heard or seen within the movie

29. Motivation • Phil was motivated to get out of Groundhog Day because he hated the day, thought it was dumb, and was stuck reporting everyday • He got bored of the same events everyday, until he eventually used his knowledge against people

30. Point of View • The story is told by the main character. The film’s perspective is primarily emotional and visionary. In this movie we could actually see what was going on and how the character felt and reacted. The movie wasn’t very realistic because not many humans experience this in their own life. Phil’s situation seems very supernatural.

31. Scenes: • 1. Phil breaks a pencil in the night and the next morning he realizes he is living in the same day for sure because the pencil is reassembled again. Time: 24:25-25:34. This would be a shift of focus.

32. 2. Once Phil realizes he is living the same day over he treats life as a joke. He drives recklessly at 31:48. This is a shift of focus. • 3. Phil wakes up next to Rita towards the end of the movie and it is no longer Groundhog Day. Time: 1:35:11. This would be the turning point of the film. • In this entire movie, the focus is entirely on Phil. The camera zoomed in on people’s faces when it was shot from Phil’s point of view.

33. Settings • Day 1: • Filmed in Illinois, Pennsylvania and California • The hotel Rita rents for Phil • A man asks Phil about the weather • The living room where the owner asks Phil if he slept well • The street Phil walks along on the way to the festival

34. Where the festival is • Goes to the coffee place • Phil is about to go back, but can’t because the blizzard closes the roads

35. Day 2: • Wakes up with the same song • Gets asked about the weather • Owner asks him if he slept well • Passes homeless guy/runs into Ned Ryerson • Gives same review of Groundhog Day

36. Day 3-15: • Answers the guy who asks him about the weather/owner as well • Know the whole jeopardy game • Talks to Ned • Gives money to the homeless • Gets girls • Gets to know everyone in the coffee place • Tries to kill himself

37. Day 15-40: • Talks to Rita • Wins her heart • Nicer person • Takes piano lessons/sculpts perfect face of Rita • Knows everything about everyone he met • Helps people in town

38. Time of year: 1993 • Time of day: Morning, morning through night

39. Dialogue • 1: Phil: “What if there were no tomorrow?” • Gus: “No tomorrow? That would mean there would be no consequences, there would be no hangovers, we could do whatever we wanted!” • Phil: (thinking) “That’s true. We could do...whatever we wanted

40. Reason • At times we just have to live life to the fullest in order to truly be happy in predetermined circumstances

41. 2: Phil: “It’s the same things your whole life. ‘clean your room!’, ‘stand up straight!’, ‘pick up your feet!’, ‘take it like a man’, ‘be nice to your sister!’, ‘don’t mind beer and wine, ever!’, Oh yeah – ‘don’t drive on the railroad tracks!’” • Gus: “Eh Phil…that’s one I happen to agree with”

42. Reason • We have to be nice to people at times, we aren’t always in control of our lives