Gordon Mallonee -- Groundhog Day

First thing first, it was a really funny movie

The main character Phil was a self-centered jerk in the movie and got stuck in a time vortex of sorts where he repeated the same day until he finally started to live life differently. Phil had to go through a transition where he was no longer self-centered and instead broke away from his ego trip and started to live life for other people. The shift in the film where this happened was when the girl who Phil was in love with told him that he should look at his situation as a blessing instead of a curse. In that scene he calls himself "a god" not "the god" because he knew everything about everyone and he couldn’t die. The Girl was meant to act as a guide for Phil. she is the only one that is able to withstand his precaution and helps to lead him out of his self-centered life style. The Breaking point when it became apparent that Phil was finally doing things the right way was when it started to snow and he acted as if he didn’t expect it. This in a way represents him breaking out of the limbo that he was in. The way I look at the film was that he was stuck in a type of reincarnation that he was trapped in and couldn’t leave instill he had learned everything there was. I think that people are here in this world and reality so that their inner soul might learn new things to help them later in the soul’s journeys across the universe.

Is Profane Relative?

Querube Barber
Profane versus Sacred

Is profane a relative concept? One could say that it is. There are many different concepts of god. A Christian would say that God is three persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. That concept is sacred for a Christian. For others, it would be profane to include God the Son, Jesus, as God. However, some believe in multiple gods. While this would be sacred for them, it would be profane to a Christian.

Consider the view of salvation through faith as stated by Paul and others. This is sacred for those who believe accordingly. For those who believe in salvation through works, this would be profane. In the movie Groundhog Day it appears that sacred came through goods work rather than by faith. Phil escaped the time trap only after he had done good works.

So, does profane and sacred depend on one’s belief? What do you think?

Megan Lekavich/Groundhog Day/1/17/2007

1/17/2007

Megan Lekavich-Groundhog Day

Like we talked about in class, the defining point where Phil’s life began to change was when he told Rita that he was a god. I think it’s interesting that up until that point the same things were going on but he just hadn’t claimed a title yet. When people have titles they often feel pressured to live by it. Not only that, but we often use titles to make sense of chaos. It’s like tribalism; people need to identify themselves with or as something so they know who they are. When Phil was living the same day over and over again he thought he was insane, so to make sense of himself he says he is a god. Not ironically right after that, his behavior changes. He is no longer self-centered and starts doing “good deeds” for other people. This is the type-cast associated with a god. A loving, kind god, who has knowledge beyond others but doesn’t use it negatively.