Comparing Buddhism And Buddhism In The Film Groundhog Day By Phil Connors

In the film Groundhog Day, Phil Connors, an arrogant, materialistic and successful weatherman, reincarnates each day, repeating the same events. While everyone else is oblivious to the cycle, Phil’s endless loop slowly prompts the transformation of his behavior and values. As his intentions change, he becomes a better version of himself until he releases his attachments, liberating himself from his temporal prison. The themes portrayed throughout the film relate strongly to Buddhism, however classifying the film as Buddhist, is untenable. While there is clearly overlap between the themes in Groundhog day and the Dharma, this romantic-fantasy-comedy only plays with the teachings of The Buddha, providing a micro introduction to Buddhist concepts

27). While Phil experiences the same day over and over, it is different from our classes understanding of Samara because it lacks the death and rebirth, and the reincarnation. Phil “reincarnates” each day, but it is with complete awareness of his cycle. As beings caught in Samsara, we are subject to death and rebirth, and with rebirth comes the loss of our conscious knowledge of our previous life. A tree reincarnated as a woman does not recall the limbs torn down or the water given in her previous life, she does not seek to fulfil the debts or gratitudes of her previous life. She is not influenced by these things. However, Phil is reborn in his cycle completely conscious of his history and his karma. An eternal awareness that characterizes only The Buddha (Gethin, Ch. 1). Although we see the change in his behavior and intention, it begs the question of his authenticity. If he is aware of his previous actions, his previous lives, how can he truly release his attachment to changing this karma through his actions. The audience can see that Phil becomes a better version of himself, resulting in his freedom from his cycle. While it is a flimsy portrayal of the Buddhist Samsara, it does introduce and expose people to the important concept of