It’s Groundhog Day!

Well, it was yesterday, and with Punxsutawney Phil not seeing his shadow, the prognosticator has declared that an early Spring is ahead. Despite being accurate only 30% of the time in the last few decades, thousands of fans gather to hear the prediction and to celebrate the days ahead.

In 1993, Columbia Pictures released Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. This film centers around a weather man, Phil (Murray), who finds himself stuck living through a time loop in the small town of Punxsutawney.

It is unknown just how many times Phil relived that cold December day. While there were some things he could influence in the town, there were some things he couldn’t change, no matter how hard he tried.

Despite being over 2 decades old, this movie is still celebrated as an example of the time loop trope.

Throughout the movie, Phil goes on a journey of self-discovery as he tries to find out why he can’t move on to February 3rd. That journey almost mirrors the stages of grief.

Denial

For the first couple of repeats, Phil doesn’t accept what happens. He’s in shock, he’s confused, and it causes some interesting reactions.

I can’t imagine being stuck in the same situation repeatedly.

Anger

Then, it moves to anger. We see this when Phil starts to do odd stunts or even when he attempts to escape the town, only to find the snowstorm strands him there.

Bargaining

Phil starts to see what he can change. If he learns this skill or helps this person, surely it will stop the loop.

But he tries something different when he wakes up and realizes it is still February 2nd.

Arguably, this is one of the longer stages of the time loop trope as Phil tries dozens of different things. But failure after failure stacks up.

Inevitably, that leads to…

Depression

This is the darker part of the movie. It’s also one of the more infamous scenes from the film.

Feeling as if there’s no way out, Phil ends up in situations where he ends it, starting the loop over instead of enduring a whole day.

The most notable time is when he steals the groundhog, and the two end up over a cliff in a blaze of glory.

5. Acceptance

Eventually, Phil seems to accept his situation and find a new normal within this bizarre situation. However, once he wins over Rita, he discovers he can break the loop and finally move on to the future.

Groundhog Day has quirky characters, a delightful cast, and an engaging story. Alongside that, it’s set to a quirky tradition in a small town in Pennsylvania.

It helped define the time loop trope as we see it in media today. As someone who loves looking at examples of theoretical time travel, I will watch this movie once a year around this time.

Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow. An early spring is upon us.

Do you enjoy the movie? Do you have a favorite use of the time loop trope? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.

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Featured Image: IMDb

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