Ground Hog Day Film Analysis

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Kyle Horan 1/8/13 Sexuality and Dating Mr. Whartenby Sex and Love in Punxsutawney The film Ground Hog Day revolves around the Phil, a successful weatherman/ reporter who every year is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to report on the Ground Hog Day phenomenon. Phil is a cynical person that leads a life only for himself and the profits he can make. Over the course of his time at Punxsutawney he goes through a series of stages that ultimately change him from the person he was when he first arrived, to a fully matured man. Phil slowly goes through the stages of love and which help him to reach a certain level of enlightenment that ultimately changes him and his outlook on life. At an early point in the movie it is made clear that Phil is in the first stage of love which is, egocentric, sarcastic, and narcissistic. When he first arrives in Punxsutawney he treats almost everyone he talks to as though they were lower than him. He uses sarcasm and other insults to put down Larry, Rita, and other various townspeople. Within the first few scenes of the movie Phil disregards: a beggar on the street, an old acquaintance from high school, and Rita and Larry’s feelings. It seems that Phil has no idea how to actually treat other people. His egocentric motives have robbed him of his general humanity and of his awareness to his fellow man. He selfishly goes through life only thinking of what’s best for himself. The people of Punxsutawney all enjoy the ground hog day festival because it has become a pivotal part in the town as a major tourist attraction. Phil is unable to see why everyone enjoys the festival so much because he is too wrapped up in his own ways to ever use empathy or put himself in other people’s positions. As the film progresses Phil realizes he is in a hellish nightmare with no end in sight and so he soon sees the “benefits” to reliving the same

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