The Wisdom of Groundhog Day

In one of my classes recently I was introducing my students to ancient Jewish wisdom literature. (I can practically hear the jealousy oozing through my computer screen on the part of those of you who were not in the class.) During the course of our exploration, the classic movie Groundhog Day came up and it illustrated an interesting aspect of both film and wisdom (especially important since those two concepts frequently do not mix-- Allegiant, I'm looking at you).

By design, films are open to interpretation and the best films are often those that are capable of sparking a diversity of reactions. People within Jewish and Christian communities have tended to see Groundhog Day as a modern retelling of the book of Ecclesiastes. The parallels are admittedly striking: a man explores various aspects of human existence (wealth, pleasure, etc) in order to find purpose for his life, only to conclude that the true meaning or purpose in life can only be found by looking outside of himself. But the interpretations of this film by no means stop there. Sara Stewart of the New York Post has a recent essay in which she details various interpretations of the film's meaning. (http://nypost.com/2016/02/02/people-are-weirdly-obsessed-with-the-true-meaning-of-groundhog-day/)

People have seen in this film the representation of Buddhist principles, an analogy for the doctrine of purgatory, an exploration of various philosophical ideas (Ancient Greek, Nietzchean, etc), and even, yes, the essence of Yoga.

The diversity of viewpoints regarding the message of this film actually illustrates an important component of wisdom. One way of defining wisdom is that of learning truth about the world through experience. That so many people of differing faiths, practices, and ideological backgrounds see their outlook on life reflected in the film highlights the fact that Groundhog Day has captured something true about the world and about human life. What that specific truth is, however, would appear to be in the eye of the beholder.

#GroundhogDay #Wisdom