And we thought a groundhog was going to predict the winter weather. The Weather Network has scooped the news:
Air masses do battle in Ontario, setting the stage for a STORMY pattern in February.
How long will the Pandemic lockdowns go on before we term this the COVID Groundhog Day. We can expect quite a few articles on the topic today. Groundhog Day is now defined in the English lexicon as a means to describe a monotonous, unpleasant, and repetitive situation.
If that's the case, can you imagine how many stages we will be going through? The script itself seemed to have a Groundhog Day experience.
The script originated with writer Danny Rubin. The script didn't initially sell. Harold Ramis received the script: "he admitted that he did not laugh while reading Rubin's script. He was interested in the underlying spirituality and romance present, but thought that it needed more humor. The pair discussed the core ideas in the script, raising parallels between it and the concepts of Buddhism and reincarnation.They also talked whether it was ethical for Superman—a superhuman being with the power to save the lives of countless people and prevent disasters—to effectively waste time on adventures with his partner Lois Lane."
There were so many rewrites that reading about them seems wearying. Rubin started, Ramis rewrote, then Rubin and Bill Murray rewrote. There was writing during the filming. Rubin has said that "the final film mainly resembles his script." I consider that to be vague praise.
My favourite aspect of the movie is the different estimates of the time loop - the studio's 2 weeks to 9 years to 34 years. Rubin's estimate was 70 to 80 years. Ramis' estimate is 10,000 years based on the traditional Buddhist doctrine of the time it takes for a soul to evolve to the next level.
"It is only when Phil stops using the loops to indulge his own desires and instead uses them to selflessly help others that he is freed."
Is that the Pandemic message to be gained from this film? A CNN writer today - Feb 2 2021 - thinks that we are in our own Act 3 - where Phil memorizes French poetry and learns to sculpt ice and play the piano. I think that CNN writer is lost in the loop. But here's the advice:
"As we each pass or approach one year of lockdown, "Groundhog Day" still has lessons on how to manage our own loop. The last act of the film reminds us to focus on three areas that bring us closer to happiness if we can muster the effort.
Do the right thing
It's the little things
Variety is the spice of life"
Make a guess - where do you think we are in the cycle?
Here's last year's snowstorm image demonstrating winter does repeat itself. And then on to some montages - the first a Floyd Elzinga image overlaid with the blue copper grunge used previously. The last one is the weeping Cherry tree on Niagara street overlaid with a pastel abstract.
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