10 Great Movies You Didn't Know Had A Hidden Symbolic Meaning

2. The Path To Enlightenment - Groundhog Day

Another movie which takes on new significance when viewed through the lens of psychology is Harold Ramis's Groundhog Day, the 1993 classic comedy starring Bill Murray as a man trapped in a loop living out the same day over and over again. Like The Wizard of Oz, Groundhog Day's non-literal interpretation transforms the film into an allegory for spiritual transformation. There's no end of fun watching Phil Connors (Murray) coming to terms with living the same day repeatedly, and it's fitting that a film with this concept is so eminently watchable. On the surface, the message of the importance of self-improvement is clear, but beyond this Groundhog Day can be read as something much deeper - nothing less, in fact, than the total spiritual transformation of a man who comes to be reborn after mastering selflessness and dissolving his ego. Buddhists have embraced Groundhog Day as a perfect example of the values they espouse, but it's appeal is even broader than you might think, with Catholics seeing it as a representation of Purgatory and "the most spiritual film of our time."