A Groundhog Moment: Examination of a Pivotal Emotional Singularity

Abstract

In this article, the author dissects and refracts a single, defining moment in his life using autoethnography and the lenses of specific communication and social theories. The author mines the moment in first, second, and third person to uncover the different responses to overwhelming emotions ranging from the noble to the shameful in response to his father’s “coming out of the closet.” A torrent of emotion took the author by surprise and is the total moment of his analysis in this article. The author scrutinizes the multiple ways in which this moment was a release, a turning point, an ending, a beginning, bittersweet, hateful and hate filled, selfish, guilt ridden, and loving. Through multiple retellings of the event, like the film Groundhog Day, the author presents the moment in different narrative formats, from multiple perspectives, with relevant quotations and passages to thoroughly dissect the emotional layers.