Casablanca is a 1942 romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz. Set in the beginning of World War II, it focuses on the character Rick Blaine and his life in Morocco. Rick is surrounded by a mysterious past that prevents him from returning to his home in America, and even though the audience learns much about Rick, his reason for exile never surfaces. Rick, now living in Casablanca, owns Rick’s Café Americain and leads a cynical and seemingly lonely lifestyle. The American classic, Casablanca, acts as a political allegory, telling both the story of Rick’s love life as well as the war effort and the dreadful invasion of the Germans. Curtiz employs a unique narrative film structure that utilizes a distorted temporal order and restricted …show more content…
Rick’s flashback takes the film back a few years to Paris, immediately before the Nazi occupation of the city. Rick, called Richard at the time, seems and acts like a completely different person. He is full of life and vigor when he first meets the young and beautiful Ilsa. The couple fall in love and plan to leave Paris together, but Ilsa abandons Rick and he makes the journey to Casablanca alone and heartbroken. Rick still has no understanding of why Ilsa left him and this accounts for his negativity and cynical attitude. However, Curtiz employs an interesting film tactic by revealing to the audience information that Rick does not know. Through narrative dramatic irony, the audience finds out that Ilsa had a legitimate reason for leaving Rick. She thought her husband, Laszlo, to be dead when she fell in love with Rick. When she discovered that he was still alive, she left Rick abruptly without explanation and returned to Laszlo, leaving Rick feeling betrayed. After the club closes, Ilsa returns to try to explain, but Rick is drunk and bitterly refuses to listen. It is after this occurrence that Rick has his flashback to …show more content…
Many of the characters in the film are exiles who have come to Casablanca to begin their lives anew. An exile is a person who is unable to ever return home, and with the idea of exile comes travel. The introduction of the film presents various means of hurried travel which symbolically show people hurriedly fleeing Nazi occupation. This rushed travel contrasts with images of leisurely excursion such as a boat ride down the Seine River which occurs in Rick’s flashback, at a time where Paris was untouched by the Nazi’s. The film begins with scenes of travel and importantly ends with travel. The final scene in which Ilsa and Victor leave, demonstrates that for the exile, travel is never ending. The journey never ceases during a time in which there is war. The spotlight in Casablanca also acts as a symbolic motif. The light constantly shines over Casablanca and Rick’s café which serves as a reminder that the citizens are always under watch. The light follows important individuals such as Laszlo around which symbolizes the fragility of his safety. Ilsa and Laszlo must leave Casablanca because as long as they are under the watch and scrutiny of the spotlight, they are never truly safe and able to conduct their business to fight the
In the essay “Beautiful Friendship: Masculinity & Nationalism in Casablanca”, Peter Kunze lavishly explains the magnificence of Michael Curtiz’s 1942 film Casablanca. Kunze focuses on how the movie not only highlights an exchange of relationships, but how the film has an underlying meaning between these relationships. He also implies that there is a more complex meaning behind every character in regards to their gender, economic, and social roles. The overall thesis of his reading is “the patriarchal ideology underlying the narrative commodifies Ilsa, leading Rick to exchange her with other men in an act of friendship and solidarity as well as to dissuade any perception of queerness between the strong male friendships in the narrative” (Kunze
Casablanca was directed in an era almost entirely dedicated to propaganda, as far as the film industry is concerned. The movie promoted America and the Allies similar to most films of the time, but it did so in a much different manner. The story told in Casablanca follows the main character, Rick, through his personal affairs and love tango with another lead character, Ilsa Lund. The film begins with Rick alone running his saloon based in Casablanca, in which he seems very indifferent to other people’s affairs, and comes off as very exclusive. He is delivered letters of transit by a man named Ugarte, which are nearly priceless to any refugee desiring to flee to the United States or another unoccupied country. Rick continues to act disinterested, reluctantly agreeing to hide the documents. He holds onto them even after Ugarte is killed for having stolen the letters, although there did not seem to be an...
In the film Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz, a clear juxtaposition exists between Rick and America. Despite Rick’s numerous similarities to America and his deep longing to be part of the country, a physical and psychological barrier separates the two. With America practically being on the opposite end of the world, Rick understands that he cannot abandon his responsibility to aid and influence others in Casablanca. Rick is willing to sacrifice his personal comfort and well-being for the greater good of society. This juxtaposition between America and Rick foreshadows that the United States would soon become involved in the war by overtly displaying Rick’s transformation when he confronts his troubled past.
The film Casablanca, indeed, involves problems that Rick faced and he finally solved that problem, ending in a satisfying way. Risk’s equilibrium is disrupted when he is going to leave Paris with his girl friend Ilsa because Ilsa doesn’t showed up at last. Risk becomes a boss of a cafe in Casablanca but he never imagines that he would encounter Ilsa again. Ilsa walks into Risk’s life again by accident when she is planing to get a letter of transit in Casablanca in order to escape to America with her husband. At the same time, Nazi Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca and tries to stop Ilsa’s husband from leaving Casablanca. Risk’s equlibrium is disrupted again. Risk still loves and hates Ilsa, and moreover, he gets the letter of transit. Even though Risk wanted to stay with Ilsa and let her husband go to America alone, Risk finally let Ilsa and her husband go and killed the Nazi Major Strasser. That is a satisfying ending.
The Allegory of the Cave has many parallels with The Truman Show. Initially, Truman is trapped in his own “cave”; a film set or fictional island known as Seahaven. Truman’s journey or ascension into the real world and into knowledge is similar to that of Plato’s cave dweller. In this paper, I will discuss these similarities along with the very intent of both of these works whose purpose is for us to question our own reality.
Have you ever thought about six to thirteen year olds ever acting like savages and turning into a serial killer? After reading Lord of the Flies, this is exactly what happened. Ralph, Piggy, Jack and other kids cash land on a gorgeous island with leaving no trace for the world to find them. Ralph tries to be organized and logical, but in the other hand, Jack is only interested in satisfying his pleasures. Just like in the short story, The Tortoise And The Hare, Lord of the Flies, stands for something. This novel is a psychological allegory, the island, as the mind, Ralph, the leader, as the ego, Jack, the hunter, as the id, and Piggy, an annoying little boy, as the super ego. As we read Lord Of
The 1942 movie, “Casablanca” portrays a World War II era enclave where refugees fled Nazi Europe and used this unoccupied city as a safe haven while pursuing their dreams of coming to America. The main character is Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart, who owns a nightclub and casino in unoccupied Morocco during the Nazi era. Blaine, whose sole purpose appears to be money, illuminates a sense of arrogance and self righteousness as he assists in retrieving the necessary immigration documents for those who are willing to pay the price for their freedom. Hidden deep within his memory are the reflections of a women that he once loved, Ilsa Lund, played by Ingrid Bergman. The third leading role was that of Paul Henreid who played the Ilsa’s husband in the movie. Victor Laszlo, a Jewish activist who was on the run from the German Regime was once believed to be dead after being captured and placed in a concentration camp, during which time his wife (Ilsa) fled to Paris and ultimately had an affair with Rick Blaine.
The German invasion brings the Casablanca people together to rebel the trespassers, showing that people will bind together and rise against. Rick (Bogart) and Victor (Henreid) oppose each other, but for the greater purpose, they support each other. This movement is considered dignified and American people continuously support a congregation rising against unrighteous authorities. Even today, fighting against the intruders for their homeland rights remains a common American theme, such as record breaking Avatar, the popular Dances with Wolves, and the animated children’s film Ferngully. The Revolutionary war caused this reoccurring theme with Americans playing the rebels fighting against a controlling superior country. Casablanca portrays the timeless, reoccurring American theme of assembling movements against conformist aggressors.
The song “As Time Goes By”, plays a specific role in connecting the past of Rick and Ilsa in Paris. The first time Ilsa walks into Rick’s cafe she asks Sam to play that very song. Sam at first seems hesitant because he knows the pain the song can put on Rick. The song brings him back to when they were happily in love, and the pain he felt when she didn’t show up at the train station. Just like the other guests, Rick tries to forget that pain by trying to never hear that song again. Sam eventually decides to play the song, and it turns out for the best. Rick even though remembering the hurtful past experiences, remembers the good ones as well. They eventually become reacquainted with each other. This allows Rick to keep his life moving because when Ilsa ditched him, he has been in halted state. Now that Rick had his life back up and running, he could setout to be the hero depicted towards the end of the
“The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness.”- (Kazantzakis). The play Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder, takes place in the small town of Grover’s Corners. The residents of Grover’s Corners are content with their lives and do not mind the small town they are living in. Emily Webb, a girl living in Grover’s Corners does not think secondly about her life… until it is over. This play can be compared to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, where men are kept prisoner until one man is able to escape. Only after escaping the cave, does the man realize how much better the life outside is, and truly understands that his previous life was a prison. Emily's crossing from life to death is a parallel to the the
Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is a novel about British schoolboys, who survived on an island after the plane crash. This novel is an allegory: It is a literary work in which each character, event, or object is symbolic outside of the novel. It is allegorical in the level of society in terms of three major symbols. The conch symbolizes civilization, and helps to possess an organized law and order. Next, Jack, as the main antagonist in the novel, represents a savage in the society. Furthermore, the fire signifies the return of civilization and conflicts within the society. Thus, Lord of the Flies is an allegory for society since it represents good governance, humanity’s innate cruelty, and struggles to the return of its civilization.
The Allegory of Men painted by Frans Francken in 1635 perfectly depicts the impact of religion during that time period. Francken was a devote Catholic during the 1600s when the church had a lot of influence on the community and government(“Frans Francken the”) . The painter’s intention was to capture the people’s awareness of the church’s power on one’s afterlife. The painting instills good catholic values by reminding people how important it is to make proper decisions to be granted entrance into heaven. Since the church has so much power, they ultimately decide what were “good” and “evil” choices. Divided into three parts the painting shows heaven, Earth, and hell. However, the underlying message in the painting is how humans end up
The Epstein brothers created Casablanca, a romantic adventure, like no other of its time. There are few movies that are loved by men and women alike. Casablanca is one such movie. It successfully combines action, adventure, love and romance into a film loved by all.
...t it is clearly obvious what is about to happen using an establishing shot. Casablanca also uses camera angle specifically portraying Captain Renault and Strasser as less powerful people in the office scene. Editing allows for smooth transitions between shots and allows for us as viewers to experience the scene like we are seeing through the characters eyes. Lighting provides us a mood of the scene, specifically when Rick first sees Ilsa for the first time since Paris. The Music plays a role in how we as audiences should feel while watching the movie. And without production design movies would not flow correctly. Every setting is specifically chosen to depict the location where the scene takes place. Casablanca is a quintessential film because it ties up all the formal elements of classical Hollywood. Without this movie Hollywood may be a completely different place.
Robert B. Ray categorizes Casablanca as "the most typical" American film. Ray uses Casablanca as a tutor text for what he calls the formal paradigm of Classical Hollywood as well as the thematic paradigm that addresses the conflict between isolationism and communitarian participation. The film is typical in its appropriation of an official hero Laszlo, who stands for the civilizing values of home and community, and an outlaw hero Rick, who stands for individu...