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Everyone at one point runs from something, whether it be out of fear, or pain, or loss. There is 20/20 vision looking into the past but the effects of the things that have happened are frightening and the future is never very clear. Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca is a war-time film intended to teach the audience the truth in never being able to escape the past and, furthermore, the truth in never being able to escape from problems. The story follows American Rick Blaine, a bitter man who frequently falls into moral ambiguity, who ultimately must decide between the love of his life, Ilsa, and the leader of many resistance movements, Victor Laszlo. Ultimately, Curtiz’s use of characterization, setting, and theme portray the lesson that the confrontation …show more content…
One pop culture change was the presence of African Americans, especially in sports; athletes like Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, and Jackie Robinson became increasingly popular (“1940s News”). This could have influenced the director to add in a likable black character, which came in the form of Sam. Although Sam was not an athlete, he was an athlete of the piano and could be considered the symbolic liveliness of Rick’s café, bringing entertainment to the displaced people the same way sports in the 1940s distracted people from the war. The growth of the radio also grew to an increasing sense of globalism, which increased the world’s desire to know what was going on and where. An audience’s desire to witness something outside of the immediate probably lead Curtiz to choose an unknown and exotic location, such as Casablanca, to be the movie’s setting. Finally and most obviously, 1940s pop culture became increasingly war-centric. Movies in the 1940s generally fell into three categories: combat action films, individual stories in the face of war, and documentaries (Reinhardt). The success of these options probably left Curtiz with really no choice but to create a romantic film fitting the criteria of the movies that the masses …show more content…
Although his initial presentation is rough and rude, he becomes the hero of the day. Rick starts off as a mysteriously bitter man, who came to Casablanca with no one, gave no reason as to why he was there, and lived by the mantra “I stick my neck out for nobody” (Casablanca), which eventually lead him to ownership of very important letters of transit. His only relationships are with Sam, a close friend and employee, Renault and Ferrari, a shady policeman and businessman, respectively, and Yvonne, a quickly discarded girlfriend. Based on the company he keeps, he seems to be a slimy, “playing for both sides” kind of guy. However, despite his best efforts to seem neutral, it is revealed to the audience that Rick fought with the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War and brought guns into Ethiopia in the country’s war with Italy, exposing his true character. When his ex Ilsa walks back into his life, he ends up drunk and angry that she has found someone else after she left him and refuses to help her and her husband, the underground resistance leader Victor Laszlo, escape the country. After a few tense meetings, Ilsa softens Rick’s heart by explaining to him her story prior to their relationship, why she did not stay with him, and that she is still very in love with him. Resigned in this matter, Ilsa realizes she is not strong enough to figure out everything on her own and tells Rick he has
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 1982, the journalist Chuck Ross, in an experiment for Film Comment, mailed the script of Casablanca to 217 agencies under a different title and under a different authorship name. Although many rejected it for external reasons, eighty-one agencies read it and of those, fifty-three did not recognize it as the classic. But here’s the cherry on top: forty-one agencies criticized the iconic, Oscar-winning script with harsh words. One wrote, “Story line is thin. Too much
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.
... out of a 1950s woman's film. The melodramatic influences of the film continue to manifest themselves in the newer release, just as Apocalypse Now continues to influence the epic movies of contemporary filmmakers. The unison of operatic spectacle and personal conflict spawned an original genre in the 1970s that remains an effective method of addressing social concerns. As we enter another period of political unrest and social change, it is likely that a new wave of melodramatic films is beginning to form on the horizon; there are certainly parallels between a government that declares war on terrorism and the U.S. army in Vietnam, who "knew everything about military tactics, but nothing about where they were or who the enemy was" (Cowie 143). From Conrad to Coppola, nuclear family to nuclear terrorism; never get off the boat, unless you're willing to go all the way.
American film and radio changed dramatically because of the 1940s and everything that came with the time. Theatre got darker after the war, also bringing propaganda into radio and film. The radio was the way Americans connected to the world because it offered on the spot information. Everyone was tuned into the radio for news, entertainment and music.... ... middle of paper ...
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.
...o survive and flee the inevitable evil. With World War II raging, viewers in the United States could feel the fear and anxieties as well as compassion for the characters. Although some movies can be rewritten to obtain a better effect over the viewers, Casablanca cannot be redone. The mere fact that the evil of the day was a reality of the time prevents this movie from ever having the same effect on the audience.
Classic film noir originated after World War II. This is the time where post World War II pessimism, anxiety, and suspicion was taking the world by storm. Many films that were released in the U.S. Between 1939s and 1940s were considered propaganda films that were designed for entertainment during the Depression and World War II. During the 1930s many German and Europeans immigrated to the U.S. and helped the American film industry with powerf...
...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.
Writer Ayn Rand once said that, “Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.” This happiness is not what a person feels when common pleasures occur in their lives, such as the purchase of a new car, or a promotion at work and an increase in salary. The feeling of genuine inner well-being and peace is a completely separate state of being that can be witnessed in Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner. The two key characters to the story, Amir and Hassan, share a very unique relationship. They achieve the deepest longing of humanity to achieve happiness through the different choices they make and experiences they have. Hassan proves to be on the proper path to happiness early on with a strong moral conscience in his life, sense of purpose to serve others, and the self-confidence to be independent. On the other hand, Amir struggles to achieve these same qualities as Hassan; to do the right thing, to think of others, and to carry his own weight with confidence.
This is an extremely basic concept that is impossible to miss. Implicit meaning in a film is an idea that isn’t directly expressed but still should be understood by the viewers that are watching. Implicit meaning in Casablanca: In Michael Crutiz’s Casablanca (1943) we see that the characters are trying to outrun their pasts.
Through most of the characters’ passion for filmmaking, this movie teaches the audience the great significance of film history. Many people in modern day tend to take film and its history for granted, but they do not realize the depth and effort that mankind has put into such a development. In Hugo, the theme of film history revolves around the entire production, and the audience sees flashbacks of Georges Méliès’ past that reveal his vital role in movie-making. By investing a deep meaning to the tale, viewers start to understand the great emotional and intellectual characteristics of movies. Additionally, Hugo himself delivers a message to his counterpart characters, which also serves as a lesson for the onlookers. He shows the audience that everyone has a part and purpose in this world. Protagonist Hugo Cabret says that “everything has a purpose, even machines. Clocks tell the time, trains take you places. They do what they’re meant to do.” Voicing through Hugo, the filmmakers illustrate how every individual has a reason to live and discover their calling. With a statement about the forgotten grandeur of film history and a valuable message to the crowd regarding one’s purpose, Hugo inspires and presents itself as a noteworthy and unforgettable
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...
The timing of this film was a significant factor in the story line. In the middle of the Great Depression unemployment and poverty were a major