Casablanca

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

Casablanca will never again be left out of conversation that I have with others about making statements. This film is the epitome of film noir art. The film, based off of the unproduced play Everybody Comes to Rick’s, was shot and released right in the middle of World War II. No one knew who was going to win, and I find it interesting how the film basically mirrors Rick’s (Humphrey Bogart) character with America and its role in the war, which I will bring up again later.  The film tackled the task of finding a balance between romance, suspense/action, and comedy. This task was carried out rather skillfully, making the film as the text points out, “the best of the wartime films” (Foster 195). Casablanca definitely turned out to be better than what I thought it would be, and the fact that the world was experiencing the war during the time that this was shot made depicting the time period that much easier. There is almost no need for dramatization when it comes to the acting because the fear, confusion, and urge for what was happening to end were feelings probably already in tact.

Foster, William R. "Hollywood Goes to War." Early Film History. Dubuque, IA:

Kendall Hunt Pub., 2009. 195-196. Print.

2) Find a related article and summarize the content.

 “Casablanca: the Romance of Propaganda” written by Tanfer Emin Tunc was a rather lengthy and in-depth article about the film itself as well as the time period. Tunc went into quite a bit of history, discussing what was going on around the time the film was made. The article touched on some of the stylistic and cinematic decisions that went into not only the film, but into areas like casting as well. Tunc mentions that the cast for the film “was a utopia of international understanding…” (par. 5). The actors/actresses were from all over including America, Australia, and even Sweden. It was interesting, as the article took a turn diving into talk of film noir, as well as basically completely veering of into what seemed to turn into a character analysis of Rick. The article intertwined the film, its scenes, and intentions with what was going on in the word. This ultimately gave depth to what was being said, and applying it back to reality helped to understand just how important everything was.

 ***Link to article used***

Tunc, Tanner Emin. "Casablanca: The Romance of Propaganda." Bright Lights Film Journal.

         N.p., 01 Feb. 2007. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. <http://brightlightsfilm.com/casablanca- 

         romance-propaganda/#.VkvIKoR_ygM>.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.

I appreciated the way in which the article chose to capture the film, making it almost impossible to think any other way or form separate opinions about it. The article points out that the minute Rick let Ilsa back into his life, he tossed away any previous ideas of his “never sticking his neck out for anyone” rule. Tunc says, “Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Rick would be persuaded by an ally to enter the war” (par. 12). Rick, displayed in the last scene at the airport and in many others, how important it was to put aside his personal desires and look at the bigger picture, and I feel this is similar to what America did when deciding to cease being neutral. The article sheds light on how the film can affect and be of use to audiences today. No only will audiences be able to become aware of the early days of WWII, but they will be able to see how it affected people and why a film such as Casablanca was important for the time period.

 

4) Write a critical analysis of the film.

I really enjoyed an admired Casablanca simply because of Michael Curtiz’s tenacity and courage to put out a film right on the cusp of everything going on. A film like this was needed even if no one knew the outcome of the war. Hopefully the message that this film sent to audiences, and continues to send will live on. There is a scene in the movie where Victor Laszlo leads everyone in the saloon into song (French anthem) until the sound of the Germans chanting their tune was washed out. It did not matter who the person was, where they came from, or if they were trying to receive papers to leave Casablanca. Everyone stood up together and sang along to the anthem united as one. The idea of being able to come together for the greater good is something that so many people still need to grasp, but I feel that moment was such a powerful one. I commend the film for the work that it has done both in the box office and outside of it. There is no need to categorize Casablanca and say that it is one of the best war films; I feel that it is safe to just say that it is simply one of the BEST films. I hope that many down the line will be able to be moved by it as I was, and find it relevant and important as it continues to make its way in history.

1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.