Ethics: Good and Evil in Casablanca
Good and Evil: Analysis of Casablanca
Angela King
PHI2000 – Ethics
July 18, 2012
Elliot Crozat
Good and Evil: Analysis of Casablanca The motion picture Casablanca spotlights its characters as the main focus, but as the film rolls an underlying tale of some [thing] deeper emerges. In many ways, the elements contained within the storyline are an Archetypal anecdote for all ages in which love conquers evil. In a time where malevolence and iniquity seemed to prevail, Casablanca is a theoretical passage of hope. In the essay Good and Evil: an Analysis of Casablanca, I will relate character selections and scenarios to Immanuel Kant (e.g., deontology), and John Stuart Mill (e.g., utilitarianism). Furthermore, I will exemplify the concepts of good and evil to character selections and scenarios within Casablanca. Background on Casablanca During WWII, Europe saw mass exoduses that were fleeing the Nazis with many seeking refuge to America. Set in Africa during early WWII the movie opens, and we enter Morocco, where we are thrust into its exoticism that is entrenched in danger. We meet the American expatriate Rick Blaine, who sticks his neck out for nobody, and is the owner of Café Americian (a nightclub). Rick who is the protagonist, appears to be aloof, cynical, and seems only concerned with self-interests. But the only route to America is through Casablanca, and now Blaine finds his nightclub as a breeding ground for the Nazi resistance and enemy alike to conduct their business. Ugarte, a regular at the Café, hands Rick letters of transit for safekeeping. To a refugee seeking exile, these papers hold great worth, and Ugarte was to be selling them to the highest bidder that evening at the club. Moments later Ugarte is arrested in the nightclub by Captain Louis Renault, a corrupt police official, and who recently is providing accommodations for the Nazis. Renault is an opportunist of sorts, and somewhat on a friendly basis with Rick. Caught
Angela King
PHI2000 – Ethics
July 18, 2012
Elliot Crozat
Good and Evil: Analysis of Casablanca The motion picture Casablanca spotlights its characters as the main focus, but as the film rolls an underlying tale of some [thing] deeper emerges. In many ways, the elements contained within the storyline are an Archetypal anecdote for all ages in which love conquers evil. In a time where malevolence and iniquity seemed to prevail, Casablanca is a theoretical passage of hope. In the essay Good and Evil: an Analysis of Casablanca, I will relate character selections and scenarios to Immanuel Kant (e.g., deontology), and John Stuart Mill (e.g., utilitarianism). Furthermore, I will exemplify the concepts of good and evil to character selections and scenarios within Casablanca. Background on Casablanca During WWII, Europe saw mass exoduses that were fleeing the Nazis with many seeking refuge to America. Set in Africa during early WWII the movie opens, and we enter Morocco, where we are thrust into its exoticism that is entrenched in danger. We meet the American expatriate Rick Blaine, who sticks his neck out for nobody, and is the owner of Café Americian (a nightclub). Rick who is the protagonist, appears to be aloof, cynical, and seems only concerned with self-interests. But the only route to America is through Casablanca, and now Blaine finds his nightclub as a breeding ground for the Nazi resistance and enemy alike to conduct their business. Ugarte, a regular at the Café, hands Rick letters of transit for safekeeping. To a refugee seeking exile, these papers hold great worth, and Ugarte was to be selling them to the highest bidder that evening at the club. Moments later Ugarte is arrested in the nightclub by Captain Louis Renault, a corrupt police official, and who recently is providing accommodations for the Nazis. Renault is an opportunist of sorts, and somewhat on a friendly basis with Rick. Caught
References: Rachels, J. & Rachels, S. (2012). The Elements of Moral Philosophy (7th Ed.).New York, New York. Mc Graw Hill Companies, Inc. Sommers, C., & Sommers, F. (2010). Vice and Virtue in Everyday Life: Introductory Readings in Ethics (8th Ed.). Belmount, CA: Wagsworth, Centage Learning.