Sacrifice In Casablanca
Sacrifices in Love and War
Casablanca is one of the best films produced by the World War II Hollywood propaganda machine. During this period of time, in 1943, the movie was among one of the one hundred war films that represents the Office of War Information’s early intentions of truthfully representing the war. The Motion Picture was filmed to educate the public about the issues surrounding the war as well as the causes of and reasons for the war. Casablanca is one of the greatest propaganda films ever written, the film's message of self-sacrifice and of a love lost and found has communicated to several cultures and made an immediate impact to its core American audience.
In the years leading to the World War II, most Americans believed …show more content…
that U.S. foreign policy should have promoted isolationism and neutrality. The early 1940s was a time in which millions of Americans were unable to explain the reasons for the United States' intervention in World War II beyond the shocking fact of the attack on Pearl Harbor . Americans knew who they were fighting but could not explain why they were fighting. American popular opinion was clearly isolationist during the 1930s . This isolationism continued into the early war years. An American society that had opposed any participation in a foreign war for a generation at the end of 1941 was suddenly forced to face the reality that the United States was fully engaged in defeating foreign enemies in both Europe and the Pacific. It therefore quickly became in the best interests of the government and of mass media to exploit public obsessions to try to justify intervention. Attempts to explain to the American citizens why the United States was fighting soon began to appear in mass circulation magazines and the movies . Casablanca was produced to support U.S. participation in the Allied Forces' struggle for global justice and democracy.
Casablanca's biggest message is the necessity of self-sacrifice for the sake of a greater good. From the beginning of the movie, the audience watch Rick progress from cynical businessman to resistance fighter: “Listen, even if you are not particularly nationalist. Even if you are not particularly moral or just or political. Even if, mostly, what you want from life is a beautiful girl and a full wallet – under today's circumstances, whether you're American or Czech or French, you can only remain a decent human being by making sacrifices for this important cause.” Casablanca glorifies the heroism of the resistance movement. Rick, the isolationist, cynical owner of a glamorous nightclub in "neutral" Morocco, where thousands of refugees have fled Nazi brutality. Behind Rick's cynical exterior is a man who used to care. Rick's cynicism is due to broken love in which he had given up all hopes for and sacrificing his personal happiness for the resistance cause. The message is clear; resistance to the Axis powers is more important than personal happiness. In aiding the movement, Rick too becomes a hero. So shall the citizen who put the war effort ahead of his own interests.
Although Rick attempted to conceal his political views, his sympathy for the underdog eventually surfaced. Throughout the course of the film, Rick reveals that he has fought fascists in Ethiopia and Spain, and fled Paris in the face of German occupation. The audience its captivated by Rick’s character from the beginning because of his mysterious exile from U.S. and his neutrality in political views. However, Rick's protective mysterious persona it’s sometimes exposed and we can see his sympathies in the scene when Rick refused to served a German person nor give him any "special treatment." The film doesn’t exactly explain Rick’s action, its is apparent that Rick's behavior was a little more politically motivated than he would have liked to admit.
Rick’s liberal political position was exposed once again doing a conversation he had with Ferrari, the owner of the rival café. Ferrari offered to buy Sam's contract, which Rick replied: "I don't buy or sell human beings." Not only did this refusal reinforce the respect that Rick and Sam had for each other but it also conveyed the point that Rick, the American, was above the fascist practice of trading human beings. Of course doing this time, discrimination was also a big issue and Rick’s friendship with Sam clearly exemplified his beliefs in anti-discrimination.
As the plot develops, Rick softens to the resistance.
His powerful attitude eludes that Rick was a lot more complicated than the neutral image he tried to maintain. In fact, his position was essentially a personification of the United States’ government before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Like the U.S. government, Rick seemed neutral at first. However, Rick, was also secretly committed to the idea of restoring democracy and justice. He eventually helps Victor Laszlo, the head of the Czechoslovakian resistance movement and the husband of Rick's former lover Ilsa, escaped Casablanca. Rick heroically sacrifices his chance to be reunited with Ilsa, giving Laszlo the two exit visas intended for Rick and Ilsa. Consequently, Rick is converted from selfishness to selflessness. Rick explains his heroic act in this line, “I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world”. This makes him less of a hero, but more of a model that everyman should open their eyes and see the problems existed outside their own …show more content…
world.
The movie truly captures the unhappy desperation felt by thousands of refugees trapped in Casablanca: a city of Nazi-Vichy intimidation, corruption, and control. French North Africa was clearly a part of the world where justice was arbitrary, and the American Dream was a fairy tale. In Casablanca, innocent bystanders frequently became the victims of senseless crimes. Random German raids and human vultures routinely steal from refugees right after warning them of the high incidence of crime. In this desert city, human trafficking was a way of life, and Rick's Café Américain was the marketplace where individuals could be bought and sold through this lucrative refugee trade. In Casablanca, men and women were seen as commodities and refugees were practically treated as slaves.
The movie displayed the power the German had over Morocco in order to show the audience that the Nazi it’s as much of a threat to Europe as they’re to the U.S.
Nazi soldiers were given the best tables at Rick's café just because they were German. Major Heinrich Strasser clearly hints of their intentions for the invasion through his first line in the film: "We [the Germans] have to become accustomed to all climates, from Russia to the Sahara." To forewarn the Nazi’s intention of control over the United States, Strasser explained to Rick that the Germans planned on invading London and New York. Rick replied to the autocratic Strasser that even the Nazis could not handle certain sections of New York. Rick's response reassures Americans that the arrogant Nazis could never defeat the idealism, patriotism and spirit of the democratic United
States.
The Paris flashback scene truly captures the description of the frightening, encroaching image of Nazi domination and destruction. Before the Nazi invaded France, Paris was peaceful, beautiful and carefree. However, after the invasion, the city became a center of chaos, death, fear and French military abandonment. The Nazis also destroyed Ilsa and Rick's fairytale romance: their laughter and joy suddenly became replaced by tensions and fears. "A crazy world where anything could happen" forced them to part, leaving Rick with nothing but an awkward apology and a broken heart. The scene in Paris demonstrated how the war was brutal; it shattered a nation, a romance, and the lives of millions of innocent people. This destruction needed to end, and according to Casablanca, the United States was the one that can put an end to the World War II and provide freedom to all.
Although there are many more obvious examples of World War II propaganda films, Casablanca its among the most well known propaganda film because its ability to captured the historical moment intended for it’s audience. The movie succeeded in capturing the United States' perception of itself in the 1940s. Like Rick, we are all moral within human beings capable of personal sacrifice in the name of freedom and democracy.
Casablanca is one of the best films produced by the World War II Hollywood propaganda machine. During this period of time, in 1943, the movie was among one of the one hundred war films that represents the Office of War Information’s early intentions of truthfully representing the war. The Motion Picture was filmed to educate the public about the issues surrounding the war as well as the causes of and reasons for the war. Casablanca is one of the greatest propaganda films ever written, the film's message of self-sacrifice and of a love lost and found has communicated to several cultures and made an immediate impact to its core American audience.
In the years leading to the World War II, most Americans believed …show more content…
that U.S. foreign policy should have promoted isolationism and neutrality. The early 1940s was a time in which millions of Americans were unable to explain the reasons for the United States' intervention in World War II beyond the shocking fact of the attack on Pearl Harbor . Americans knew who they were fighting but could not explain why they were fighting. American popular opinion was clearly isolationist during the 1930s . This isolationism continued into the early war years. An American society that had opposed any participation in a foreign war for a generation at the end of 1941 was suddenly forced to face the reality that the United States was fully engaged in defeating foreign enemies in both Europe and the Pacific. It therefore quickly became in the best interests of the government and of mass media to exploit public obsessions to try to justify intervention. Attempts to explain to the American citizens why the United States was fighting soon began to appear in mass circulation magazines and the movies . Casablanca was produced to support U.S. participation in the Allied Forces' struggle for global justice and democracy.
Casablanca's biggest message is the necessity of self-sacrifice for the sake of a greater good. From the beginning of the movie, the audience watch Rick progress from cynical businessman to resistance fighter: “Listen, even if you are not particularly nationalist. Even if you are not particularly moral or just or political. Even if, mostly, what you want from life is a beautiful girl and a full wallet – under today's circumstances, whether you're American or Czech or French, you can only remain a decent human being by making sacrifices for this important cause.” Casablanca glorifies the heroism of the resistance movement. Rick, the isolationist, cynical owner of a glamorous nightclub in "neutral" Morocco, where thousands of refugees have fled Nazi brutality. Behind Rick's cynical exterior is a man who used to care. Rick's cynicism is due to broken love in which he had given up all hopes for and sacrificing his personal happiness for the resistance cause. The message is clear; resistance to the Axis powers is more important than personal happiness. In aiding the movement, Rick too becomes a hero. So shall the citizen who put the war effort ahead of his own interests.
Although Rick attempted to conceal his political views, his sympathy for the underdog eventually surfaced. Throughout the course of the film, Rick reveals that he has fought fascists in Ethiopia and Spain, and fled Paris in the face of German occupation. The audience its captivated by Rick’s character from the beginning because of his mysterious exile from U.S. and his neutrality in political views. However, Rick's protective mysterious persona it’s sometimes exposed and we can see his sympathies in the scene when Rick refused to served a German person nor give him any "special treatment." The film doesn’t exactly explain Rick’s action, its is apparent that Rick's behavior was a little more politically motivated than he would have liked to admit.
Rick’s liberal political position was exposed once again doing a conversation he had with Ferrari, the owner of the rival café. Ferrari offered to buy Sam's contract, which Rick replied: "I don't buy or sell human beings." Not only did this refusal reinforce the respect that Rick and Sam had for each other but it also conveyed the point that Rick, the American, was above the fascist practice of trading human beings. Of course doing this time, discrimination was also a big issue and Rick’s friendship with Sam clearly exemplified his beliefs in anti-discrimination.
As the plot develops, Rick softens to the resistance.
His powerful attitude eludes that Rick was a lot more complicated than the neutral image he tried to maintain. In fact, his position was essentially a personification of the United States’ government before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Like the U.S. government, Rick seemed neutral at first. However, Rick, was also secretly committed to the idea of restoring democracy and justice. He eventually helps Victor Laszlo, the head of the Czechoslovakian resistance movement and the husband of Rick's former lover Ilsa, escaped Casablanca. Rick heroically sacrifices his chance to be reunited with Ilsa, giving Laszlo the two exit visas intended for Rick and Ilsa. Consequently, Rick is converted from selfishness to selflessness. Rick explains his heroic act in this line, “I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world”. This makes him less of a hero, but more of a model that everyman should open their eyes and see the problems existed outside their own …show more content…
world.
The movie truly captures the unhappy desperation felt by thousands of refugees trapped in Casablanca: a city of Nazi-Vichy intimidation, corruption, and control. French North Africa was clearly a part of the world where justice was arbitrary, and the American Dream was a fairy tale. In Casablanca, innocent bystanders frequently became the victims of senseless crimes. Random German raids and human vultures routinely steal from refugees right after warning them of the high incidence of crime. In this desert city, human trafficking was a way of life, and Rick's Café Américain was the marketplace where individuals could be bought and sold through this lucrative refugee trade. In Casablanca, men and women were seen as commodities and refugees were practically treated as slaves.
The movie displayed the power the German had over Morocco in order to show the audience that the Nazi it’s as much of a threat to Europe as they’re to the U.S.
Nazi soldiers were given the best tables at Rick's café just because they were German. Major Heinrich Strasser clearly hints of their intentions for the invasion through his first line in the film: "We [the Germans] have to become accustomed to all climates, from Russia to the Sahara." To forewarn the Nazi’s intention of control over the United States, Strasser explained to Rick that the Germans planned on invading London and New York. Rick replied to the autocratic Strasser that even the Nazis could not handle certain sections of New York. Rick's response reassures Americans that the arrogant Nazis could never defeat the idealism, patriotism and spirit of the democratic United
States.
The Paris flashback scene truly captures the description of the frightening, encroaching image of Nazi domination and destruction. Before the Nazi invaded France, Paris was peaceful, beautiful and carefree. However, after the invasion, the city became a center of chaos, death, fear and French military abandonment. The Nazis also destroyed Ilsa and Rick's fairytale romance: their laughter and joy suddenly became replaced by tensions and fears. "A crazy world where anything could happen" forced them to part, leaving Rick with nothing but an awkward apology and a broken heart. The scene in Paris demonstrated how the war was brutal; it shattered a nation, a romance, and the lives of millions of innocent people. This destruction needed to end, and according to Casablanca, the United States was the one that can put an end to the World War II and provide freedom to all.
Although there are many more obvious examples of World War II propaganda films, Casablanca its among the most well known propaganda film because its ability to captured the historical moment intended for it’s audience. The movie succeeded in capturing the United States' perception of itself in the 1940s. Like Rick, we are all moral within human beings capable of personal sacrifice in the name of freedom and democracy.