YOU MUST INCLUDE FREQUENT AND SUBSTANTIAL QUOTES FROM GIVE ME LIBERTY!, THE AMERICAN YAWP PRIMARY SOURCE READER, AND EVEN YOUR OWN LIFE EXPERIENCES IN THE FORUM.
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write in complete sentences, in essay/paragraph form, using proper punctuation and mechanics;
use MLA in-line citations to cite and quote examples from the texts that support your responses; and
number your responses so that they correspond to the numbered questions.
As Randy Roberts notes in the introduction to his essay in chapter 11 of Hollywood’s America, the film Casablanca “is much more than a story of reluctant heroism and lost love rekindled. The most famous romantic melodrama in Hollywood history, the film was also a potent piece of political propaganda.” In his two reviews of Casablanca, Roger Ebert emphasizes the heroism of Rick, which we, the audience, are compelled to identify with or, at the very least, admire. From his 1992 Review of Casablanca:
Of course “Casablanca” is not about love anyway, but about nobility. Set at a time when it seemed possible that the Nazis would overrun civilization, it seriously argues that the problems of a few little people don’t amount to a hill of beans. The great break between “Casablanca” and almost all Hollywood love stories–even wartime romances–is that it does not believe love can, or should, conquer all. As I analyze my own feelings about the small handful of movies that affect me emotionally, I find that I am hardly ever moved by love, but often moved by self-sacrifice.
And From his 1996 Review of Casablanca:
From a modern perspective, the film reveals interesting assumptions. Ilsa Lund’s role is basically that of a lover and helpmate to a great man; the movie’s real question is, which great man should she be sleeping with? There is actually no reason why Laszlo cannot get on the plane alone, leaving Ilsa in Casablanca with Rick, and indeed that is one of the endings that was briefly considered. But that would be all wrong; the “happy” ending would be tarnished by self-interest, while the ending we have allows Rick to be larger, to approach nobility (“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”). And it allows us, vicariously experiencing all of these things in the theater, to warm in the glow of his heroism.
Read the above reviews as well as chapter 11 in Hollywood’s America, “Blockbuster as Propaganda You Must Remember This: The Case of Hal Wallis’ Casablanca,” by Randy Roberts. Then reflect on the film and our discussions on it in class. Answer the 4 questions below:
Describe the parallels between Rick Blaine’s character and the American position in the lead-up to, and early years of, World War II (use examples from the film and quote and cite from chapter 11 in Hollywood’s America).
In what ways was Casablanca propaganda aimed at cementing public support for America’s entry into World War II? Be sure to quote and cite from chapter 11 in Hollywood’s America.
Re-watch one of the final scenes below. Could Ilsa have stayed with Rick? Why or why not? (Again, quote and cite from chapter 11 in Hollywood’s America, esp. pp. 163–5). In your opinion, should Ilsa have stayed with Rick?
How does the film Casablanca serve as an extended metaphor for the abandonment of the isolationist attitude that kept America from entering World War II? Refer to the characters, events, and dialogue that show Rick’s moral growth from self-interest to self-sacrifice, and compare this shift to the one made by the American government and public in terms of willingness to go to war.