World War II was occurring in Europe in the early 1940’s, and many European nations were either at war or under occupation. American film companies were taking notice of the conflict prior to U.S. involvement, and a number of companies decided to use their films as an implicit way to urge their fellow Americans to enter into the war; Michael Curtiz’s film Casablanca (1942) was no exception. In this film, Rick Blaine, an American expatriate, is a heartbroken casino owner in Morocco who fled Paris just before German occupation, but when his former love presents herself with her husband, a leader of the French Resistance, Rick takes certain actions that benefit the Allied war effort in Europe. Specifically regarding the final “flyaway scene”,
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The shooting death of Strasser, as he phones for German assistance at the hangar, is the most obvious force of negativity toward Germany. Strasser is filmed from a high angle as he falls to the ground dead which reflects a significant sense of weakness. The filmmaker makes sure to not only kill the primary antagonist, but it also films the death from an angle that seeks to disparage the deceased. Moreover, there exists other, less lethal, elements that reinforce the filmmaker’s implicit objective. Captain Renault, with grim facial expressions, speaks aloofly with Strasser in a two-shot prior to the German officer’s death, but Renault is seen kindly conversing with Rick in another two-shot moments following Strasser’s demise. The stark differences between these two two-shots is highlighted by the acting because Renault demonstrates significant unease and disdain with Strasser by treating him poorly, in comparison with Rick, through an emotionless vocality and unfriendly facial expressions. Renault further enhances his stance against Strasser by disposing of a Vichy water glass into a rubbish bin which is achieved as a modification of the setting. By allowing Renault’s character to disrespect both Strasser and the German puppet-state of Vichy France, for which the glass bottle represents, the filmmaker is explicitly and implicitly associating Germany with …show more content…
An example of this occurs in the final moments of the scene and film in which Rick and Renault are filmed via crane as they walk off together. The on-camera business must be carefully orchestrated because the aerial fog and splashing of water under the characters’ feet must be properly filmed in order for a sense of uncertainty to be maximized. The fog best represents the ambiguity of the future in a visual sense because it is difficult to see ahead of oneself when the path is clouded; such vagueness applies in the context of the scene and film because Rick and Renault have joined forces, but they do not yet know what the future will bring in regards to them, the Resistance or France. The splashing of water applies in a similar manner because a splash, in a literal sense, is caused by an impact through force, and caution should be exerted to avoid falling. Likewise, in application to the scene and film, the choices made by Rick and Renault have made an impact, but the characters must take care to avoid becoming targets of the German authorities. In addition, as Renault disposes of the Vichy water, a poster is noted in the background of the setting; on the poster is a dark silhouette of a figure located above the written word “Police” and an indicated police call number. The poster conveys uncertainty because it reminds the audience that Rick and Renault are in ubiquitous danger. These examples
The shooting death of Strasser, as he phones for German assistance at the hangar, is the most obvious force of negativity toward Germany. Strasser is filmed from a high angle as he falls to the ground dead which reflects a significant sense of weakness. The filmmaker makes sure to not only kill the primary antagonist, but it also films the death from an angle that seeks to disparage the deceased. Moreover, there exists other, less lethal, elements that reinforce the filmmaker’s implicit objective. Captain Renault, with grim facial expressions, speaks aloofly with Strasser in a two-shot prior to the German officer’s death, but Renault is seen kindly conversing with Rick in another two-shot moments following Strasser’s demise. The stark differences between these two two-shots is highlighted by the acting because Renault demonstrates significant unease and disdain with Strasser by treating him poorly, in comparison with Rick, through an emotionless vocality and unfriendly facial expressions. Renault further enhances his stance against Strasser by disposing of a Vichy water glass into a rubbish bin which is achieved as a modification of the setting. By allowing Renault’s character to disrespect both Strasser and the German puppet-state of Vichy France, for which the glass bottle represents, the filmmaker is explicitly and implicitly associating Germany with …show more content…
An example of this occurs in the final moments of the scene and film in which Rick and Renault are filmed via crane as they walk off together. The on-camera business must be carefully orchestrated because the aerial fog and splashing of water under the characters’ feet must be properly filmed in order for a sense of uncertainty to be maximized. The fog best represents the ambiguity of the future in a visual sense because it is difficult to see ahead of oneself when the path is clouded; such vagueness applies in the context of the scene and film because Rick and Renault have joined forces, but they do not yet know what the future will bring in regards to them, the Resistance or France. The splashing of water applies in a similar manner because a splash, in a literal sense, is caused by an impact through force, and caution should be exerted to avoid falling. Likewise, in application to the scene and film, the choices made by Rick and Renault have made an impact, but the characters must take care to avoid becoming targets of the German authorities. In addition, as Renault disposes of the Vichy water, a poster is noted in the background of the setting; on the poster is a dark silhouette of a figure located above the written word “Police” and an indicated police call number. The poster conveys uncertainty because it reminds the audience that Rick and Renault are in ubiquitous danger. These examples