CONTEXT AND SETTING
During the Second World War, many people were displaced from their countries, either to fight (such as American soldiers in England or German soldiers in Morocco), or fleeing persecution, as Laszlo is.
In a geographical sense, the choice of Casablanca as a setting is essential to the way that the narrative develops, as all the characters are, in a sense, visitors there. Casablanca’s connection to France, but geographical distance, means that the representatives of Vichy France, the Resistance, and the Nazi Party behave in ways that would not have been possible in, for example, occupied France. Here these groups are forced to co-exist, resulting in moments of tension and danger for our characters. Rick’s character is able to maintain a key role in the middle of these complex relationships as he appears, at this stage in the war, to be ‘neutral’, coming from a country which had not yet joined the war on either side. However, his character undergoes a transformation during the course of the film, as his initial position as self-interested club owner changes to reveal his complicated relationship with Captain Renault, and allegiance to Ilsa and the wider Resistance movement that she and Laszlo represent.
Casablanca is a Moroccan country occupied by France, it is represented as a stereotypical Arab country when you see it during outside scenes of the film, you seen stereotypical merchants wearing fez hats and traditional Arab clothing selling tacky products or animals , the streets are dirt patches or roads which is stereotypical of what you would believe an Arab country is like, the film hints at the culture only briefly you don't see much of the city as a whole.
MEN AND WOMEN
The main characters that we meet offer a range of contradictory positions. By considering them individually we can see how they change and develop and how their characteristics can be interpreted as standing for wider positions and representing the huge international tensions of the time.
Casablanca represents men and women very stereo typically however for the time it was politically correct to assume these stereotypes.
The men are represented as strong and powerful but also shown to be gentlemen with a certain kind of sophistication, they are always shown to be quite dominant over the women in which they treat the women not as equals this shows that the men hold the power at this period of time it's almost coming across as sexist.
The women or female characters are represented as weak, naive and somewhat pathetic, they are shown as high society air heads nothing more than a pretty face or an accessory on a gentlemen 's arm with no real strong characteristics or free thought always being told what to do or told how to act, this is shown in many scenes and for example a convocation between rick and ex lower at the bar he tells her she has had to much to drink.
THEMES
There are many different themes represented in Casablanca, from love to friendship to the overwhelming thought of war
LOVE
The theme of love is shown between Rick and Ilsa the expressions on their faces and the body language in which they demonstrate it's clear to the audience that they are in 'Love' or have some history,Rick has a flashback sequence of pairs when he was happy with Ilsa it's almost represented as a cliche almost like it's too good to be true.
FRIENDSHIP
Friendship is under toned and hinted throughout the film everyone wants to be friends with Rick, but you can see how friendship is represented between Rick and Sam there is mutual respect between the two since Sam works for Rick yet Sam is treated as an equal not as an employee the way Rick speaks to Sam shows he cares for him and values him as a person,Rick and Renault they have this re pore and banter almost like Rivals but it once again is shown as mutual respect on both parts and towards the end of the film Renault protects Rick from the Nazi's, this truly shows that Renault Values Rick as a friend.
WAR
The overcast feeling of war is represented by the Nazi's and there presence and by the gloominess of the people of Casablanca, it becomes more apparent, when Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca the whole place becomes on edge and people start to feel uncomfortable with them around it's almost like there presence creates hysteria and strikes fear into people, however this isn't shown obviously it's subtle and clever, the fact that you have different countries and there soldiers all stationed in Casablanca yet they all tolerate each other.
During the Second World War, many people were displaced from their countries, either to fight (such as American soldiers in England or German soldiers in Morocco), or fleeing persecution, as Laszlo is.
In a geographical sense, the choice of Casablanca as a setting is essential to the way that the narrative develops, as all the characters are, in a sense, visitors there. Casablanca’s connection to France, but geographical distance, means that the representatives of Vichy France, the Resistance, and the Nazi Party behave in ways that would not have been possible in, for example, occupied France. Here these groups are forced to co-exist, resulting in moments of tension and danger for our characters. Rick’s character is able to maintain a key role in the middle of these complex relationships as he appears, at this stage in the war, to be ‘neutral’, coming from a country which had not yet joined the war on either side. However, his character undergoes a transformation during the course of the film, as his initial position as self-interested club owner changes to reveal his complicated relationship with Captain Renault, and allegiance to Ilsa and the wider Resistance movement that she and Laszlo represent.
Casablanca is a Moroccan country occupied by France, it is represented as a stereotypical Arab country when you see it during outside scenes of the film, you seen stereotypical merchants wearing fez hats and traditional Arab clothing selling tacky products or animals , the streets are dirt patches or roads which is stereotypical of what you would believe an Arab country is like, the film hints at the culture only briefly you don't see much of the city as a whole.
MEN AND WOMEN
The main characters that we meet offer a range of contradictory positions. By considering them individually we can see how they change and develop and how their characteristics can be interpreted as standing for wider positions and representing the huge international tensions of the time.
Casablanca represents men and women very stereo typically however for the time it was politically correct to assume these stereotypes.
The men are represented as strong and powerful but also shown to be gentlemen with a certain kind of sophistication, they are always shown to be quite dominant over the women in which they treat the women not as equals this shows that the men hold the power at this period of time it's almost coming across as sexist.
The women or female characters are represented as weak, naive and somewhat pathetic, they are shown as high society air heads nothing more than a pretty face or an accessory on a gentlemen 's arm with no real strong characteristics or free thought always being told what to do or told how to act, this is shown in many scenes and for example a convocation between rick and ex lower at the bar he tells her she has had to much to drink.
THEMES
There are many different themes represented in Casablanca, from love to friendship to the overwhelming thought of war
LOVE
The theme of love is shown between Rick and Ilsa the expressions on their faces and the body language in which they demonstrate it's clear to the audience that they are in 'Love' or have some history,Rick has a flashback sequence of pairs when he was happy with Ilsa it's almost represented as a cliche almost like it's too good to be true.
FRIENDSHIP
Friendship is under toned and hinted throughout the film everyone wants to be friends with Rick, but you can see how friendship is represented between Rick and Sam there is mutual respect between the two since Sam works for Rick yet Sam is treated as an equal not as an employee the way Rick speaks to Sam shows he cares for him and values him as a person,Rick and Renault they have this re pore and banter almost like Rivals but it once again is shown as mutual respect on both parts and towards the end of the film Renault protects Rick from the Nazi's, this truly shows that Renault Values Rick as a friend.
WAR
The overcast feeling of war is represented by the Nazi's and there presence and by the gloominess of the people of Casablanca, it becomes more apparent, when Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca the whole place becomes on edge and people start to feel uncomfortable with them around it's almost like there presence creates hysteria and strikes fear into people, however this isn't shown obviously it's subtle and clever, the fact that you have different countries and there soldiers all stationed in Casablanca yet they all tolerate each other.