Casablanca's Portrayal of the Experience During World War II

     In Casablanca, the prominent themes of unhappy love and self-sacrifice set this romantic melodrama apart from most in its genre. These themes are best expressed in the interactions of the three main characters: Victor Laszlo, a heroic political leader; Ilsa Lund, an enigmatic femme fatale; and Richard (Rick) Blaine, a seemingly morally ambiguous night club owner. An unusual love triangle forms with the two men’s mutual love for the intermediary woman. Unlike the archetypal romantic triangle which includes the betrayed husband and the victorious lover, this situation results in unhappiness and loss for all involved. All three are willing to sacrifice for this love,

The anthem stirs up the patriotism in the people as they slowly join the fight, all of which is happening under the roof of an American man?s café. Without the American café, the French patriots would not have been able to fight and embarrass the Germans with the song, so with American equipment, the French are able to fight back. Variety Magazine in 1942 describes the film as having, ?splendid anti-Axis propaganda, particularly inasmuch as the propaganda is strictly a by-product of the principal action and contributes to it instead of getting in the way? It is just another facet of the variety of moods, action, suspense, comedy and drama that makes ?Casablanca? a number one entry at the box office? (variety). This message is important for American viewers especially because it emphasizes the necessity of the Americans in the war efforts and their vital role.

When America entered into the Second World War it made their friends from different region and everywhere in the world to unite and fight for freedom and also fight against fascism. Ronald Takaki, a famous historian finds out that the armed fight for democracy abroad was followed by disregard of America that everyone was made or created equal. There was racism of all kinds; segregation of African Americans and imprisonment of Japanese Americans and also denying to overall asylum to the Jewish refugees.

1. What is the setting for Casablanca? How does the film establish this setting? If you were creating a theatrical production of the play upon which the film is based, how would you establish the setting on stage? The setting for the movie looked as if it was around the 1980’s. The movie has a sort of mellow feeling to it because of how calm all the actors and actresses are performing. If i were to do a theatrical performance on this i would have set all the scenes in a way where it would fit the 1980’s attitude, such as clothing and accent.

The U.S is mainly a neutral country but if something happens they are not afraid to fight back. After the Japanese bombings on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7,1941 the U.S began to take part in the war. WW11 was the deadliest war in the history of the world and it was also the most significant. 12 countries participated in WW11 including America. Because of the amount of casualties and history the war has it is easy to say that is was the most important war the U.S has ever been involved in. America’s involvement is also one of the reason the war was ended because we had so much power. Things could have been much different in this world if America did not partake in the war.

Chapter 25 discusses the United States and the Second World War from 1939-1945. The United States wanted to stay out of international affairs but the newly elected Roosevelt advocated for an active role in it. Though he wanted a role in this, his priority was to attack the domestic causes of the depression which appealed to many poor Americans who were suffering from the Great Depression and had just lost everything. During this time, fascist governments threatened military aggression and the rise of Hitler created a controversial and war-like atmosphere. Hitler had a goal to avenge the defeat of WW1 which lead to the accusations of Jews, and the eventual full-blown Holocaust. Neutrality acts were put into place during this time to prohibit the exchange of arms to nations during the war.

Casablanca would be considered propaganda because when people wanted to flee the country they were in they wanted to go to America. The people who wanted to flee to America thought of America as the “safe’ country. Casablanca portrayed America to be as the to go to country, the safest place to be during the War. Everyone tried getting their passports to go to America, they bought all of their passports from the black market just to try and get to America. The people wanted a better life and to be accepted, also they would be safe from the Germans.

When World War II began, the United States was not initially apart of it. What sparked the beginning was Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland in September 1939. Even though we were not at the center of the action, our country did take steps to assist and protect weaker countries, like the United Kingdom. Roosevelt felt it was important to “be the great Arsenal Democracy…[he believed] we must apply ourselves to our task with the same resolution, the same sense of urgency, the same spirit of patriotism and sacrifice as we would show were we at war.” Because of this, the zeal and patriotism America showed was greatly increased. We took advantage of the power we had and the American Industry began to put forth collective efforts in supporting the Allies.

Casablanca is a World War II film that was released in 1942. The film is all about World War II but there was no American involvement. Casablanca is considered propaganda slightly, but it is not overloaded with it. The film showed that the war was mainly between France and Germany. The film showed that the Americans were pretty neutral during this point because Pearl Harbor was not bombed yet, so we were not at war. The film portrayed Americans as neutral and Americans allies as weak, overall. There were no depictions of violence at all and it does not show Americans dying because since the audiences are Americans, they do not want to see people from their county dying or being injured; it would cause the film to be very unsuccessful.

The films of the World War II era were much more than just stories about life or love; each unique film showed a different portrayal of the war effort. Although the films showed aspects of the war such as American involvement and cultural aspects, it was not always obvious to see the propaganda behind the façade. Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz, is a wartime film that promotes American involvement and contains subtle propaganda.

In the film Casablanca they show various different aspects of American culture during the wartime forties. These things are cumulated in the films sole American, whose name is Rick. However this film not only shows the culture of Americans but also shows a look into what Americans viewed the war as. The values of people and what was considered obtuse for society are ever changing, and you can see this as plain as day within the movies and films of the time. Casablanca is an amazing example for this because it is special in the fact that it’s the only play written during the time that was never played but was instead turned straight into a movie. Now let’s take a more in-depth look into the movie and how it’s connected to the people who were meant to watch it.

When war broke out, there was no way the world could possibly know the severity it would have taken on the people of the world. Fortunately one country saw and understood that Germany and its allies would have to be stopped. America’s Involvement in World War II not only contributed in the downfall of the insane Adolph Hitler and his Third Reich, but also came at the best time and moment. If the United States entered the war any earlier the consequences would probably have been worse.

World War II was a global conflict between the Allied and Axis powers which began to consume countries of the eastern hemisphere in 1939. At this point, Americans were isolationist. To keep the U.S. out of future wars, congress passed a Neutrality Act. On september 1, 1939, World war II broke loose. German tanks destroyed everything in its way. Congress passed the “cash-and-carry” provision allowing warring nations to buy U.S arms with paid cash and transported with their own ships. Six weeks after, congress passed the neutrality act of 1939, and the cash-and-carry policy went into effect. By summer of 1940, Roosevelt provided Britain with “all aid short of war”. On September 27, Germany, Italy, and Japan had signed a mutual defense treaty, The tripartite pact. The three nations became known as the Axis Power. After German submarines fired on the U.S. destroyer, Greer, on september 4, 1941, Roosevelt ordered the navy to shoot German submarines on sight. The United states was now in an undeclared war with Hitler.

From the opening sequence one can establish that Casablanca obeys the elementary principles used in the Classical Hollywood narrative structure. In the initial minutes of the film the audience is introduced via a voice over of the various political happenings prior to the films start such as Hitler’s occupation of Europe and the surge of refugees who fled the Nazi’s to Casablanca. The use of narration presents the audience with a simple introduction which the rest of

The film Casablanca directed by Michael Curtiz and released in 1943—at the height of World War II—is set in December 1941 in Casablanca, French Morocco. It is a time of escalating power of the Nazi party, which attempted to gain control of most parts of the world starting with Europe and Northern Africa. As a result of the ascending power of the Nazis and anti-German sentiments, many Europeans were desperate to flee their homes. Because Casablanca was not yet taken over by the Germans due to its distance from Europe, it served as the holding place or middle ground for those trying to escape Europe, assuming they could get there. People would travel from Europe to Casablanca in hopes of receiving letters of