What Is The Theme Of Class Divisiveness In Casablanca

The Capraras were an Italian family, friends of the Marks’s. Mr. and Mrs. Caprara had each lost a brother in World War II and like so many others, they were particularly sensitive about the war. The American people did not really understand why their sons were forced to fight in a war which was not their own and which they were not winning conclusively, to “fight against Communism”, when it was obvious that in the end they would have to withdraw, which in fact occurred years later, during the government of President Nixon. Even though the war acted as a bond between generations—as I was told by Mr. Caprara, who had been the driver of a general in wartime, and when peace came had given the general a job in his thriving business—American society

The 1930s were a difficult time for most Americans. Faced with colossal economic hardships—unprecedented in American history—many Americans turned inward to focus on the worsening situation at home. The United States became increasingly insensitive to the obliteration of fellow democracies at the hands of brutal fascist leaders like Hitler and Mussolini. The U.S. was determined to stay out of war at all costs—even if its allies were in trouble; Americans believed that they were immune from Europe’s problems as long as they refused to get involved. However, as the “free” countries fell, one by one, to the Nazi war machine, Americans began to realize the folly of their foolish optimism and clamored for increasing involvement in foreign

In the year 1947, legal conflict arose between Warner Brothers Studio and the Marx Brothers. It began when the Marx Brothers released the name of one of their upcoming films, A Night in Casablanca. When Warner Brothers claimed exclusive rights to the name “Casablanca,” Groucho Marx sent a letter to Warner Brothers in response. In spite of a few ambiguities, Marx employs a brilliant and clever combination of humor and logic to effectively refute Warner Brothers’s assertion.

This essay is based on films of the same story, told in different ways, with emphasis, themes, meaning and interpretation shaped or shaded by the situation of the storyteller; the cinematic mise-en-scene. Based on the same story, the films reveal and reflect the film-maker’s social norms and views, emerging from their different national contexts. While exploring the two films, this essay will examine elements of film language or semiotics: color saturation (or black and white), sound, setting, type of camera angles used; repetition of visual motifs (Metz, 1985). The two films explored were made in the 1960s. Neither film is American, yet both reveal influences and reflections on American cinema and American power; the Western film, adherence or detracting from Hollywood Classical cinema tropes, i.e. close-ups, shot-reverse-shot, POV, depth of field (Bazin, 1985: 128-9). The two films are Kurasawa’s Yojimbo (1961) and Leone’s Fistful of Dollars (1964), from Japan and Italy, respectively. How are they different; how similar? Why do they use the same plot,

This movie is a great example of social groups, leadership, culture, norms, society, nature and nurture, and social lives. This movie represents how the American culture chooses our social class in society. Some sociologists believed that lifestyle choices are an important influence on our social class position (Giddens, 209). Our class position is the way we dress, where we eat, where we sleep, and how we relax (Giddens,

After the Holocaust and World War II, many filmmakers and directors neglected to create politically charged media in order to avoid criticism. Only decades after the events of the Holocaust did Hollywood start to engage itself with the topic, but these works struggled to succeed as they faced harsh comments from Jewish and secular critics alike. These films, produced with truly the most sensitive and educational intentions, ended up perpetuating ethnic stereotypes for the same reasons. There was a gap between Hollywood's preconceived notions about their productions in regard to themes and the aspects that critics actually picked up on. Through my narrative discovery, background on the time period, summary and analysis of the film, and contemporary responses to the film I will explain how these stereotypes came about in film at the time and how people responded to them while also touching on the impact of the Holocaust on survivors. The Pawnbroker is a perfect example of a film that deals with both the lasting effect of Holocaust and the stereotyping of a multitude of characters (Dir Lumet 1964). Different audiences and critics focus on these two pieces, characterizing the film in accordance with its timestamp.

Casablanca debuted in 1942, shortly following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States' entrance into World War Two, although there was plenty of anti-Nazism sentiment, the movie fueled these feelings. There is pro-Allied forces propaganda to support the war, from the scene with La Marseillaise, to the characters of Renault and Rick, and to the last scene. Although the majority of the French patriots were elated to sing their national anthem, it created tension with the German soldiers who imposed their patriotic songs on the crowd, representing the imposition of Germany on France during the war. Captain Louis Renault, who tries to placate who he believes will be the winning side, seems flimsy when compared to Rick, the firm

In the mid 20th century intriguing drama directed by Dennis Hopper, Easy Rider, we were drawn back to 1969 to shed light on the influences of drugs, sex, and culture as the characters began to question the American system in this counterculture movement. The counterculture movement provoked an alternative lifestyle that came about during the Vietnam War. The tensions following the protests of human inequalities embodying racial segregation and the frustration faced with the draft system resulted in not only the Civil Rights Movement, but the counterculture movement as well. This film, Easy Rider, helped to formulate and to transition over to the New Hollywood era, or also referred to as the American New Wave.

investigation and comparison of the film Menace II Society and the social and economic issues

Development and adaptation of the western genre has occurred throughout the twentieth century in relation to the shift in context, this is still relevant. Stereotypes of a western genre and the context are determined by the time in which the film is being produced. The time in which they were produced determine how social construction, gender ideas, values and attitudes, the setting and SWAT codes are demonstrated. I have chosen to present this speech by looking at the film studied in class, and a film of my choice and how the difference in context has changed in the tie of these two films.

When discussing American culture, the influence and interplay of film cannot be understated. We are a nation consumed with the media. Today, the movie business is one of the highest grossing businesses there is. We hold movie stars up as though they are super human. We closely watch their style, their dating lives, their party habits, and even their favorite restaurants, among many other things. We rely on movies to lift us up, teach us about other cultures and time periods, and even to teach us about our own culture. Often, movies reflect the time period they are filmed in and directly reflect the social tensions of that time and the film noir genre is no different. One of the most famous film noir movies out there, The Maltese Falcon,

Is it possible to know what Americans thought of World War II, if they believed that the war was a just war or whether they did not agree for what the United States was fighting for? The historian Studs Terkel believes he knows this answer and that Americans saw themselves as liberators of an oppressed world fighting for the just war which can be concluded from his famous volume, The Good War. Of course one person’s beliefs should not be believed as easily just by reading a book. A person should base their opinions on something much more analytical than that. In order to decide whether some Americans actually thought that World War II was a just war, a thorough analysis should be done of American life looking at all the facts found. Beginning with American experience before the war then analyzing the experience of the war and the home-front itself and finally ending with the analysis of America after World War II a conclusion can be made regarding the American point of view.

Onwards to the more historical side of the 1940’s and how Americans of that time reacted to it.

In the second decade of the twentieth century, a man named Charlie Chaplin achieved world fame through cinema. He did so even before the cinema had come of age. Chaplin’s contribution to the development of cinema was nothing short of enormous. The time in which Chaplin’s career was flourishing, was also a time when the world was experiencing many problems. Chaplin’s personal beliefs, in combination with the events happening in the world at the time, were a driving force in what message one of his later films carried.

During World War I many Americans could not be bothered to care about the current events in politics. The populous generally agreed that Americans should do their best to remain neutral and uninvolved. Murray Burnett was a 27-year-old English teacher who wrote a play titled, “Everybody Comes to Rick’s” in attempt to warn the public that this war was coming to America as well. He was inspired to do so after making a trip to German-occupied Vienna in efforts to help Jewish relatives. After the Pearl Harbor attacks leading into World War II America was forced into the war. This play later became more commonly known as the play that inspired of Casablanca. This film likewise chased many of the same political goals to influence American audiences to open their eyes to the world’s current events rather than settling for an illusion of isolation (Gluck, Robert). While many see Casablanca as another typical studio produced movie of its classical era, the crafty use of classical Hollywood narrative structure and development of character enables this movie to have a stronger political message and influence.