CQ+Chaeri+Jeong

Thematic Elements Viewing Questions

Directions: Please answer these questions after watching each film in the thematic unit. Please post your answers on your personal wiki page and bring in a hard copy to class after we finish each film.

Film Facts: List the main characters and write a short description about each one. Rick Blaine: An American expatriate in CasaBlanca. He is the owner of a very popular cafe called Rick Café Américaine. He pretends to be a neutral and an impenetrable man, but deep inside, he is a sympathetic man who helps others such as Laszlo, and llsa. He starts off as a mysterious character, but gradually reveals himself throughout the movie.

llsa Lund: Both Rick’s lover and Lazlo’s wife, llsa is considered to be the most beautiful girl in Casablanca. She is the only girl whom Rick has ever loved; yet, she abandons him without a clear explanation. They encounter each other again in Casablanca, but this time, with Laszlo by llsa’s side. Her affections for Rick grows stronger during her stay in Casablanca, but her apprehensions about her husband’s safety forces her to threaten Rick for the letters. She is also one of the confusing characters who becomes clearer in the end when her secrets are revealed.

Victor Laszlo: llsa’s husband and Czech Resistance leader, he is on the most wanted list by the Nazis. He is the only one who knows the names of the people involved in the resistance act against the Germans. He is in desperate need of the letters, which allows the beholder to travel easily to America. The letters, however, are in the hands of his wife’s lover, Rick Blaine. In the end, Laszlo and his wife succeed in going to America with Rick’s help.

What is the central conflict? He faces some conflicts when he has to choose between love and virtue. He desires to live together with llsa again, for he still has strong feelings for her in spite of the abandonment in the past and her status as a wife of Laszlo. However, llsa worries greatly about her husband, who can only be safe if given the paper which Rick possesses. Giving the paper, unfortunately, means separating from her love, llsa, for she will not be safe if she stays in Casablanca due to WWII.

Describe the setting (both time and place) of the film. The setting of the place is in Casablanca which is a place where everyone must visit in order to obtain visa to leave to America where it is safe. Since it was during WWII, everyone was desperate to get their hands on such visas that there were lots of gambling, theft, and scandals happening in Casablanca, especially in Rick’s cafe, which was the “hot spot” for such act. One character from the movie states, “no one can sleep well in Casablanca”, which clearly shows almost everyone desires to leave Casablanca as soon as they possibly can. What is the general mood of the film? Be detailed! The mood of the film greatly surprisingly turned out to be different that I expected. Since it took place in a time of war, I expected it to be somewhat gruesome, harsh and suspenseful. Even though it did have some suspense and anxiety, and illustrated some indication of the war, the movie was overall somewhat pleasant. This mainly had to do with the fact that many of the incidents took place in Rick’s cafe which was a place for everyone to temporarily forget about the wartime and hang out with friends. The music in the background also attributed to such atmosphere.

It was also romantic when there was a flashback of Rick and llsa. They were situated in Paris which is known as the city of romance, and throughout the whole flashback, there was jazz music in the background; hence, the music and the setting really portrayed the mood of love and romance.

Briefly summarize the plot. An owner of the most popular cafe in Casablanca, Rick Blaine possesses two important and priceless letters, which allow the bearer to travel anywhere he wishes, including America. These letters bring his true lover, llsa and her husband, Laszlo to Casablanca, for without the letters, Laszlo is in danger of losing his life. Having been abandoned by llsa in Paris, Rick becomes depressed and enraged after seeing her with another man; nevertheless, his affection for llsa continues to remain throughout her entire stay in Casablanca in spite of their efforts to neglect and torment each other. Upon her discovery of the news about Rick having the letters, llsa makes every attempt to convince Rick to hand over the letters but he remains stiff and unsympathetic; hence, she threatens him with a gun to get hold of the letters. Here, they eventually confess their love for one another and with Rick’s help, Laszlo and llsa are able to escape to America. Unfortunately this required the two lovers, Rick and llsa to separate in spite of their desire to finally stay together.

6. From whose point of view is the story told? This story is told from Rick’s point of view.

What was the structure of the film? The film is in a chronological order with some flash backs in between to clarify the history between Rick and llsa. At first, the audience is unfamiliar with the characters, but as the movie progresses, everything starts to make sense and fit into one piece.

Theme and Focus: What is the film’s primary focus: plot, mood, character, style, or ideas? Answer one of these questions:

Plot- summarize the action abstractly in a single sentence or short paragraph Mood- describe the mood or feeling that is conveyed Character- describe the unusual aspects of his or her personality Style- describe the qualities that contribute to the special look or feel of the film Idea- identify the subject in a single word or phrase; explain what comment or statement the film is making about the subject I felt that the feel of the film is especially emphasized because the entire film is in black and white. Since there are no colors, the audience is not distracted with other things but is focused on what the director is trying to portray; hence, the feel of the film is delivered effectively. This way we pay more attention to the actors’ words, facial expressions and gestures rather than what is going on in the background. This makes the story easier to follow. I felt that this had a positive effect on the movie.

Identifying the Theme: What was the primary aim of the film? Give reasons. providing pure entertainment--escape from the real world developing a pervasive mood or emotional effect providing a character sketch of a unique personality creating a consistent, unique feel or texture criticizing society and social institutions and raising awareness of a problem providing insights into human nature creating a moral riddle to ponder making moral implications to influence the viewers’ behavior exemplifying the struggle for human dignity exploring human relationships providing insight into a growth experience

The primary aim of the film was to provide insights into human nature. At first, Rick seems to be a cold and a steadfast person because he does not drink or socialize with others in spite of his status as the owner of the most popular cafe. He even states that he sticks out his neck for nobody; hence, the audience gets the sense that he is a recluse. However, as the movie progresses, his inner nature starts to expose itself, for he helps an innocent couple get a visa to America and makes sacrifices to help Laszlo and llsa escape to America. He lets go of his dreams of being with llsa again and puts himself in danger of being arrested. This goes to show that there is a sympathetic side in every human being despite their effort to cover up such aspect like Rick.

Which items could be secondary aims? Explain your answer. The secondary aim can be providing pure entertainment- escape from the real world because when this movie was first produced, it was in a time of WWII. With many countries being involved in such catastrophe, everyone was probably very nervous and worried; hence, they needed something to forget about such reality. This movie takes place mostly in Rick’s cafe where there is lively music and people are having a great time. It also deals with romance between Rick and llsa, which provided entertainment for many people.

Evaluating the Theme: Is the film’s basic appeal to the intellect, to the funny bone, to the moral sense, or the aesthetic sense? Is it aimed at the erotic sense, the viscera (blood and guts), the heart, the yellow streak down the back, or simply the eyes? Support with evidence from the film. The film’s basic appeal is to the moral sense because there is a great deal of moral within the movie about the importance of helping each other. Rick helps people who he thinks deserves some help. For example, he does not help Ugarte because he knows that it’s wrong to steal letters by killing people to make fortune for himself, so he allows the police to arrest him right in front of his face. On the otherhand, he helps a young woman, who is in desperate need of help to make enough money so that she can raise her children properly in a friendly atmosphere where there is no war.

This is aimed at the heart because the more the audience gets to know him, the more attached we become to such unique character. For example, we later find out that he is in fact not only a sympathetic man, but also a romantic person, who is only able to love llsa, not anyone else. His courage and sympathy definitely touches us in the heart.

How well does your statement of the film’s theme and focus stand up after you have thoroughly analyzed all the elements of the film? My statement of the film’s theme and focus still stand, but I am now more familiar with Rick as a character because the theme and the focus is mostly based upon him. Not only is he the center of the plot, but he also serves as a moral and touches the audience at an emotional level with his actions. He is also somewhat responsible for setting up the mood/atmosphere because since the film is in black and white, the character himself has to convey the mood with his lines and attitude.

To what degree is the film’s theme universal? The film’s theme is universal because often times we hear that we should not judge a book by its cover, and I feel that this statement is strongly applied in the movie, with the exception that it is based on a human being, not a book. This can also relate to real life because many people have a tendency to judge people by their looks and first impressions and sometimes our judgements are incorrect. That individual may be just the opposite; hence, you might actually grow fond of him/her.

The film also reminds us that not a single person can go through life without any help from others whatsoever. Hence, you should help others so that you can also be assisted when you need to be. For example, Rick could have been in jail for the rest of his life if it weren’t for Renault’s help.

Is the theme relevant to your own experience? Yes, this theme is relevant to my own experience. In KIS, I met a girl whom I thought was unfriendly and mean; however, as I got to know her through English class in junior year, she became one of my closest friends. I don’t know how I could’ve survived without her help.

If you think the film makes a significant statement, why is it significant? As I stated above, this film is significant because it teaches us two valuable lessons that we often neglect: 1) to not judge a person by their first impression and 2) to help others because no one can go through life on their own.

Decide whether the film’s theme is intellectually or philosophically interesting or self-evident and boring. Defend your decision. The film’s theme is intellectually interesting because the theme is not explicitly stated in the film. We don’t know the moral until the very end of the movie when we realize that our first assumptions were wrong and incorrect. It was abstract and took some thinking to dig out such lesson/theme.

Does the film have the potential to become a classic? Will this film be viewed watching it twenty years from today? Why?

Yes the film does have the potential to become a classic because not only are the theme and the moral interesting, but the actors and the setting of the film are also outstanding. Everything in the movie seems so real that I feel like I’m watching a true story/event. It also challenges the viewers to put the pieces together and figure out the hidden meaning behind the film.

Reflection: Who was your favorite character and why? My favorite character was Rick because I grew fond of him as I continued to watch the rest of the film. Even though he doesn’t look like he is a nice person, the way he helped others by giving up his dream was very touching and heartwarming.

Who was your least favorite character and why? My least favorite character was Ugarte because he killed two people for his own selfish good to simply make money. In other words, he puts money before a person’s life.

What was your favorite part of the movie? My favorite part of the movie was in the end when Rick said “I think this is the beginning of a new friendship” because it shows that he has changed greatly from the very beginning when he isolated himself.

What was your least favorite part? My least favorite part was when Rick called llsa a “slut” when she tried to tell him the truth.

Did you learn anything from the movie? What was it? I learned that a black and white film can also be really good. At first when I heard that the film was in black and white, I completely panicked because I thought it would be really boring, but it turned out to be really good.