Becnel Casablanca

The Political Expediency Theory is when the film tries to create a balance not to alienate the audience. They try to hide their message under a neutral veil. This is what Casablanca does. Casablanca's screenplay arrived at Warner Brothers on December 8, 1941 (one day after Pearl Harbor). Soon after America was involved in WWII. Rick (Humphrey Bogart) portrays a kind of American reasoning before the war. He "won't stick his neck out for nobody." Before committing to the war effort, America had an isolationist stand. We had broken out of it for WWI, but returned to it after. We find out that Rick did fight against the Fascists in Spain, but after secluded himself. As the film progresses, Rick softens and puts himself behind the war effort. He allows Laszlo to start singing La Marseillaises (the French Anthem) when the Germans are singing their song about the Reich. Risky move considering he is in Vichy France. He puts his neck on the line for the cause by helping Laszlo ( Paul Heinreid), a Free French activist, and Isla ( Ingrid Bergman), his love, escape from Casablanca. In the scene where Laszlo and the clients at Rick's sing their moving rendition of La Marseillaises (1:12: 40- 1:13:50) , the audience can get a feel of how important their heritage and way of life before the Nazi invasion is to them. This scene is very dramatic and emotional. According to Roger Ebert, most of the extras in the film where European refugees from the war, and the emotion that they showed while singing was real. They knew that they had to keep the memory and faith alive. It may just come across to some as just an opportunity to belittle the German oppressors, but to others it is a moving show of patriotism and the fight for what is right and cherished: a life where man can be himself and in charge of his own destiny, not a life where he is oppressed by a evil totalitarian regime. When watching this scene, you realize that your "problems don't amount to a hill of beans", and that you need to unslefishly put yourself behind the effort. You are not just fighting for yourself, but for all of those who have lost so much already and still keep the flame of hope lit in their hearts.

Mis En Scene:

1. Dominant: Laszlo
2. Lighting: high key on Laszlo, but low key in the foreground where the band is; in the background it is high key also
   
3. Shot and Camera Proxemics: the camera is personal to social distance in the beginning, but moves in closer to intimate to personal distance as the scene progresses to create more of an emotional tie to the singers of the Marseillaise and Laszlo, their leader in song and spirit
   
4. Angle: eye level; we look at the characters head on, and the camera is sometimes stationed behind people so we get more of a feel that we are there
   
5. Density: this scene is very dense; there are alot of people and instruments in the scene; the scene feels cramped
   
6. Depth: does not seem 3D
   
7. Compostiton: the foreground, middleground, and background work together to give the audience that we are there and we are apart of the action


8. Form: open; seems very natural
   
9. Frame: tight; closed in; allows minimal movement; the characters stand up and move their arms; they do not walk about freely
   
10. Filter: some kind of filter/ guase was used in the close-up shots to create a softer look
    
11. Color value: the film is in black and white
    
12. Subsidiary: after Laszlo, our eyes are drawn to the band and the clients at Rick's
    
13. Staging positions: the characters look at each other
    
14. Character proxemics: the characters arein intimate to personal distance from one another to create a sense of comradery
    
15. Character placement: the characters are standing near the tables and band in Rick's