Himmelberg, Casablanca Blog

Casablanca is an American classic, that has withstood the test of time and is still an important film for all Americans to watch. I think one of the reasons that it has stayed so important for so long is because they don't outwardly portray one political view point or another. I think the scene that really brings the whole message together is the very end. The entire movie Rick has been a neutral party and hasn't gotten involved in the affairs of politics in Casablanca. At the end of the movie he finally gets involved because it effects someone who is imporant to him. When he kills the German and threatens to kill the police chief(who has been his friend this whole time), shows him finally taking real initiative. It is when The police chief has the chance to put Rick in jail or worse and decides to save him that shows a happy ending. Good triumphs over evil in the end and this is what makes this movie such a great movie, even today. The scene that I chose to do the mise en scene is this last scene when the police chief and Rick are together, after the chief has saved him, and Rick's beloved has safely gotten on the plane and is flying away. It is a great portrayal of the political expendency theory because it is not portraying either side to be grandiose or correct. It subtly shows how if you fight for what you believe in and stick to your morals things will work out for the best.

Mise En Scene:

Dominant: Rick is the dominant. He is the largest thing in the scene and is right in the middle. He is wearing a light color jacket which makes him standout and contrasts with the dark color of the police chief and the plane. This shows that he triumphed in the end. He represents good, everything worked out for him, he got the girl on the plane and the police chief didn't betray him, but instead is standing next to him as a friend.

Camera Proxemics: Personal, because the frame is set on just 3 major things, Rick, The police chief and the plane in the upper right hand corner. You can see the background hangers a little bit, but they aren't a main focus.

Character Proxemics: Personal, because the characters are standing side by side, but they are not touching or even looking at eachother.

Lighting: The lighting is sort of a combo or high key and low key. On the left side it seems to be more high key, the lefthand corner is bright and the characters which are on the left side are lite up. The right side seems to be more low key because it is dark the characters arent in it really and the plane is the only thing dominating that side, and the plane is a dark black shadow.

Subsidary Contrasts: The plane and the police chief are subsidary contrasts in the scene. They are the two things that the eye goes to after Rick who is the dominant.

Staging Positions: The characters have their back to the camera and are looking off into the distance thinking about the events that just went on and the future.

Frame: Tight. It only includes the two characters and the shadow of the plane. It doesn't show the whole area. They did this to zero in on the characters because this is the very end and they are contemplating everything that has just happened.