Iqbal, Casablanca

           The political expediency theory arose because the producers of movies were usually conservatives whereas the actors were liberal. Both had to find a medium ground. The political expediency theory is when a movie cannot alienates its audience. This is very evident in the post WWI movie Casablanca. In this scene, Rick reveals that he wants Isla and Laslo to board the plane. He sacrificed his own happiness to see Isla live her life. His patriotism was evident when he did this. It showed a side of him that even Renault was surprised to see. Towards the end of the scene, Rick also shows his resistance against the Nazi regime when he shoots Major Strasser. I think this point in the scene was very important because Rick does not hesitate whatsoever to shoot the Major. Even Renault realizes what Rick did and sees a self of patriotism in himself as well. Also, one has to understand, America was going through alot during this time. We were fighting not only in WWI but we were fighting the Great Depression as well. This movie impacts Americans in a way to make then gain a sense of patriotism despite what may be going on around them. It is a feel good movie. It takes the worst of situations i.e. a Nazi occupied France and shows that even ordinary people can scrounge up the courage and fight for what is right. The movie leaves the audience feeling that even they can come out of something bad and succeed with just having courage like Rick did. Throughout the whole movie, we get a sense that Rick is doing all that he is doing just so that he and Isla can go back together. But in the end, he shows his sacrifice by letting go of Isla and says the famous lines, "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life."

Misc En Scene Analysis:

Dominant: In this scene, Rick is the dominant because of the way his face is angled, we can see that Rick is the dominant figure. Also, there is high key lighting on Rick whereas for the other characters there are shadows.

Lighting: The overall lighting is high key on the characters especially Rick and low key towards the background.

Camera Proxemics: it is personal because we have only four characters in this scene and it is focused on Ricks' conversations with each of them

Frame: The framing in this scene is loose.

Angle: The camera angle seems to be straight on all four characters.

Character proxemics: All the characters look personal but Isla and Laslo seem intimate.