The movie Casablanca does a great job in quietly pushing its political message. The movie opens with Rick being "neutral" in his view of the war. As the movie slowly progresses, he takes a more active role in the things going on around him. He chooses to help Victor and Ilsa escape from Casablanca to America. This shows a deliberate decision he has chosen about the war. Somewhere along the way, he decided that America and the allies were the "good guys" and that the Germans needed to be stopped. In fact, he has to shoot the German officer to stop him from catching the couple when they are making their escape. Rick makes the decision of letting the good of the world outnumber his own happiness. He would be happier running away with Ilsa, but he knows that Victor is very important to the war and Victor needs Ilsa.
I have chosen the scene where Rick helps them escape. The lighting in this scene is dull and the background is lost in the fog. The fog is used here to show that what happens in this particular scene will effect what happens in the world. The war will be influenced by whether or not Victor gets away from Casablanca. The characters in this scene are positioned in a very thoughtful way. Rick is situated in the middle of the frame because he is representative of America, and this film was trying to push that America had to take a stand against the Germans. Victor and Ilsa flank either side of Rick because they will be affected by what he does. Their characters represent the allies because they needed America's help. The space in the frame for the three characters is cut-off by the police chief and the airport employee. These two characters represent the enemy because they are the forces in the film that could stop the escape from happening.
Everything in this movie has been meticulously staged to push the political message to join the war. Casablanca does not use political expediency like most movies do. It does not remain neutral; in fact it promotes a direct political decision. I think this movie pushes its own agenda in an intelligent and affective way.
I have chosen the scene where Rick helps them escape. The lighting in this scene is dull and the background is lost in the fog. The fog is used here to show that what happens in this particular scene will effect what happens in the world. The war will be influenced by whether or not Victor gets away from Casablanca. The characters in this scene are positioned in a very thoughtful way. Rick is situated in the middle of the frame because he is representative of America, and this film was trying to push that America had to take a stand against the Germans. Victor and Ilsa flank either side of Rick because they will be affected by what he does. Their characters represent the allies because they needed America's help. The space in the frame for the three characters is cut-off by the police chief and the airport employee. These two characters represent the enemy because they are the forces in the film that could stop the escape from happening.
Everything in this movie has been meticulously staged to push the political message to join the war. Casablanca does not use political expediency like most movies do. It does not remain neutral; in fact it promotes a direct political decision. I think this movie pushes its own agenda in an intelligent and affective way.
Nice mise en scene analysis. Who is actually the dominant in the scene?
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