kelvin@ut-sally.UUCP (Kelvin Thompson) (08/12/85)
_Casablanca_
by Kelvin Thompson
On its surface _Casablana_ is as sleek and stylish as anything else
coming out of Hollywood these days, but at its heart it is very bad --
the movie ultimately conveys a destructive message about the worth of
people.
Of course the _Miami_Vice_ and M-TV crowd that is accustomed to looking
no deeper than surface gloss will find that _Casablanca_ has
*everything*: the movie takes place in both seedy and sumptuous sections
of an exotic locale (Casablanca, Morocco); it is shot in the moody black
and white that seems to be gaining popularity these days; its leading
characters are all tough, cynical loners; it is replete with violence and
kinky sex triangles; and it even has the requisite music video number.
The first two tough, cynical loners the viewer meets are a saloon owner,
Humphrey Bogart (_The_Return_of_Doctor_X_, _Two_Guys_from_Milwaukee_),
and the local Chief of Police, Claude Rains (_The_Invisible_Man_,
_The_Phantom_of_the_Opera_). Predictably, the saloon keeper's old flame,
Ingrid Bergman (_Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde_), arrives with a new beau, Paul
von Henreid (_Goodbye_Mr_Chips_). Except that he is also her old beau --
she was married to him when she and Bogart had an affair years before.
What's worse, von Henreid is in deep trouble with some Nazis and only
Bogart can get him out. Will the cynical Bogart help the goody-goody von
Henreid? Whom will Bergman sleep with next? Will moviegoing hipsters
pee in their pants with anticipation?
Regrettably, beneath all its glitter and intrigue _Casablanca_ harbors
some disgusting sentiments about minority groups. It turns out that all
the active participants in the story are Aryan WASP males -- all other
characters are incapable of effecting any change in their environment or
their lives. Bogart has connections and money, Rains can arrest people,
von Henreid leads an anti-imperialist guerrilla movement. Female and
minority characters, however, are portrayed as subservient and useless.
For example, when the WASP males discuss Bergman's worth, they refer only
to her beauty and use as a courtesan. She is never asked for her insight
into a situation and she is never shown to have any useful skills
(except, by implication, in bed). Likewise, the only black in the cast,
Wilson Dooley (_Free_For_All_), plays the stereotypical Negro Musician in
Bogart's saloon. He doesn't have a care in the world except that his
piano is in tune and his boss happy.
Furthermore, these stereotyped minorities are completely subservient to
their white male masters. When Bogart tells Dooley what musical
selection to perform, the black acquiesces with a quick "yawsuh boss."
And throughout the movie Bogart directs virtually every one of Bergman's
actions (even so far as telling her to get lost at the end), and she
always humbly obeys. The only free will these subjugated characters are
allowed to show are an occasional sullen look from Dooley or tearful
glance from Bergman.
Perhaps it is appropriate that _Casablanca_ was filmed in black and
white, for that is certainly the way it sees the various ethnicities of
humankind.
gadfly@ihuxn.UUCP (Gadfly) (08/13/85)
-- > Perhaps it is appropriate that _Casablanca_ was filmed in black and > white, for that is certainly the way it sees the various ethnicities > of humankind. Just lucky I guess. -- *** *** JE MAINTIENDRAI ***** ***** ****** ****** 12 Aug 85 [25 Thermidor An CXCIII] ken perlow ***** ***** (312)979-7753 ** ** ** ** ..ihnp4!iwsl8!ken *** ***
jimc@haddock.UUCP (08/13/85)
Still and all, I thought the performances were quite good. Though
the script was pedantic in a few places, and sometimes it lacked
direction, I still like it. It is definitely an assertion of
societal values in a time when they are being strained in every
direction.
I am interested in seeing what these actors do next. I saw
Humphrey Bogart do _The_Maltese_Falcon_ a couple of years ago,
and before that, _The_Petrified_Forest_, and though he was good
in each, I wearied of his "tough-guy" appeal. In _Casablanca_,
he revealed some vulnerability which demonstrated versatility I
didn't know he had, and that made it a good performance. Ingrid
Bergman is beautiful, and she did quite well. I imagine that
once the war is over, she'll have a flying career.
Jim Campbell
..!{ihnp4, allegra, harvard}!ima!haddock!jimcrdz@ccice5.UUCP (Robert D. Zarcone) (08/14/85)
This was a joke, right? If you were serious, please let me know so that I will never read anything you post again! *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
pking@uiucuxc.Uiuc.ARPA (08/14/85)
maybe it was filmed in black white because it was made some 40 or so years ago -- is this guy for real?
dsg@hlwpb.UUCP (D.Green) (08/16/85)
If you really want some definitive insight about Casablanca, talk it over with my good friend Woody Allen ( Play It Again, Sam ). He can be found at Michael's Pub in NYC on any Monday night and usually at a Elaine's Restaurant for dinner almost every night. Oh, he lives on Park Ave. in the low 60's. I am sure that if you are in NYC, he would welcome the opportunity to discuss Casablanca with you. His film, Play It Again, Sam, corrected most of the deficiencies you spotted in Casablanca.
masuma@drupa.UUCP (Masuma Rahman) (08/17/85)
Kelvin Thompson, I hate to say this, but are you flaming your own articles because no one else is anymore? TSK!!! TSK!!! I mean, no one out there in net land believes you anymore do they? Shame on you!!!!!!!