Film Analysis Essay on Casablanca: Sociological Lens

Introduction

The film Casablanca is no doubt one of the greatest movies ever made and was directed by Michael Curtiz ("Casablanca (1942)"). It is about a man Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) who fall in love but have to unselfishly break it up for the great cause of fighting and defeating the Nazis. The film starts when Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) and her husband, a Czech freedom fighter Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) go to Rick's Cafe in Casablanca run by Rick (Humphrey Bogart) in search of transit letters that allowed one to travel around German-controlled Europe. The papers were given to Rick by Ugarte (Peter Lorre) who died in custody ("Casablanca (1942)").

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Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) and Laszlo (Paul Henreid) are on the run from the Nazis and come to the Cafe to lie low as they search for the papers that could help them escape, but Ilsa is shocked to see that the cafe is run by her former lover, Rick (Humphrey Bogart). Bogart and Bergman display a romantic relationship that lights up the screen, full of suspense and comedy, and it is sad to see Bogart give it all up for humanity sake ("Casablanca (1942)"). Paul Henreid plays a perfect role of the other man in the love triangle. Some other actors that make the film great are Conrad Veidt who plays the Nazi Commander, Sydney Greenstreet who is the black market overlord and Claude Rains. What is intriguing about the movie is that it does not have the "happily ever after" as most movies do. Despite the fact that the characters have bad traits such as lying or killing, in the end, they are all redeemed ("Casablanca (1942)").

Movies are used as a tool to communicate the problems faced in society and people who study sociology tend to interpret movies in a deeper and meaningful sense with what they face in society. According to Ferris and Stein, sociological imagination challenges people to see the roles they each play in a society, and not to think that whatever happens in their lives are personal. Sociological imaginations look at how larger social issues are intertwined with a person's life. For instance, in the movie Casablanca, we see how Rick struggles with love and eventually breaks up with Ilsa to fight the Nazis ("Casablanca (1942)"). His role in fighting for his society is larger than his personal love affair.

Conflict theory is well depicted in the film through authoritarianism or Nazism (Puentes, 160). The Nazi try to take control over Casablanca by imposing values and perspectives that are oppressive and taking control of the economy and political systems. The Nazis have a spotlight that shines over the whole city of Casablanca that reminds the people of the strict dominance and surveillance ("Casablanca (1942)"). The Nazi commanders, especially Strasser are extremely violent and always use very cruel tactics to ensure that Laszlo does get the transit papers that will make him leave the country. The Nazi commanders in the film believe that the only way to rule the country is by using the military to control the economic class. We can see the brave characters in the film trying to fight against the dictatorship of the ruling power; others die trying to escape from it while the cowards simply give in the fascism represented by people such as Marshall Petain Philippe ("Casablanca (1942)"). The Nazi represent the wealthy folks who try to make a living through the slave trade and believe that the wealthy are fit to rule, while Rick represents the class that is fighting for the freedom.

Another theory depicted in the movie is that of structural functionalism which looks at both social structure and social functions (Puentes, 160). The film focuses on the hardships faced by the exiles and the foreigners. The majority of the characters in the film are exiles except for e few such as Abdul the doorman who is a Moroccan and the conquering Germans. Rick, for instance, is an exile from America who cannot go back to his country. The exiles face hardship because most of them are homeless and frustrated. The refugees use various pathetic means of travel to get to Casablanca. The rise of the refugees started after the Germans started invading countries making people run for safety, and this film depicts the problems and hardships faced after the year 1942 ("Casablanca (1942)").

The film also shows how crime as another sociological issue and how it affects society (Burke, 80). For instance, Ugarte, the black market dealer kills two German couriers and steal the French signed transit papers from them. Ugarte portrays how misery in the society always leads to a pathetic life of killing and stealing just to survive, but in the end, he dies in custody as a reward of it. Senator Ferrari on the other depicts the issue of organized crimes in society; he deals with human trafficking through his prostitution networks, drug peddling and the numerous assassinations ("Casablanca (1942)"). The fascist rulers do not have a problem with and in fact, collaborates with him in oppressing the majority of the oppressed in the society.

The question of nationalism also presents another sociological functionalism as many of the characters in the film have different nationalities all fighting against the German fascists. Captain Renault Louis at the beginning of the movie is a Vichy Nazi but transforms to a partisan in support of his country France. Rick is an American while Victor Laszlo is Czech, who is against the Nazis because they had attacked Czechoslovakia. Ilsa, Sacha the Russian and the Norwegian Berger are part of the anti-Nazi movement. The film also depicts in a very organized way how some of the villains such as Urgate, Ferrari and Tonelli the officer are all Italians and Italy was an ally of Germany during that period of war ("Casablanca (1942)"). However, all these exiles, refugees and residents of Casablanca all have a dream to go to America where they can start a new life, because, to them, America seems to be the Promised Land free from all the struggles and the German fascism.

Through the aspects of macrosociology and microsociology, a society such as the one depicted in Casablanca is forced to stand up against the oppression from the German fascists. It is through defiance that they can have a voice, and some of the characters risk their lives just to have a better future (Burke, 80). It is evident that the larger calling for humanity is greater than that of personal love life because Rick and Ilsa cannot settle down as a family. The allegory of love and sacrifice depicted by Rick and Ilsa is astonishing, to say the least. Ilsa has to live under the assumption that her husband is dead, and when they miraculously meet at the cafe, they are forced to be on the constant run from the Nazis ("Casablanca (1942)"). They fail to live together as Rick is forced to choose to fight for freedom, regardless of the devastating freedom of losing her lover. The concept of a stable family is hard when you are always on the constant run for freedom.

The movie Casablanca helps outline the sociological issues of race or ethnicity, social class, inequality and family (Puentes et al. 159). From the start of the movie, we can see a society that is divided by the minority of the ruling class dictating over the powerless majority. The acts of fascism depicted in the movie demonstrate how society is always ruled by the powerful who are always abusing their powers making the majority suffer. The social class between the poor and the rich is also depicted in the movie. This demonstrates the different and distinct lanes the modern society faces from the rich who are always exploiting the poor. The poor always suffer under the hands of the wealthy that collaborate with the ruling class to safeguard their interests (Puentes et al. 159). The film also depicts how the weaker party always struggle and fight for their freedom; it doesn't matter what it takes; they always fight until their voices can be heard.

I am a sociology student, and that affects how I view the movie. When I am watching the movie, I have in mind what sociological perspectives that I should be looking for. I have this frame of mind and expectations that I expect from the movie and the standards of sociology it should meet. I am eager to learn how the movie addresses the issues of the sociological lens and how relevant they are to the daily sociological issues we face. I consider the movie to be a learning tool, an example of how society is and what the society expects from us.

Conclusion

Movies are always a source of great entertainment, and we tend to watch them to pass the time and for great moments. Movies educate, and we get to learn new developments and to think from them. However, when we watch a movie through the sociological lens, we find a deeper meaning to the social interaction, social structure or the social ideologies depicted in the movies. We always find ways to relate to these sociological aspects depicted in the movie and take a closer look into the real world social issues. How a society deals with the sociological issues in the movie, is how the real society reacts to them, and opens our eyes to the social evils we face everyday such as racism, social profiling, corruption, tyranny among others. I consider the movie, Casablanca to be the voice of the oppressed in society, a wake-up call to stand and fight for our freedom just like the characters in the movie did. We should let go of our selfish interests and fight for the larger humanity sake.

Works Cited

"Casablanca (1942)". Imdb, 2018, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/. Accessed 11 Nov 2018.

Burke, Mary C. "Sociological Perspective: Underlying Causes." Human Trafficking. Routledge, 2013. 79-100.

Ferris, Kerry, and Jill Stein. The real world: An introduction to sociology. WW Norton & Company, 2010.

Puentes, Jennifer, and Matthew Gougherty. "Intersections of gender, race, and class in introductory textbooks." Teaching Sociology 41.2 (2013): 159-171.