Casablanca details Rick's transformation from a man who is
thoroughly unpatriotic to the complete opposite. His hero journey begins in an explicitly musical scene--the
scene in which he allows Victor Laszlo to take control of the band and
play the French national anthem.
Music as used in film is often a subtle way to influence the viewer's emotions. However, in this scene, it is not just a suggestive way to show the mood. Music actually is a plot point. The scene revolves specifically around the tension that the singing causes.When the German anthem, "Die Wacht am Rhein", is sung, Laszlo directs the band to play the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise", instead. Rick nods at the band a directly allow this.
The scene itself is a tipping
point for Rick that prods him in the patriotic direction. He finally “sticks his neck out” for a cause by signaling for the French anthem to
be sung. This is his first act of patriotism in the movie. It hints toward the climactic revelation that Rick is indeed patriotic after all and is willing to sacrifice his love for Ilsa for his country.
At first, the music provides a sense of victory, because the French anthem drowns out the German
anthem. The viewers feel as though the Germans are being overcome! However,
the Germans swiftly retaliate by closing Rick’s restaurant. The viewer are left disappointed and angry that the Germans, despite their symbolic loss, managed to win the day by forcefully evacuating Rick's place.
Luckily, Rick's hero journey to patriotism has begun.
Campbell defines heroes as either doing a physical deed such as saving a life or doing a spiritual deed such as
experiencing something and coming back with a message. Rick does both. He (physically)
kills the officer to save Laszlo’s life--and when he realizes his choice and
tells Ilsa, he has undergone a spiritual change and signaled to Ilsa that he no longer will be acting selfishly.
Campbell also defines a hero as someone who has given his life to something bigger than himself. Rick does exactly this by sacrificing his happiness with Ilsa, the love of his life, in order to help Laszlo escape (with Ilsa as his wife) and continue the resistance.The film documents his transformation--another Campbell hero requirement--from an uncaring businessman to a patriot. And this transformation begins in the emotional scene wherein two opposing national anthems are sung.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI think you are on the right track, but I think it is something more than patriotism at work here. Recall that Rick was actually born in America, so he isn't actually French. I think in that context, that Rick's support of the French resistance in the national anthem scene becomes more a support of people over tyrants than France over Germany. A question of morality instead of just a question of national loyalties. His loyalty wasn't to the French as much as it was to the resistance (which involved folks from all over Europe).
I think, broadly, that this story fits within the larger American response to WWII in Europe at the time. We generally were not prepared or in a place to respond to what we saw happening to our neighbors across the Atlantic, so we favored appeasement over action. When a larger conflict (Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declaration of war by the Nazis), much like Rick's encounter with Ilsa in Casablanca, forced us to reevaluate our position and take action consistent with our national ideals.
I liked this post because it looked at a different musical aspect than "Time Goes On". For me, this scene was definitely a monumental point of the blatant opposing forces in the film. I agree with Corey that this was not specifically directed towards Rick's turn toward patriotism, but it was more of a turning point in Rick's use of apathy. Rick easily could have shut the German singing down and left it a neutral ground, but instead he allowed the common people of the bar to, in one sense, overthrow the tyrannical forces they were fighting. Rick may have appeared to not take part, but his simple nod was a large part of what led to the closing of his bar, which definitely could be taken as "sticking his neck out" for someone.
ReplyDeleteI liked this post because it looked at a different musical aspect than "Time Goes On". For me, this scene was definitely a monumental point of the blatant opposing forces in the film. I agree with Corey that this was not specifically directed towards Rick's turn toward patriotism, but it was more of a turning point in Rick's use of apathy. Rick easily could have shut the German singing down and left it a neutral ground, but instead he allowed the common people of the bar to, in one sense, overthrow the tyrannical forces they were fighting. Rick may have appeared to not take part, but his simple nod was a large part of what led to the closing of his bar, which definitely could be taken as "sticking his neck out" for someone.
ReplyDeleteIndeed a pivotal point in Rick's character transformation was the symbolic anthem scene; however, Rick was not so neutral according to Renault, who mentions several examples (of which I cannot recall) of Rick's support for the allies. It seems that Rick has a record of heroic deeds, yet the ones that are considered heroic are those that are championed and obvious like the French Anthem scene. If Rick is playing the game/the system, and doing what he can while avoiding the Nazi spotlight, is he not just a more clever, inconspicuous hero? And, I enjoy that analogy Corey.
ReplyDelete