Casablanca conveys typical ideas about sex and gender during the 1940’s. It also displays the relationship between master and slave, both of which can be examined by looking at Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex”. I will attempt to explain the relationship between Ilsa and Rick and the relationship between Ilsa and her husband Lazlo. I will also develop the idea, according to Derrida and Saussure, that the meaning of words is not fixed and may change over time due to social constructs.
The movie “Casablanca” is a romantic drama that was released in 1942. It is set during World War II in the Vichy-French controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca. The main character is a man named Rick, who must choose a path of love or virtue. Rick must make the ultimate choice between keeping the love of his life, Ilsa, for himself, or helping her and her husband, Victor Laszlo, the Czechoslovakian Resistance leader, escape from Casablanca, to America, where he can continue his fight against the Nazis.
Ilsa and Rick had met in Paris and fallen in love. Ilsa was told that her husband, Laszlo, had been killed while trying to escape from a concentration camp. She never shared this knowledge with Rick because her marriage to Laszlo had been kept quiet for her own safety--she knew too much about her husband’s work. She finally told Rick the truth when she came to him seeking the letters of transit for her and her husband’s journey to America. After she pulls a gun on him, she confesses that she still loves him and wants to be with him. She didn’t want to leave him again. He accuses her of manipulation and of saying anything to get what she wants because she knows how he feels about her. However, I believe that Ilsa does in fact love Rick and I think that she left him at the train station only because it was what was expected of her as a good woman and wife to Laszlo.
In Chapter 9 of our Barker books, on page 307, Diana Meehan lists common stereotypes of women. I thought that Ilsa could be seen as a few of these because, throughout Casablanca, it seemed that she took on different roles. When Ilsa came to get the letters of transit and Rick at first says “No”, she pulls a gun on him which perhaps can be seen as what Meehan names “the decoy”, or someone who is “apparently helpless but actually strong”. But then she doesn’t shoot Rick and tells him that she still loves him. He then accuses her of being what Meehan calls “the bitch”, which is a “sneak a cheat and/or manipulative”, thinking that she is saying this only to get what she wants. But then Ilsa became the stereotypical woman, falling into his arms and playing the “victim”. She becomes “passive” as she tells Rick that “he has to think for the both of them now”, because her judgment is clouded with emotion. But ultimately I think Ilsa was the “good wife” because even though I believed she loved Rick more, she left him at the train station to go and take care of her sick husband, Laszlo. Then again at the end, even though I think she wanted to stay with Rick, she left with Laszlo because this was the socially accepted norm. However, in a way, I also saw “the decoy” in this scene because Ilsa understood the expectations of women at the time and even though she was sad, she stayed strong doing “what was right” of her.
Laszlo’s love for Ilsa is apparent because he actually tried to have Rick safely escort her out of Casablanca while he opted to stay behind and accept his fate. However, instead of using the letters of transit for Ilsa and himself, Rick does what he feels is right by sending Ilsa “where she belongs”, with her husband Laszlo. Rick’s love for Ilsa is made evident by the extreme risks he takes in order for her and her husband to get away. He double crosses local Police Captain, Renault, holding him at gun point, and actually kills the German Major, Strasser.
This is why I feel that, in a way, Rick is a slave to Ilsa because of his love for her that caused him to go these extremes. But Ilsa seemed to be a slave to Laszlo because of the expectations of society which forced her to stay with him. It wouldn’t be appropriate for her to have run off with Rick. I think that fundamentally everyone is a slave to society because it is society that guides life by determining what is acceptable from what is not. Laszlo, for example, didn’t seem to be a slave to a certain person but was, instead, consumed in the resistance movement.
Despite my opinion that a man can be a slave to a woman, according to Beauvoir’s, “The Second Sex”, women were the slaves and men were the masters. “Man can think of himself without woman. She cannot think of herself without man…She cannot even dream of exterminating the males. The bond that unites her to her oppressor is not comparable to any other.” Beauvoir, however, also claims that man’s sexual desire and the desire for offspring make the male dependent on the female for satisfaction. She explains how master and slave have a reciprocal relationship yet the master does not acknowledge his need of the other, while the slave, in her dependent condition, is quite conscious of the need she has for the master.
“The Second Sex”, which was written in 1949 conveyed a view of women that was similar to that of the time this movie was filmed and it depicted that women were dependent on men, especially economically, and that they were obedient and subservient to them. A man’s voice held authority and women followed his orders. An example of this is when Yvonne, Ricks young lover, wants to have another drink but he feels that she has had enough and calls a taxi to take her home. Despite her protests, the man’s words and opinion are what mattered. In this movie and in this time men were depicted as respectful of women’s dignity and ‘frailty’, which was thought to be based on their biology. But men also demonstrated braveness, boldness and morality. Beauvoir states that women are inferior to men because their situation affords them fewer possibilities. She also warns of “social discriminations which seem outwardly insignificant but which produce in women moral and intellectual effects so profound that they appear to spring from her original nature.” I think that this means that these discriminations produce unnatural social constructions of women.
Social constructs help govern the meaning of language because they are forever changing. As stated earlier, I proposed that we are all slaves to society and an example of this is seen by people following these social constructs. Both Saussure, author of “Course in General Linguistics”, and Derrida, author of “Difference”, agree that word definitions can never be fixed. Saussure explains that language is a system of signs that express ideas. These signs are composed of signifiers and signified. “A signifier is taken to be the form or medium of signs, for example a sound, an image, or the marks that form a word on the page. The signified is to be understood in terms of concepts and meanings.” (Barker 76). However he argues that the relationship between the signifiers and the signified is arbitrary which “suggests that meaning is fluid because it is culturally and historically specific.” (Ibid 77). Derrida believes that “since meaning is generated through the play of signifiers not by reference to an independent object world,” and because language is ‘non-representational’, that meaning therefore is “inherently unstable.” (Ibid 85). Derrida argues that supplements add to and substitute meanings. An example Barker gave on this matter is to look up the word “dog” in the dictionary. He said you would find the long chain of signifiers: “dog, canine, hound, hybrid, crossbreed, composite…If a dog is now a composite, is it still a dog?” (Ibid 86). Since meaning is subjective it furthers the point that words are social constructs that change over time and throughout regions. Thus, people are slaves to constantly conforming to a culture that society has deemed worthy.
There was an economic aspect of “Casablanca” which was tied to popular culture. Popular culture is defined by corporations and is mass produced for profit. In the case of the movie, “Casablanca”, Warner Brothers, created a movie that appealed to the masses for two main reasons; the social idea of romance and the political aim of unifying the country in support of the war. The film’s profit was nearly a million dollars which at the time was a huge amount of money. (Tunc).
Advertisements and other media play on peoples' values, making them feel as though they need a certain product, or need to subscribe to a certain belief, to achieve some means which they on their own could not accomplish. Popular culture differs from culture I think, because culture was the result of necessity, but popular culture was created from convenient opinions. It is subjective and helps in creating peoples' identities. But, I believe that most of the time, popular culture stifles individuals’ real creativity and represents many stereotypes and other falsities. However through advertisements promoting “Casablanca”, Hollywood sold the Resistance as a patriotic image. The movie made it seem that the Resistance was and should be popular in order to entice people to join the fight against the Nazis.
There was a political side to “Casablanca” as well, which was to help spread propaganda to get Americans more involved in WWII. It did this through its use of romance and its depiction of characters, showing that “personal desires must be subordinated to the task of defeating fascism.” (Tunc).
During World War II, the Bureau of Motion Pictures was created by the Federal Government with the purpose to monitor the film industry. “In its ‘Government Informational Manual for the Motion Picture Industry’, the BMP asked every producer to consider one central question: "Will this picture help win the war?"” (“Casablanca as Wartime Propaganda”). The Office of War Information, which worked with the BMP, created guidelines which movie producers were to abide by. These included film themes which would “benefit American morale.” “Washington suggested producing films that would: glorify the “American way of life”; “depict the enemy and their philosophy”; and “reflect well on our allies”…” (Tunc). All of these are achieved in “Casablanca”. In the report of “Casablanca” the BMP had this to say: “America is shown as the haven of the oppressed and homeless. Refugees want to come to the United States because here they are assured of freedom, democratic privileges and immunity from fear. The love and esteem with which this country is regarded by oppressed peoples should make audiences aware of their responsibilities as Americans to uphold this reputation and fight fascism with all that is in them.” (“Bureau of Motion Pictures Report”).
This movie subtly spreads propaganda through its characters and its view of love. Romance is desirable because humans are social creatures and perhaps learn through society’s constructs that romantic relationships are the norm and should be sought after. However, when Rick gives up his renewed chance at love for the sake of the Allied cause, “The message is clear: resistance to the Axis powers is more important than personal happiness. In aiding the movement, Rick too becomes a hero. So shall the average citizen who puts the war effort ahead of his own interests.” (Soroka).
Characters in this film seem to represent different countries. Rick at first is the neutral American, “I stick my neck out for nobody.” But then he softens to the Resistance cause and is unselfish and self sacrificing as he gives up his chance at love for the political motive of fighting totalitarianism. Laszlo appears to be the symbol of the Allied Cause. He is portrayed as a hero, a true patriot, and lover of democracy. While addressing Major Strasser, he defiantly says that if the Germans were to kill him and the other underground leaders in other countries, thousands would rise to take their place and that “Even Nazis can’t kill that fast.” (“Casablanca”). Captain Renault represented Vichy France as demonstrated by his compliance with the Germans. A scene that demonstrated this was when Major Strasser ordered him to find a reason to close Rick’s café. Renault shuts down the café for ‘illegal’ gambling while accepting his winnings at the same time. The real reason Strasser wanted to close Rick’s place was because his troops, who were singing Die Wacht am Rheim, a patriotic German song, (Tunc)., got drowned out by the orchestra playing the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, being led by Laszlo. Renault eventually has a change of heart and sides with Allies. Strasser quite obviously portrays Nazi Germany. He is self centered, arrogant, controlling, and doesn’t like anything non-German. He makes reference to Germans taking over through one of his beginning remarks in the film, "oh, we Germans must get used to all climates, from Russia to the Sahara." He even taunts Rick by asking him if he could imagine the Germans invading New York. This helped to bring the war scare closer to home. Strasser disregards human life and says to Ilsa, “…Perhaps you have already observed that in Casablanca, human life is cheap” (“Casablanca”).
“Casablanca” glorifies the heroism, courage, and determination of the Resistance movement. It plays on people’s patriotism such as when the French national anthem was sung even though half the country was occupied by Germany. It showed that the French people were not going to quietly surrender and that there would always be Resistance.
Casablanca wasn’t originally expected to be such an influential movie but it has enduring legacies with memorable lines such as “We’ll always have Paris,” and “Here’s to looking at you kid.” This movie had social, economic, and political implications. It dealt with the issues of sex and gender, relationships, and romance which we learned were social constructs that vary throughout time and between cultures. The economic aspects, advertisements and popular culture, help to further conveyed the political propaganda urging America to drop its Isolationist policy and get involved in WWII.
Works Cited
1. Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies Theory & Practice. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. 2008.
2. Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex. France. 1949.
3. “Bureau of Motion Pictures Report” Digital History. 6 May. 2009. 11 May. 2009.
4. Casablanca. Dir. Michael Curtis. Prod. Hal B. Wallis. Dist. Warner Bros. 1942.
5. “Casablanca as Wartime Propaganda” Digital History. 6 May. 2009. 11 May. 2009.
6. Soroka, Kristin. “Selective Filmography” Hollywood at War. 10 May. 2009.
7. Tunc, Tanfer E. “Casablanca; The Romance of Propaganda” Bright Lights Film Journal. Feb. 2007. 11 May. 2009.
