1.

Relate what was discussed in class to the film screened

The only memorable part of this movie to me that we discussed was the scene where the
Nazis start singing their national anthem, and then the rest of the people start singing
theirs. A little earlier when we were talking about Gone with the Wind, we talked about
the roles of black people in cinema. This seems to be one of those movies where black
people are really only used as an entertainer rather than an actual person. Sam is not
treated with any disrespect in the movie, but he still isnt treated with any respect. He is

2.

sort of just the medium for playing that one song that reminds Rick of Paris.
Find a related article
The article I found goes on to try to explain why Casablanca is considered a cult movie.
It claims that it is more than just loving a movie a lot that makes a cult movie a cult
movie. There are archetypes, symbols, motifs, etc. Some archetypes that the article
brings up, sort of dont even sound like them like going out to dinner, sitting in a bar.
The one archetype that is brought up that I can understand a little better since it has to do
with being human is the unhappy love. He even talks about going to the train station as
an archetype. That one makes a little more sense too since going on a train or plane or

3.

something represents leaving one thing and moving on to another.

Relate the article to the film screened
The article talks a lot about how archetypes and motifs are a big part of what make cult
movies. All of the characters in Casablanca are to a degree archetypes. Rick is the sad
single bachelor type who has had his heart broken, so he is secretly sensitive. Ilsa I think
has a couple working for her. She has the woman who cheated on her husband, but she
also has the widow. Even though she cheated, you dont necessarily feel bad for her
since she didnt really know that she was cheating in Paris. Then we have her husband
who is the general clueless husband not knowing about his wife for a while. Sam is the
stereotypical musician and so on.
Casablana: Cult Movies and Intertextual Collage
http://library.kean.edu:2102/stable/3685047?
Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=Casablanca&searchUri=%2Faction
%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DCasablanca%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc
%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff%26amp%3Bgroup
%3Dnone&seq=3#page_scan_tab_contents

4. Write a critical analysis of the film.

It is about love lost and probably most important sacrificing self happiness. I understand
that it was shot with two different endings. I think they probably chose the right ending
because any other way, you wouldnt feel the same way towards the characters. Im
assuming that the alternate would be rick getting on the plane with Ilsa, which makes
Rick a little less of a hero. What makes him a hero in the movie is how he can sacrifice
being happy for the one he loves. Hes willing to give up love for the one he loves.
There is a little bit more comedy in Casablanca than I expected too. The only really
funny character is Renault being the police force in the movie, but he also relaxes the
rules when he can, which made for some amusing lines such as, Im shocked oh thank
you.