Sacrifices in Love and War

Sacrifices in Love and War

Casablanca is one of the best films produced by the World War II Hollywood propaganda machine. During this period of time, in 1943, the movie was among one of the one hundred war films that represents the Office of War Information’s early intentions of truthfully representing the war. The Motion Picture was filmed to educate the public about the issues surrounding the war as well as the causes of and reasons for the war. Casablanca is one of the greatest propaganda films ever written, the film's message of self-sacrifice and of a love lost and found has communicated to several cultures and made an immediate impact to its core American audience.

In the years leading to the World War II, most Americans believed that U.S. foreign policy should have promoted isolationism and neutrality. The early 1940s was a time in which millions of Americans were unable to explain the reasons for the United States' intervention in World War II beyond the shocking fact of the attack on Pearl Harbor . Americans knew who they were fighting but could not explain why they were fighting. American popular opinion was clearly isolationist during the 1930s . This isolationism continued into the early war years. An American society that had opposed any participation in a foreign war for a generation at the end of 1941 was suddenly forced to face the reality that the United States was fully engaged in defeating foreign enemies in both Europe and the Pacific. It therefore quickly became in the best interests of the government and of mass media to exploit public obsessions to try to justify intervention. Attempts to explain to the American citizens why the United States was fighting soon began to appear in mass circulation magazines and the movies . Casablanca was produced to support U.S. participation in the Allied Forces' struggle for global justice and democracy.

Casablanca's biggest message is the necessity of self-sacrifice for the sake of a greater good. From the beginning of the movie, the audience watch Rick progress from cynical businessman to resistance fighter: “Listen, even if you are not particularly nationalist. Even if you are not particularly moral or just or political. Even if, mostly, what you want from life is a beautiful girl and a full wallet вЂ" under today's circumstances, whether you're American or Czech or French, you can only remain a decent human being by making sacrifices for this important cause.” Casablanca glorifies the heroism of the resistance movement. Rick, the isolationist, cynical owner of a glamorous nightclub in "neutral" Morocco, where thousands of refugees have fled Nazi brutality. Behind Rick's cynical exterior is a man who used to care. Rick's cynicism is due to broken love in which he had given up all hopes for and sacrificing his personal happiness for the resistance 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 citizen who put the war effort ahead of his own interests.

Although Rick attempted to conceal his political views, his sympathy for the underdog eventually surfaced. Throughout the course of the film, Rick reveals that he has fought fascists in Ethiopia and Spain, and fled Paris in the face of German occupation. The audience its captivated by Rick’s character from the beginning because of his mysterious exile from U.S. and his neutrality in political views. However, Rick's protective mysterious persona it’s sometimes exposed and we can see his sympathies in the scene when Rick refused to served a German person nor give him any "special treatment." The film doesn’t exactly explain Rick’s action, its is apparent that Rick's behavior was a little more politically motivated than he would have liked to admit.

Rick’s liberal political position was exposed once again doing a conversation he had with Ferrari, the owner of the rival cafÐ"©. Ferrari offered to buy Sam's contract, which Rick replied: "I don't buy or sell human beings." Not only did this refusal reinforce the respect that Rick and Sam had for each other but it also conveyed the point that Rick, the American, was above the fascist practice of trading human beings. Of course doing this time, discrimination was also a big issue and Rick’s friendship with Sam clearly exemplified his beliefs in anti-discrimination.

As the plot develops, Rick softens to the resistance. His powerful attitude eludes that Rick was a lot more complicated than the neutral image he tried to maintain. In fact, his position was essentially a personification of the United States’ government before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Like the U.S. government, Rick seemed neutral at first. However, Rick, was also secretly committed to the idea of restoring democracy and justice. He eventually helps Victor Laszlo, the head of the Czechoslovakian resistance movement and the husband of Rick's former lover Ilsa, escaped Casablanca. Rick heroically sacrifices his chance to be reunited with Ilsa, giving