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\input basic \def\Cas {\:c Casablanca \:b}
\def\footnote#1#2{#1\botinsert{\vskip 8pt \hrule width 5pc
    \vskip 3pt \baselineskip 11pt\hbox par size{\:a#1#2}}}
\def\Cass {\:c Casablanca's \:b}
\parindent .4in \baselineskip .3in
\Cas earns for itself indisputable membership among the classics of 
motion picture history.  Although neither complex in plot nor deeply analytical
of the human condition, 
the film secures popular approval: it satisfies the movie-goer's natural desires 
to identify with a film and its characters. \Cass adherence to the folk art
traditions of justice, sentimentality, violence, mild pornography and slapstick
humor forms the base of this viewer$/$film identification.\footnote{(1)}{          
Erwin Panofsky, ``Style and Medium in the 
Motion Pictures,'' from Hall and Ulanov, \:n Modern Culture and the Arts, \:a
pp. 355--373.}
Along with these elements of the folk art 
tradition, however, come old symbols and stereotypes with which modern viewers
cannot identify. Fortunately for \Cas , these out of date elements do not turn us  
away from the film but instead appeal to our senses of nostalgia and of humor.
Curiously, elements that bridge time \:c as well as \:b those which time has left
behind preserve \Cass popularity and its status as a film classic.
\par 
Observance of the rules of justice, one of the strongest folk art traditions,
sets the foundation for \Cass plot structure.  Rick, the owner of a posh saloon
in Casablanca during the second world war, must choose between self-interest and 
justice: he can maintain his business and 
ignore the pleas of Ilse, his once true love; or he
can help the allied forces in their battle against Germany by helping Ilse and
her husband, Victor, get to the United States with valuable information. Before 
Rick makes this key decision, several minor actions foreshadow the
final outcome. In one episode, Rick helps a newly married, penniless couple obtain
exit visas to America by ``fixing'' the roulette table.  Another time Rick exhibits 
his just inner nature by directing the saloon's band to drown out the proud singing
of some German officials with an exuberant rendition of the French national anthem.
And in the end, of course, justice rules supreme---Victor and Ilse go to America,
and Rick joins the allied forces.
\par
Sentimentality plays just as important a role in \Cas as justice, especially in   
the relationship between Rick and Ilse.  The story
of their cruelly fated love, formed and broken by war, reformed and rebroken for
the cause of peace, poignantly touches the heart yet also finds happy resolution.
As a less passionate backdrop to this love, the deeply caring relationship of Ilse
and Victor presents the additional conflict felt by Ilse of love stretched in two 
directions.  The film handles the distinction between these two relationships well:
while Rick and Ilse show their love physically, Ilse and Victor love primarily with 
facial expressions and a gentle, caring quality of speech.  
\par
The three folk art traditions of violence, mild pornography, and slapstick humor are
related, for humor often makes use  of the first two. \Cass violence occurs
in two shooting scenes, in some well employed battle footage
of tanks and bomber planes, and in several scenes of police action.  One of these 
scenes, in which the police round up as suspect
practically every man in a light suit and hat,
illustrates the slightly comedic aspect of violence. Lightly pornographic
humor also shows up throughout the film, particularly in the French 
police comissioner's practice of giving young women exit visas in exchange
for certain feminine charms.
Rick and Ilse also contribute a bit of sexual excitement: strategic camera cuts
leave them alone from time to time, letting us imagine what they might be doing.
\par
Each of these five traditional elements of film satisfies a relatively unchanging
need of the human psyche, and their positive effects on \Cass popularity is clear.
As I mentioned earlier, however, 
additional elements accompany these folk art traditions, elements that are not so
independent of their time period.  For example, the symbols used in film are subject
to obsolescence as film techniques (and film critics) become more sophicticated.
A few of \Cass symbols may never lose their value, such as the relentless 
fly-swatter used by Rick's competing saloon owner and
the bottle of Vichy water thrown into the waste basket at the end of the film.
But some have already become too simplistic or melodramatic to be taken seriously
by the modern viewer: the demise of Rick and Ilse's Paris relationship is 
foreshadowed by Ilse's accidental toppling of a wine glass (and post-shadowed when
Rick subsequently topples \:c his \:b glass after the flashback); the ink of Ilse's
``Dear John'' note to Rick dissolves in the rain to signify their dissolved love 
affair.
While over-use has dilluted and perhaps poisoned the artistic value of such symbols,
we can still view them with nostalgia and sometimes with laughter.
\par 
Another element of \Cas that time has left behind is its set of stereotypes. As 
society changes, our concepts of ``types'' of people change, and we no longer
identify with old stereotypes.
In \Cas we see Victor, the tall hero type (dressed in white when first introduced);
Sam, the happy saloon piano player (black, no personal ambition); Rick, the 
externally rough$/$internally compassionate type (always drinking); and Ilse, the
\:c woman \:b(``$[$Rick$]$, you have to think for both of us'').
These stereotypes, especially the ones portraying blacks and women, are no longer 
accepted by society. Just as with out-dated symbols, though, old stereotypes become
humorous (for example, modern audiences find the comment made by Ilse above 
particulary hilarious).
\par
\Cas, with its traditional elements and humorous obsolete ones, is a classic, as are
many other old films with these two characteristics. It is important to note, 
however, that the lasting traditional elements are much more important than the 
obsolete ones, which are appreciated only as a consequence of nostalgia.  While an
old film can be appreciated if it \:c doesn't \:b contain out of date symbols, 
the folk art elements I described earlier are virtually necessary for appreciation.
If enough of these time-bridging elements are present, as in \Cas, then a film's
obsolete features only add to its classic character.
\par
\vfill
\eject
\output{\page}    
\topspace 3in \ctrline{CASABLANCA:}
\vskip  0in \ctrline{The Timeless and Obsolete Elements of a Classic}
\vskip 1in  \ctrline{Peter Richert}
\vskip  0in   \ctrline{Modern Times}
\vskip  0in   \ctrline{February 4, 1982}
\vfil \end