This article talks about the "vacillating realities" that exist throughout Casablanca. In other words, how Michael Curtiz conflates the imaginary and the real in order to create a film that ultimately promotes the message of US involvement in WWII. The film is laden with inaccuracies and historical flaws. One example is the discrepancy between the cinematic depiction of Casablanca and the real city of Casablanca. Production designers chose to present an entirely fictitious city, where not a single building of the French or Moroccan town is present and where there is only the dark and the light, the good and the bad-where gray does not exist. The article states, "the camera's lens became America's prosthetic eye, and where there was once an incomprehensible chaotic world, now a clear image of right and wrong came sharply into focus." The result of this set design is a ‘new' Casablanca that gives the American audience a clear-cut vision, one in which the unifying idea of the film is transparent.

     Another example of an inaccuracy in the film is the wrongful depiction of uniformed Germans in Casablanca; studio writers knew that the German army did not set foot in Casablanca during WWII, but their presence enhanced the message of the film. By depicting fictitious Germans, Americans, Frenchmen, and Resistance leaders in simple exchanges and encouraging the viewers to associate each character with his or her respective nation and international policies, the film efficiently transforms a complex political situation into an easily comprehendible set of social relationships.

     This article is of the utmost importance for my thesis because it exhibits the film's focus on political effectiveness over historical accuracy in the attempt to communicate an ideology to viewers. It reveals the nuanced political propaganda that is embedded in the infrastructure of the film, whether it is in the narrative, characters, or set design. This concept enhances the idea that the film serves as a vehicle for propaganda in a way that does not overtly attack viewers. The article is of particular interest to the thesis because it shows us that if a number of historical flaws are intentionally present, it is because they were deemed necessary in order to accomplish an objective: to sedate the general American opposition to US involvement in WWII.

 

Otero-Pailos, Jorge. Casablanca's Régime: The Shifting Aesthetics of Political Technologies (1907-1943). Postmodern Culture; Jan1998, Vol. 8 Issue 2

The disparity between the cinematic representation of Casablanca and the real city show the liberties that the filmmakers took to promote the message of US involvement in World War II. While the film has small crowded streets and sets and props that do not reflect anything really found in the city, Casablanca has strong Moroccan and French architecture that was left out of the movie. The filmmakers used set design to help portray a visual style that presented a stronger argument for American audiences. The film used literal shadows to make a great contrast between the dark and light, the good and the bad. The gray areas present in real life Casablanca are conveniently left out of the film. Even though the filmmakers use documentary style footage in some of the scenes surrounding the war, it is only used to define a truth that is supportive to the American war effort.

Casablanca in itself is built as a city defined by creating an image to try and change the reality. The French used strong French architecture when they colonized Morocco to define the country as a French colony. However, where architecture is a slow process to define a region, film can almost instantaneously change the hearts and minds of viewers. The film creates a new Casablanca, one in which the American public can find a unifying idea. It doesn’t matter that the city is not an accurate portrayal, what matters is the effect that the created portrayal conveys. In the same way that architecture can be used to visually define a city, film can be used to visually create and redefine the city. Casablanca presents a stereotyped and allegorical city which was used to win over the loyalties of the American public.