{"id":1904253,"date":"2023-03-24T08:12:18","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T12:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-classics-like-casablanca-hold-up-and-modern-schlock-doesnt\/"},"modified":"2023-03-24T08:13:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T12:13:37","slug":"why-classics-like-casablanca-hold-up-and-modern-schlock-doesnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-classics-like-casablanca-hold-up-and-modern-schlock-doesnt\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Classics Like \u2018Casablanca\u2019 Hold Up And Modern Schlock Doesn\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-classics-like-casablanca-hold-up-and-modern-schlock-doesnt%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1904253&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p><em>Spoilers for a nearly 100-year-old movie<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In the ninth season of \u201cThe Simpsons,\u201d Bart and Lisa uncover an old 35mm film reel containing an <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Kycok7UBpFo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alternate ending<\/a> to Michael Curtiz\u2019s classic 1942 film \u201cCasablanca.\u201d In this version, Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund \u2014 the characters portrayed by Humphrey Bograt and Ingrid Bergman in the actual movie\u00a0 \u2014 get married after Lund skydives out of a plane to kill Adolf Hitler.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-785079224\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-961b1880484bd9c25abd6091e4c208e6 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-961b1880484bd9c25abd6091e4c208e6\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe Simpsons,\u201d and pop culture in general, is replete with hat tips, homages, references, and spoofs of Bogart and Bergman\u2019s performances in one of the most influential pieces of American culture ever created. Woody Allen\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/r4v0lxcCIdc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Play It Again Sam<\/a>,\u201d albeit a neurotic\u2019s therapeutic exercise in self-expression and public effacement in which Allen\u2019s self-insert character is haunted by Bogart\u2019s ghost, is another such example.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"0NVXguZ7D3HxR6qt\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ratio ratio-16x9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Play It Again, Sam (6\/10) Movie CLIP - Bogart at the Supermarket (1972) HD\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kF-KLIi97Uc?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>This past week I had the opportunity to see \u201cCasablanca\u201d on the big screen for the first time. And (perhaps unsurprisingly in hindsight) other than \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/06\/10\/top-gun-maverick-proves-hollywood-can-succeed-without-kowtowing-to-china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top Gun: Maverick<\/a>,\u201d this was the most crowded movie screening I have attended since 2019. Why?<\/p>\n<p>What makes this movie so unique that at 9:00 p.m. on a weeknight, people of all ages and backgrounds come out to see it? Why is it that an 80-year-old movie still holds audiences when Hollywood, in general, has received a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/marisadellatto\/2022\/05\/05\/covid-isnt-why-americans-arent-going-to-the-movies-study-suggests\/?sh=578dfb915180\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">precipitous<\/a> drop in support?<\/p>\n<h2>Why Does It Hold Up?<\/h2>\n<p>During an interview for \u201cCasablanca\u2019s\u201d 50th-anniversary re-release, Murray Burnett, co-author of the play the movie is adapted from, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0280526\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said <\/a>the story is \u201ctrue yesterday, true today, [and] true tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-299b93016869243dcc4ec2f95c16910f fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-299b93016869243dcc4ec2f95c16910f\"><\/div>\n<p>Whereas contemporary cinema relies on overly elaborate, mind-numbing visual effects and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/02\/25\/hollywood-studios-like-marvel-use-themes-of-revolution-to-radicalize-viewers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ideological messaging<\/a> to engage audiences, \u201cCasablanca\u201d employs a nuanced approach to storytelling, relaying observations about humanity that have resonated with people for millennia. It\u2019s a story about man\u2019s eternal struggle between gratifying his personal desires and fulfilling his obligations to those dependent upon him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Moroccan city of Casablanca is established as an intermediary junction through which people can find reprieve from the seemingly inescapable tide of Nazism sweeping across Europe and Northern Africa. But the movie didn\u2019t survive this long and maintain such an impactful legacy because it\u2019s a decent war flick.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The backdrop of the war does serve to elevate the film\u2019s stakes, however. Being set in 1941, prior to America\u2019s involvement in the war, nobody really knows how the war will play out. This uncertainty adds a heightened level of tension to the characters\u2019 interactions.<\/p>\n<p>From the film\u2019s first moments, we are introduced to the nominal city as an aesthetically charming town where people from across the world flock as they try to squeeze something more out of life. Sometimes what they\u2019re looking for is just out of reach, and other times, they serendipitously succeed. These phenomena are reflected by the <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/xD_bKVAZJBw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rigged casino<\/a> managed by Rick, the film\u2019s protagonist.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8ab333f4599e8a30b82b62c3836b3210 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8ab333f4599e8a30b82b62c3836b3210\"><\/div>\n<p>Human nature compels man to yearn for more out of life, which is reflected in man\u2019s search for meaning. Curtiz\u2019s film captures this by depicting Casablanca as a cosmopolitan purgatory and human beings as complex individuals without over-intellectualizing the role they play in the war or trivializing the struggles they\u2019re experiencing. Bar patrons pawn family heirlooms for safe passage to a better life, young soldiers come to blows over the slightest offense to their nation\u2019s glory, and mostly everyone else just wants to get drunk as they try to escape the crushing weight of nihilistic authoritarianism.<\/p>\n<p>The individuals depicted in the film are caught between doing what is best for them as individuals and what is <em>right<\/em>. Often the two constructs overlap, as when escaping with one\u2019s family from Nazism aligns with an individual\u2019s monetary appetites and what is good. In some instances, they are parallel decisions, as is the case with the bar patrons at Rick\u2019s, who choose to spend their evenings inebriated and gambling. Their whims are gratified, and presumably, no one is harmed long-term. In others, as with Rick, they are directly at odds with the world around, thus setting the film\u2019s plot in motion.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Rick\u2019s Cynicism<\/h2>\n<p>Rick is presented as a thoroughly cynical individual. Throughout the film, whenever solicited, his go-to answer is: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/2WxXIs3SQyk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">I stick my neck out for nobody<\/a>.\u201d But we quickly find out he is actually an idealist who previously risked his life fighting alongside the Ethiopian resistance and the Spanish Republicans despite having no personal stake in the trajectory of either nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite being deeply moved by sentiment, Rick has grown weary. His disillusionment is the result of being abandoned by his former lover, Ilsa. Her reemergence into Rick\u2019s life with her resistance leader husband, Victor Laszlo, forces Rick to reacquaint himself with long-dormant feelings of vulnerability that were suppressed in favor of a tight-fisted and defensive cynicism.<\/p>\n<p>As the plot progresses, Rick and Ilsa fluctuate between vindictiveness as Rick refuses to assist Ilsa and Laszlo to escape Nazi persecution and heartfelt collusion as the two rediscover their feelings for each other and make plans to run away together while Ilsa\u2019s husband can continue rallying European resistance groups as an unencumbered bachelor.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, as Rick and Ilsa have their final opportunity to abscond, the barkeep sacrifices his own happiness for the \u201cgreater good.\u201d Realizing that Ilsa\u2019s companionship is crucial to Laszlso\u2019s role in the resistance, Rick chooses to abandon their plans and insists that she remain faithful and committed to her husband and his fight against Nazi tyranny in Europe, knowing that Ilsa\u2019s love is what kept Laszlo fighting.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In one of the film\u2019s final scenes, where Rick is explaining this to Ilsa, he says: \u201cI\u2019m no good at being noble, but it doesn\u2019t take much to see that the problems of three little people don\u2019t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"2IMSvAbj3cBd9qfnHr4J5mXZgGatuz8UPoEDCKTYyW1x0\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ratio ratio-16x9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Here's Looking At You, Kid - Casablanca (5\/6) Movie CLIP (1942) HD\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rEWaqUVac3M?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>So What?<\/h2>\n<p>Rick lost the girl again, and some people in northern Africa got drunk. Why does this matter? How is this story particularly \u201ctrue\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>The dilemmas experienced by the main cast, let alone the background characters, may be unique to Casablanca in the 1940s, but they are experiences with which people from every generation can easily identify, albeit indirectly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Everyone wants a better life for themselves and their families, and everyone wants to find love. These universal phenomena are, among other things, dealt with in \u201cCasablanca\u201d as man tries to strike a balance between his nature and his duty.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The late English philosopher Roger Scruton articulated a belief that art should aim to offer a unique and accessible perspective on the world that challenges viewers\u2019 prior convictions. To be fair, a good deal of contemporary cinema is entertaining, but it is overwhelmingly schlock that caters to the ideological and commercial whims of the day. \u201cCasablanca,\u201d however, exists at the rare intersection of popular culture and art and encourages viewers to ponder deeper truths.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3c73cd398f3ddf00385b4c250cee876a fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3c73cd398f3ddf00385b4c250cee876a\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">   Samuel Mangold-Lenett is a staff editor at The Federalist. His writing has been featured in the Daily Wire, Townhall, The American Spectator, and other outlets. He is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. Follow him on Twitter @Mangold_Lenett.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/casablanca\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Casablanca<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/cinema\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">cinema<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/culture\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Culture<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/entertainment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">entertainment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/film\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Film<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/humphrey-bogart\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Humphrey Bogart<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ingrid-bergman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ingrid Bergman<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/marvel-cinematic-universe\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Marvel Cinematic Universe<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/movies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Movies<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/nazis\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Nazis<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/world-war-ii\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">World War II<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spoilers for a nearly 100-year-old movie. In the ninth season of \u201cThe Simpsons,\u201d Bart and Lisa uncover an old 35mm film reel containing an alternate ending to Michael Curtiz\u2019s classic 1942 film \u201cCasablanca.\u201d In this version, Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund \u2014 the characters portrayed by Humphrey Bograt and Ingrid Bergman in the actual movie\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1185,"featured_media":1904254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[22670,8539,6304,7118,4920,22671],"class_list":["post-1904253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-casablanca","tag-modern","tag-classics","tag-doesnt","tag-hold","tag-schlock"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1904253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1185"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1904253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1904253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1904254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1904253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1904253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1904253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}