Casablanca is known as one of the most beloved films of all time because it was one of the first films to include and set up certain elements used in many romance and rom-com movies today. This film takes place at Rick Blaine’s nightclub in Casablanca, Rick’s Cafe Americain. Throughout the story, it focuses on the main character, Rick Blaine and what goes on in his nightclub during World War II. Many people have traveled to the nightclub including German officials, refugees, and his former love interest, Ilsa Lund. When she entered the nightclub, she asked the pianist at the club to play “As Time Goes By”, Rick got furious because he told the pianist to never play that song and is shocked to see her. Ilsa was with her husband, Victor Laszlo, a Czech Resistance leader, and they needed letters to escape to America.

While this was going on, Ferrari, Rick’s business rival, starts to suspect that Rick has the letters. However, Rick refused to sell the letters to Laszlo and that he should ask his wife why. They are then interrupted by the German officers singing “Die Wacht am Rhein”, where shortly after Laszlo tells the band to play “La Marseillaise”. He starts to sing alone at first, but shortly after, the entire nightclub is singing “La Marseillaise” drowning out the Germans, leading to an upset where the German officials force Rick to close down the nightclub. During this, Ilsa comes to the nightclub and confesses that she still loves Rick. After that, Laszlo gets arrested by the police, where Rick then explains to them that Laszlo and Ilsa will be leaving for America and that he should help them with their escape. In the end, Rick has Ilsa board the plane to Lisbon with Laszlo telling her that she would regret it if she stayed.

Throughout this movie, it makes a good use of the sound with its interesting score. When the characters are in the cafe, there is a mix of diegetic sound where there is indistinct chatter going on in the background when the main characters are talking with each other. Sometimes the piano music will come in and come out with the pianist playing in the background. One scene in particular that stands out in the movie is when the German officials start singing “Die Wacht am Rhein” and then Laszlo starts singing “La Marseillaise”. Eventually, the entire nightclub breaks into singing “La Marseillaise” drowning out the Germans.

This scene also ties into the war themes that are seen throughout the movie with the tone of the music. When the Germans were singing, the tone of the music seemed stagnant and stiff, and it seemed like no one really appreciated the music except for the Germans. When Laszlo decided to sing “La Marseillaise”, people started to come around and appreciate this music a lot more. Eventually, they joined in singing. While singing “La Marseillaise”, the Germans started to sing louder trying to take over them. While both groups were singing at the same time, it felt like a battle between the Allied and Axis Powers during the war. In the end, the entire nightclub was singing “La Marseillaise”, where the tone became more proud and patriotic. This could be symbolic on how the Allied Powers have won the battle.

Casablanca is a great film that is a part of the romantic genre, but also has World War II undertones. It is beloved by many because of the romance involved in the film with how it establishes certain elements of romance movies today. It is also beloved by many because of when it takes place during a major point in history. Casablanca combines the themes of World War II and romance very well and is a great watch.

Hi, everyone! My name is Lauren and welcome to my movie blog, Golden State Movies. The purpose of this blog is to review movies both old and new and provide movie recommendations for everyone. Each review will provide information about what the movie is about, what the characters are like, the score that is used, what I think about the movie, and so much more! As a quick disclaimer, I would like to remind you that some may disagree with these reviews, and that’s OK; it’s just my own personal opinion. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.