Casablanca and Do The Right Thing

Casablanca and Do The Right Thing




This essay will discuss similarities and differences between Casablanca and Do The Right Thing. Firstly ,Casablanca  is a romantic drama and was set in 1942, during World War 2, the film was released when France was under German control. Although Do The Right Thing is a drama and  was set in Brooklyn in 1989 , this was the period where the majority of Brooklyn’s population was black.
Casablanca uses micro features such as a blank and white affect, this is how films were shot during 1942, the film is dialogue heavy, meaning most action happens in the audio codes rather than the visual codes. However, Do The Right Thing is shot using twenty first century affects, also the audio and visual codes are evenly spread out ,rather than one being heavier like Casablanca.
Secondly, Casablanca uses the character of Rick to represent America in the war , Rick is represented as mutual ,while Vichy French,German officials and desperate refugees conflict with each other, he seems to be on all of their sides, we get this from the audio codes in the film ,as he says no bad or good about them. This is supposed to represent America during the war because at this point they wasn't involved in the war. To an extent this is like Da Mayor in Do the Right Thing,they are similar because he also doesn't take sides in the racial conflict, this is presented in the audio codes when he says “always do the right thing” ,this connotes to him telling everyone to do your best to solve the inequality without hurting anyone , this represents him as mutual similar to Rick.
Do The Right Thing explores the theme of racial inequality by using a mid-shot ,where the camera is panning towards the characters , direct address is used while they say racial slurs to the camera , the shot shows a policeman ,Sal and Mookie doing so. It creates a message that racism is a widespread problem. On the other hand Casablanca does not use this theme ,instead it explores the theme of desperation ,for example refugees in Casablanca are desperate to leave to the  still-neutral United States ,as they feel preyed upon in Casablanca.

To summarise both films explore historical events i.e world war 2 and the movement of equal rights for black people but do not share the same micro features and themes such as black and white effect to Casablanca.

Comments

  1. Coulsdon A Level Film and Media10 December 2017 at 09:49

    There are some relevant points raised in this writing Meghan but i feel that you could have dug a little deeper with your research. Talked more about the production elements and circumstances of each film, the Directors and themes would also allowed the reader to have a better understanding of your comparative elements of these films. You have however used some important Film specific terminology and going forward just ensure that your establish some contextually early on.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Analysis of Trainspotting opening,overdose and ending scene.

Image
Trainspotting opening scene analysis. Trainspotting is a 1996 British black comedy, that is directed by Danny Boyle and starring Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, and Kelly Macdonald . The film is based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh; the film was released in the United Kingdom on 23 February 1996. In the opening scene of trainspotting we see Renton and spud running down the road, the camera movement and music merge together to match the action on screen. The music immediately starts playing once we see a low angled shot of our characters feet; this could link to how upbeat the characters lifestyle in their opinion. Furthermore when we see the car hit Renton is could be double meaning as throughout the narrative he talks about having a career, so, the car could signify the barrier of drug addiction that stops him having all the stuff mentioned. the positioning of the two characters could suggest that Renton is alwa
Read more

buster keaton

Buster Keaton: One Week, The Scarecrow, The High Sign, Cops Buster Keaton tends to use long shots to encourage the audience to look around the frame to see the joke, they allow an appreciation of the gag. Close ups usually follow up from this to show the characters reaction. He also tends to shoot face on so he is centre of attention. Keaton does this to highlight the idea that he is the joke and considered a clown; this tends to follow through on most films. In Cops there is a scene where Keaton is depicted in the foreground trying to take nap, a deep focus is used to show us that the city is unfurling in the background. Yet again Keaton is placed in the middle of the frame, this allows the audience to see how interacts with the chaotic and mechanical world. This is a very iconic use of cinematography for Keaton, as he tends to prefer to get everything in one frame, this is because editing in the 20s was considered as deceiving the audience. The sets used in Buster Keaton
Read more

Analysis of coin toss scenes in no country for old men.

Analysis of coin toss scenes in no country for old men The coin toss scenes are key elements of the film it they tell us vital points about Chigurh personality. The first coin toss scene is set in a small petrol station in the middle of nowhere a conversation between the cashier and  Chigurh seemed perfectly normal up until the point when the cashier mentioned that he saw him coming from Dallas. Chigurh then automatically makes the conversation heated we get this idea when he calls the shopkeeper “friendo”.  Chigurh continually asks the shopkeeper questions this gives the audience an uneasy feeling. Additionally  Chigurh is placed in front of the door, this emphasises that the shopkeeper is isolated and has no escape from this vicious killer. the shopkeeper wears traditional clothing that fits the location , mid shots are used to show this as we can see the secret of the landscape behind him.  Chigurh on the other hand juxtaposes this idea as he wears dark clothing which c
Read more