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Why Is Casablanca A Misogynist

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Society in the 1940’s was completely different then how they are today. There was a blatant disrespect for woman and men constantly thought of them as useless unless they were in the home cooking and cleaning for their husbands. This misogynistic view transferred on to the big screen with examples such as the film Casablanca have an underlining base of sexism racing through it. Some might believe that the social ideology of Casablanca is that women are unable to make hard choices in the face of love and are too soft hearted. The representation of women in this film is unrealistic and can be a bit insulting when compared to her male counter parts.
Before diving into how women are portrayed in the movie Casablanca it is important to see and understand …show more content…

In the specific scene where Ilsa Is holding a gun to Rick, the love of her life, and amending he had over the unsigned visa papers is a key example of how Casablanca views women. Rick is displayed in the narrative as immovable and hard-headed as he rejects to give her the papers despite his left for her and threats, but she (even though she has "apparent" control of the situation) is unable to hurt the one she loves and puts Laszlo's and her life in danger. What makes it worse is that Rick coaxed her with just a kiss. This showed that in a general sense that the filmmaker of Casablanca thinks women are unable to make major decisions because they are easily persuaded, compassionate, and rash. This is not the only thing that display sexism since it is also shown through formal aspects such as the film language in the sense of lighting. Whenever a female character is presented in the scene she always looks as though she is the perfect type of woman and she is looked at by spectators as an icon with silky, flawless skin (Mulvey). This is through the combination of key and fill lighting. According to Dr. Phillips, when there is a high amount of key light and good fill light is when romantic lighting is created. Basically, the main female lead is always going to look creamy and never disheveled or strong. In contrast, men, such as Rick, can be placed in

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