What is the premise?
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- 3. Weakness and Need * Weakness
| Casablanca * Ghost Rick fought against the Fascists in Spain and ran guns to the Ethiopians fighting the Italians. His reason for leaving America is a mystery. Rick is haunted by the memory of Ilsa deserting him in Paris. * Story World Casablanca spends a great deal of time at the beginning detailing a very complex story world. Using voice-over and a map (a miniature, a narrator shows masses of refugees streaming out of Nazi-occupied Europe to the distant desert outpost of Casablanca in North Africa. Instead of getting quickly to what the main character wants, the film shows a number of refugees all seeking visas to leave Casablanca for the freedom of Portugal and America. This is a community of world citizens, all trapped like animals in a pen. The writers continue to detail the story world with a scene of the Nazi Major Strasser being met at the airport by the French chief of police, Captain Renault. Casablanca is a confusing mix of political power, a limbo world Vichy French are allegedly in charge, but real power rests with the Nazi occupiers. Within the story arena of Casablanca, Rick has carved out a little island of power in his grand bar and casino, Rick's Cafe Americain. He is depicted as the king in his court. All the minor characters play clearly defined roles in this world. Indeed, part of the pleasure the audience takes from the film is seeing how comfortable all the characters are in the hierarchy. Ironically, this film about freedom fighters is, in that sense, very antidemocratic. The bar is also a venal place, a perfect representation of Rick's cynicism and selfishness. 3. Weakness and Need * Weakness The hero has one or more character flaws that are so serious they are ruining his life. Weaknesses come in two forms, psychological and moral. They are not mutually exclusive a character can have both. All weaknesses are psychological. The inner person is damaged in someway. A weakness is also moral if it causes someone else to get hurt. A character with amoral weakness always has a direct negative effect on someone else. KEY POINT Many writers think they've given their hero amoral weakness when it is only psychological. The key test fora moral weakness is if the hero is clearly hurting at least one other person at the beginning of the story. Download 0.98 Mb. Share with your friends:
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