Casablanca

The purpose of this analytical essay is to broach two specific subjects in the film Casablanca.
First query of analysis is how the opening credits are presented. Do they relate to meaning? Why does the film start in the way it does?
Examining how the opening credits are presented, there are two striking elements that are being portrayed; the choice of music and the choice of narrative. In regards to the first constituent, music, the choice landed on a piece of immoderate dramatic quality. The reasoning behind this is most likely because of the effect a tune of this kind has on the audience. It draws you in and evokes feelings of excitement, triggering the adrenal glands. Furthermore, with Casablanca being a propagandist film set in a time of highly dramatic events, one is not oblivious to the factor of this element’s importance. It has to draw you in order for it to be an effective form of propaganda.
Following the intro music comes a very dramatic narrative, explaining the events of World War II. With the music still playing in the background, the narrative adds to the sense of drama, drawing the audience further in. The choice of wording adds to this as well. Using words such as freedom, torturous, roundabout the narrator explains the dangerous and turmoil filled rout one must travel in order to reach the safe haven that is the Americas. The image of arrows flying across the map explaining this route is ended with the symbolic image of the purgatory that is Casablanca. The film then cuts to a scene in a busy market, adding to the sense of