
Research on the Influence of War on Film Art ——Taking Casablanca During World War II as an Example
- 1 University of California
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The monumental events of World War II deeply impacted numerous spheres of human life, including Hollywood cinema. This paper delves into the influence of WWII on Hollywood’s thematic and narrative shifts, using the iconic film Casablanca (1942) as its focal point. Released amidst the war’s tumult, Casablanca seamlessly blends a distinct love story with contemporary political dynamics, exemplifying Hollywood’s adaptive response to wartime conditions. Through meticulous examination of Casablanca, this study gleans insights into Hollywood’s filmmaking choices and content transformation against the war’s backdrop, drawing from varied sources such as film archives, governmental records, and industry reports. This exploration vividly highlights the lasting impact of the war on cinema, positioning Casablanca as a paragon of the synergy between cinematic art and wartime politics.
Keywords
Casablanca, World War II, Hollywood, cinema, film industry
[1]. Casablanca. (1942). United States: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
[2]. “Casablanca”. (1943). Monthly Film Bulletin, 10, 3.
[3]. Harmetz, A. (2002). The Making of Casablanca: Bogart, Bergman, and World War II. New York, NY: Hyperion.
[4]. Association of Motion Picture Producers, Inc. (1942). Production Code of Ethics. The 1942 Film Daily Year Book of Motion Pictures.
[5]. Kakutani, M. (1993, December 28). How World War II made the Movies Grow Up. New York Times (1923-).
[6]. Doherty, T. P. (2005). Projections of war: Hollywood, American culture, and World War II. New York: Columbia University Press.
[7]. Haver, R. (1976). Finally, the Truth About CASABLANCA. American Film (Archive: 1975-1992), 1(8), 10–16.
[8]. Breen, J. I. (1942, May 19). Letter from Breen to Warner. Margaret Herrick Library/ Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science.
[9]. Miller, F. (1993). Casablanca: As Time Goes By: 50th Anniversary Commemorative. London: Virgin.
[10]. Jackson, K. M. (2000). Playing it again and again: Casablanca’s Impact on American Mass Media and Popular Culture. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 27(4), 33–41. doi:10.1080/01956050009602813.
[11]. Lebo, H. (1992). Casablanca: Behind the Scenes. New York: Simon & Schuster.
[12]. Steinbock, D. J. (1993). Refuge and Resistance: Casablanca’s Lessons for Refugee Law. Georgetown Immigration Law Journal.
[13]. Bordwell, D. (2019). Classical Hollywood Cinema: Narrational Principles and Procedures. In Film Art: An Introduction (pp. 17–32). Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.
Cite this article
Hu,B.T.X. (2023). Research on the Influence of War on Film Art ——Taking Casablanca During World War II as an Example. Communications in Humanities Research,14,106-110.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Volume title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Global Politics and Socio-Humanities
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).