Tea at Trianon: Why Classics Like ‘Casablanca’ Are Timeless

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Why Classics Like ‘Casablanca’ Are Timeless

From The Federalist:

Whereas contemporary cinema relies on overly elaborate, mind-numbing visual effects and ideological messaging to engage audiences, “Casablanca” employs a nuanced approach to storytelling, relaying observations about humanity that have resonated with people for millennia. It’s a story about man’s eternal struggle between gratifying his personal desires and fulfilling his obligations to those dependent upon him.

The Moroccan city of Casablanca is established as an intermediary junction through which people can find reprieve from the seemingly inescapable tide of Nazism sweeping across Europe and Northern Africa. But the movie didn’t survive this long and maintain such an impactful legacy because it’s a decent war flick.

The backdrop of the war does serve to elevate the film’s stakes, however. Being set in 1941, prior to America’s involvement in the war, nobody really knows how it will play out. This uncertainty adds a heightened level of tension to the characters’ interactions.

From the film’s first moments, we are introduced to the nominal city as an aesthetically charming town where people from across the world flock as they try to squeeze something more out of life. Sometimes what they’re looking for is just out of reach, and other times, they serendipitously succeed. These phenomena are reflected by the rigged casino managed by Rick, the film’s protagonist. (Read more.)