Movie Analysis Essay on Casablanca

Introduction

There are four levels of the world view that we usually face in our daily life. The first level of world view is the essence of actions and behaviors that generally determine our choices in life. In this case, people do things without first identifying why they do them that way. The other level of world view is the rule of life which is driven by our roles and regulations defined for us in the scripts and traditions - these guides our behaviors and relationships in a different context. The third level is based on the values and beliefs based on presupposition values. They are the unspoken doctrines that we perceive as relevant in our lives. The fourth level of world view is usually found in the community authoritative scriptures that reinforce our common idea. These world views are the one which helps us to distinguish what is expected for us in every scenario. Casablanca if a film that provide an excellent illustration of all the four levels of world view. This analysis shows the world view used in Casablanca and the extent to which its themes are consistency with common grace of human love and death.

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The theme of love is the central aspect addressed in this movie. The two aesthetic elements that can be found in the film is romantic love and marriage. Rick, who is the protagonist in the novel, happen to be in a romantic relationship with Lisa, who is married to Laszlo. In the beginning, he is reluctant to help Laszlo with the letter to escape because he didn't want him to leave with IIsa who they both love (Freeland & Wartenberg, 2016). However, in the end, he decides to allow her to live with her husband so that he can be able to serve his primary purpose in the war.

Certain aspects are in line with common grace/consistent with a Biblical view. In the Biblical perspective, love is highly cherished. However, holding a romantic relationship with a married person is not acceptable in the biblical view. As such, the romantic relationship between Lisa and Rick is not in line with characteristic grace. According to Freeland and Wartenberg (2016), before we do something, we must ask ourselves whether such action will glorify God. In some cases, we are usually involved in specific activities that are driven by our desires, but they are not the right thing in the eyes of God. For example, while romantic love with a married person might fulfill our passion, it will not be acceptable in God's eyes.

There is a lot of justification in the bible that shows that romantic love with a married person is not acceptable at all. Marriage in the bible is perceived as the symbol of God's love, which made him sacrifice his son for our sins. As such, everything that may lead to a divorce should be avoided at all cost. In the movie Casablanca, Ilsa and Rick are involved in a romantic love that is not acceptable in biblical perspective. However, there is also a reconciliation made by Rick, which represent common grace (Copan, P. (2017). Though Rick loved IIsa so much, he realized that it would be wrong not to allow her to go with his husband.

Isa attitude of love toward Rick and her husband Laszlo also show the presence of common grace in biblical perspective. This can be demonstrated by the way Ilsa steak to her husband after realizing that he was still alive. He explained to Rick that, he has fallen in love with him during the first meat in Paris because she thought her husband had died in a concentration camp. However, after realizing that her husband was still alive, Ilsa freed from Rick and went to nurse her husband. When Rick refuses to give Leszla a letter to enable him, and Ilsa free the country, Ilsa threatened to shoot Rick but still confess that she still loves him (Heiser, 2015). This shows that Ilsa respected his marriage which is in line with the biblical perspective.

Sacrificing his romantic desires to safe Ilsa's marriage is the best thing that Rick did which is in line with the biblical view. Sacrifice bodily desires to the wellbeing of others are highly recommended in the biblical view (Von Balthasar, 2016). According to Benner (2015), we must always sacrifice our earthly desires to do things that glorify God. In this case, failing to surrender Iisa would have made Rick kill Ilsa's husband, which is not acceptable in the biblical point of view. The decision that Rick made was hence the best as it promoted the common good.

The biblical view of love and death limit people from doing anything that does not glorify God. In some cases, we may be involved in hard decisions that require us to make sound decisions. This type of scenario is found in Casablanca film where Rick is faced with a hard situation that required him to make a decision based on his world view. Though some activities show actions that are contrary to world view, some of the choices such as sacrificing his love to Ilsa seem to be in line with common grace and biblical perspective.

References

Benner, D. G. (2015). Surrender to love: Discovering the heart of Christian spirituality. InterVarsity Press.Copan, P. (2017). The biblical worldview context for religious liberty 1. In Religious Liberty and the Law (pp. 9-33). Routledge.

Freeland, C. A., & Wartenberg, T. E. (2016). Philosophy and film. Routledge.Heiser, M. S. (2015). The unseen realm: Recovering the supernatural worldview of the Bible. Lexham Press.

Von Balthasar, H. U. (2016). Love Alone Is Credible. Ignatius Press.