What We Do & Don't Remember
I don't usually play these gizmos, quizzes & such, let alone post the results, but this one was not only fun, but a coincidence...
When you click you get the movie answer, which is quite obviously this blog's name plugged in for the word 'you' in the famous line from the movie Casablanca. (Which, by the way, would actually look good on a tee, as shown here -- it's one case of well-done advertising for the custom T-Shirts @ Spreadshirt.)
What's coincidental about this?
Well, Gracie and I were just chatting about my reaction to the Nazi comic and the subject of a recent NPR show came up. We'd both heard the episode of Fresh Air, an interview with author and historian Robert Satloff discussing his book Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust's Long Reach into Arab Lands, and we both were struck by the reference to the film:
The fact that such a reference in the film went unnoticed by both Gracie and myself (and when prompted to think about it, it would have seemed odd -- like the movie was inaccurate) was proof of the author's words -- and a reminder that we do indeed romanticize the past, as I had posted.
Here's a movie dedicated to the message that love doesn't conquer all -- especially in times of war. Its bitter-sweet message has been so romanticized that the reality of war and Nazis is lost in the swoon factor of a man and a woman giving up personal happiness for the greater good.
So while I may be in error interpreting the old Nazi comic the other 'ugly' facts about the racist humor in that magazine still exist and so my main point stands quite well.
Here's looking at Silent Porn Star, kid.
When you click you get the movie answer, which is quite obviously this blog's name plugged in for the word 'you' in the famous line from the movie Casablanca. (Which, by the way, would actually look good on a tee, as shown here -- it's one case of well-done advertising for the custom T-Shirts @ Spreadshirt.)What's coincidental about this?
Well, Gracie and I were just chatting about my reaction to the Nazi comic and the subject of a recent NPR show came up. We'd both heard the episode of Fresh Air, an interview with author and historian Robert Satloff discussing his book Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust's Long Reach into Arab Lands, and we both were struck by the reference to the film:
One of those lessons is that the Holocaust experience of Jews and others persecuted in Arab lands are not "untold stories" but rather "lost stories." Recall, for example, this scene from the movie Casablanca, in which a Gestapo officer urges the devoted wife of the Czech underground leader to convince her husband to return to Paris under German protection.
Major Strasser: There are only two other alternatives for him.
Ilse: What are they?
Major Strasser: It is possible the French authorities will find a reason to put him in the concentration camp here.
Ilse: And the other alternative?
Major Strasser: My dear Mademoiselle, perhaps you have observed that in Casablanca, human life is cheap. Good night, Mademoiselle.
When Warner Bros. released the movie, in December 1942, filmgoers did not scratch their heads at this passing reference to French "concentration camps" in Morocco. The existence of these camps — much like the terrible fate of Jews more generally — was known, certainly among those who were interested in knowing. Somehow, over the last sixty years, those stories have been lost.
The fact that such a reference in the film went unnoticed by both Gracie and myself (and when prompted to think about it, it would have seemed odd -- like the movie was inaccurate) was proof of the author's words -- and a reminder that we do indeed romanticize the past, as I had posted.Here's a movie dedicated to the message that love doesn't conquer all -- especially in times of war. Its bitter-sweet message has been so romanticized that the reality of war and Nazis is lost in the swoon factor of a man and a woman giving up personal happiness for the greater good.
So while I may be in error interpreting the old Nazi comic the other 'ugly' facts about the racist humor in that magazine still exist and so my main point stands quite well.
posted by Silent-Porn-Star at
12:42 AM
2 Comments:
The fact that such a reference in the film went unnoticed
"Concentration Camps" did not have the same connotation in 1942 as it did after 1945. The term originates with the Boer war as the British interred Afrikkaner-speaking civilians to prevent them from aiding their combatants. FDR had established concentration camps for civilians of Japanese descent by the time of the release of Casablanca.In 1942 "concentration camp" did not mean Death Camp to the film makers or audience as the horrors of the Holocaust had yet to be revealed.
I find your blog interesting but you display an ignorance of historical context and engage in rampant presentism.
Wow, that was not backhanded, but a backhand!
I think you should re-read the post to see that I didn't make the statement about concentration camps, the author interviewed on Fresh Air did (see blockquote and link). You'll have to take that concern up with him.
If my personal interpretation that work camps are horrific offends you, then I do apologize. However, my point is that stories of the past are lost -- esp when we romanticize the past. In this case, the romantic love affair supercedes the very context in which it is doomed film noir style. I'm merely pointing that out, starting the discussion... Which I'm pretty sure means I am not (at least entirely) full of presentism. Ignorant to some things, yes. Full of crap with my opinions? Sure. But I do not proclaim to be a war historian, only a collector who looks at porn as more than just pretty pretty pictures.
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