Part of ongoing series: Hollywood and Higher Education: Teaching Worldview thru the Stories We Live By
By changing the foundational story of Rick’s life from that of a self-centered love-betrayed to the story of a other-centered love renewed, Ilsa transforms Rick’s values and rule of life as well.
by Gary David Stratton • Senior Editor
Since its initial release seventy-five years ago, Casablanca has grown to become one of the most beloved films in the history of American cinema. Winner of three 1942 Academy Awards in (best picture, best writing, and best director) Casablanca is now recognized by the Writers Guild of America as the greatest screenplay of all time, and by the American Film Institute as the second greatest American movie ever.[1] Even in the high-tech world of Blu-ray players and streaming video, this black-and-white masterpiece remains an enduring favorite with both contemporary audiences and critics alike.
Casablanca also provides a compelling example of the four levels of worldview, and how change at the story level can lead to dramatic change in every level of worldview. Character development (both cinematic and moral) “flows” from the hidden recesses of our life story, where our unexamined presuppositions about reality form a worldview that guides our life in ways we rarely think about in our day-to-day existence. In life and great films, we experience our worldview on four overlapping, but distinguishable levels. [2]
Four Levels of Worldview
Level 1) Actions and Behaviors: The countless personal decisions and moral judgments we make on a daily basis make up the visible tip of the iceberg of our largely hidden worldview. We glide through thousands of “preconditioned” responses each hour—what to wear, where to live, who to befriend, when to lie, how to speak—simply doing what we do, without ever examining why we do them. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred these decisions predictably emerge from the lower levels of our worldview, usually without any conscious awareness of why we make them.
Level 2) Rule of Life: The next level of our worldview is found in the rules and roles defined for us in the traditions and ‘scripts’ society develops to maintain equilibrium, or the personal strategies developed by us to cope with the difficulties of life. At this level our worldview provides a ‘rule of life” that defines our relationships, and the boundaries and maxims we use to guide our own personal behavior. The clothes we buy, the worship we express, and even the words we use, are dictated by cultural expectations and personal habits far beyond our normal self-awareness.
The countless decisions we make each day are but the visible tip of the iceberg of our largely hidden worldview.
3) Value and Belief System: The rules and roles we follow on a daily basis are normally based upon a presuppositional value and beliefs system that undergird these conventions, (once again, usually sub-consciously.) These principles, doctrines, aphorisms, and symbols are the often unspoken “commanding truths, which define the ‘shoulds’ and ‘should nots’ of our experience, and accordingly, the good and evil…” [3] They provide the language and categories by which we unconsciously interpret reality and make sense out of our experiences of our life.
Level 4) Stories and ‘Scriptures’: The deepest level of our worldview is normally found in the stories of our life-shaping personal experiences and our community’s authoritative ‘scriptures’ that form the basis of our principles and strategies for living. The three upper levels are “embedded within narratives that often have overlapping themes and various myths that often reinforce common ideals.” [4] The personal and corporate stories we live by are self-evidently true to us (even if they are, in fact, hopelessly false). To question them is to question reality itself. [5]
Constructing a False Worldview
At first glance Rick seems the model narcissist, longing only to catch the last plane out of Casablanca while sticking his neck out for nobody.
Casablanca provides a beautiful example of all four levels of this process. Originally entitled, “Everyone Meets at Rick’s,” this masterpiece traces the worldview transformation of American expatriate and nightclub owner, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart). Set against the backdrop of Nazi-controlled but unoccupied north African territories of Vichy France during WWII, the movie opens with a bitter and cynical Rick Blaine making his daily decisions (level 1) out of a fairly consistent rule of life (level 2). He never drinks with customers, never commits to a woman, never takes sides in a political debate, and never intervenes to help others. His narcissistic value and belief system (level 3) leaves little room for anyone but himself, his alcoholism, his business, and his business partner, Sam. His value system (level 3) is clearly expressed in his famous rule of life (level 2), “I stick my neck out for nobody.”
Captain Louis Renault is the first to recognize a deeper story rumbling beneath Rick’s cynical shell
However, as the movie progresses we learn that Rick’s worldview wasn’t always so jaded. In fact, both French prefect Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains) and Nazi Gestapo Major, Heinrich Strasser (Conrad Veidt) express concern that Rick’s current story might not be his true self. They note that there was once a time when Rick’s value and belief system led him to a rule of life marked by a heroic willingness to sacrificially fight against tyranny even in a losing cause. They don’t want Rick returning to this old rule of life by aiding Czech freedom fighter Victor Lazlo (Paul Henreid) in his attempt to escape Casablanca (and the Nazi) by means of a pair of stolen letters of transit granting the bearers free passage on a flight to neutral Portugal.
Movie Clip 1: Captain Louis Renault Accuses Rick of a Deeper Story
The beautiful and enchanting Ilsa Lund stole Rick’s heart in a whirlwind Paris romance Paris only to break it as the German tanks rolled into Paris.
What Louis doesn’t know, is that Rick’s current rule of life and value system are driven by a heart-wrenching story (level 4). Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), a beautiful and enchanting Norwegian once stole Rick’s heart in a whirlwind Paris romance at the outset of WWII.
Movie Clip 2: Paris
However, after swearing her undying love, Ilsa abandons Rick just as the German army descends upon Paris. By the time Rick gets to Casablanca Ilsa’s betrayal provides the seething caldron of molten anguish driving Rick’s cynical value system and narcissistic rule of life. Like the city where he dwells in exile, his life is a desert with but one goal: escape.
A Different Story?
A guy standing on a station platform in the rain with a comical look on his face, because his insides had been kicked out.
This is the story Rick is living when Ilsa turns up in Casablanca as the traveling companion for none other than Victor Lazlo. Confronted anew with heartache of Paris, Rick’s narcissistic behavior only intensifies. Despite his admiration for Lazlo, Rick refuses to help the desperate couple. He stubbornly retains his “I stick my neck for nobody” rule of life even as Ilsa desperately tries to convey a different story than the one driving his current behavior.
Movie Clip 3: Ilsa Tries to Explain Her Story
Just when Rick’s journey toward the dark side seems complete, something happens that radically changes the interpretation of his entire life story. With the Nazi’s closing in and their every effort to escape Casablanca thwarted, the stolen letters of transit in Rick’s possession are now Isla and Lazlo’s only hope. A desperate Ilsa turns up at Rick’s apartment intent to do anything to obtain them.
Movie Clip 4: Midnight at Rick’s apartment
Ilsa’s startling admission begins to change Rick’s worldview at every level.
Ilsa’s startling admission that she still loves Rick begins to change Rick’s worldview at every level. He now knows that Ilsa left him behind in Paris only because she learned that Lazlo, her husband, was still alive. She was not living a story of a self-centered love betrayed, but rather one of heroic sacrifice. While no one yet realizes it, this new story of a sacrificial love-renewed (level 4) begins to invisibly reenergize Rick’s heroic value system (level 3), displacing his values of narcissism and his “I stick my neck out for nobody” rule of life (level 2).
In the iconic airport scene, Rick’s new worldview based upon his new story suddenly erupts into full view with a startling decision (level 1).
Clip 5: Rick and Ilsa at the Airport
Change the Story, Change the World
At the airport, Rick’s new story empowers him to not only give up his ticket to freedom, but Ilsa as well.
It turns out that Captain Louis Renault was right about Rick all along. The real Rick Blaine is, in fact, a hero. The pain of losing Ilsa had created a false life narrative, but once he knew the real story, his value system and rule of life came back on line. Rick decides to give away his tickets to freedom to Ilsa and her husband (level 1), because he has (re)embraced his rule of life of to fight against tyranny even in a losing cause (level 2), rooted in his rediscovered value of self-sacrificing heroism (level 3), birthed by his true life story (Level 4). By changing the foundational story of Rick’s life from that of a self-centered love-betrayed to a story of an other-centered love renewed, Isla transforms Rick’s values and rule of life as well. He now sticks his neck for everybody, even the husband of the woman he loves.
In the end, the power of Rick’s true story is becomes so compelling it returns Louis to his own true story, values, and rule of life.
Movie clip 6: A beautiful friendship
Everyone Meets at Rick’s
“This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” In the end, even Louis is caught up in Rick’s heroic transformation.
One reason why Casablanca resonates so deeply with audiences is our strong identification with Rick. We have all been hurt deeply. We all develop belief systems and strategies to protect ourselves from further pain. We all know what it is like to have those rules of life sabotage our heroic journey. We all know what it is like to be trapped in a life story that hurts everyone around us and yet we are powerless to change. We all want to believe that we are the master of our own fate, freely making our own choices at any given moment, when in reality our unexplored stories, unexamined values, and unexamined rules of life dictate much of our daily decision-making. Sooner or later, everyone meets at Rick’s.
For those who are willing to listen, the deepest longings of our heroic life story may be churning just beneath the surface and well worth the journey of further exploration. Over the course of this ongoing series I hope to help you do exactly that. I’m hoping this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Next posts in series:
Fiddler on the Roof: Worldview Change and the Journey to Life-Interpreting Story
The Volcano in Your Backyard: Micro-Worldviews and the Honeymoon from Hell
See also:
Hollywood and Higher Education: Teaching Worldview Through Academy Award-winning Films
Crash goes the Worldview: Why Worldview Transformation Requires Changing Scripts
It’s a Wonderful Worldview: Frank Capra’s Theistic Masterpiece
Bungee-Jumping to Eternity: The Existential Angst of Dead Poets Society
Deep Culture: Is Winning an Oscar a Reliable Indicator of a Truly Great Film?
If you Live it, They Will Come: The Blind Side and Better Faith-Based Filmmaking
Related Posts:
Using Zombie Movies to Teach Politics, by Daniel W. Drezner
The Joker Is Satan, and So Are We: René Girard and The Dark Knight, by Charles Bellinger
Notes
[1] Casablanca is currently #25 rating on the IMDB all-time best film list. Michael Curtiz, Julius J. Epstein, Howard Koch, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, et al. Casablanca (Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video, 1999). [2] Followers of Arthur F. Holmes’ will notice that I am using his categories for evaluating ethical decisions. See, Ethics: approaching moral decisions. Contours of Christian philosophy (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2007), 52-80. See also, Lawrence Kohlberg, The Development of Children’s Orientations Toward a Moral Order (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press); Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press); and, James W. Fowler, Stages of Faith: the Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1981). [3] James Davidson Hunter, To Change the World (Oxford University Press, 2010), 32. To be fair, Hunter considers all four levels to be overlapping elements of “culture,” not worldview. However, this is at least somewhat a matter of semantic disagreement between philosophers (who study worldviews),and sociologists, like Hunter (who study cultures.) [4] Hunter, Change, 33. [5] What I am calling the ‘Story’ level of worldview is what philosopher James K. A. Smith refers to as the ‘pre-worldview’ level of ‘social Imaginary.’ “The social imaginary’ is an affective, noncognitive understanding of the world. It is described as an imaginary (rather than a theory) because it is fueled by the stuff of the imagination rather than the intellect: it is made up of, and embedded in, stories, narratives, myths, and icons. These visions capture our hearts and imaginations by “lining” our imagination, as it were— providing us with frameworks of “meaning” by which we make sense of our world and our calling in it. An irreducible understanding of the world resides in our intuitive, precognitive grasp of these stories. Desiring the Kingdom (Cultural Liturgies): Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Publishing Group, 2009), p. 68.
The Four Levels of Worldview in Casablanca were told in Rick's story. Rick chose to stop being cynical and quit conforming to the culture of "not sticking his neck out for nobody" long enough to do what was morally right. Rick's character had a history of fighting with/for the underdogs, but he lost that philosophy when Ilsa broke his heart. When Rick forgave Ilsa and realized that his love for her was greater than actually ending up with her, he returned to his foundational principles of helping others. Moral decisions, culture, philosophy, and myths/foundations impact my life daily, perhaps just not as dramatically portrayed in Casablanca, but I could relate to the story enough to pull from my own experiences. It's not always easy to do what you know is right in your mind when your heart wants something else. Sometimes it is easier to become bitter and cynical when you have been hurt. I'm pretty sure I've been "Rick" on occasion.
I KNOW that I've been a "Rick"!
Belinda you are right, it is not always easy to do what you know is right in your mind when your heart wants something else, however if you believe that things happen for a reason, good or bad, then this makes the decisions somewhat resonable at the time.
Hahaha – I love that you coined the term "I've been a Rick"! Haven't we all? A lot of the themes you touched on were exactly what I wrote in my Casablanca worksheet. Sacrifice for what we want in the moment for a long-lasting gain is something that I know is the ultimate struggle. Why not eat the candy bar vs. the carrot stick? Why not help my older neighbor across the street even though he is so cranky and mean? Always trying to get less of me in my life and more of serving others and doing 'the right thing'.
Belinda, Wow! That is almost a perfect summary, "Rick's character had a history of fighting with/for the underdogs, but he lost that philosophy when Ilsa broke his heart." I KNOW I've been a "Rick" on occasion too. The trick is to figure out what it is in YOUR story that drives you to that unhealthy strategy.
After watching Casablanca and reading this article I have learned to go through life with greater awareness. As you mentioned we tend to "glide" through our responses. There are decisions I make and things I say that I may not totally be on board with, but I've been doing them and saying them for so long I just keep doing it. Being aware of my actions and recognizing the importance and implications that come with every decision and statement I make will help lead me in the right direction. More reasons and less gliding.
It is amazing how many decisions we make without ever actually making them. They say that the road to t hell is paved with good intentions. Fortunately Rick found another path.
I wonder how many times during a day we have the opportunity to change someones world view. But I have to think that more times than not we simply reinforce the existing cultural myths. I agree with you that we need to be cautious of our actions as they have a greater impact on others then we may know. It makes me want to reexamine the source of my believes to make sure the source was sound.
Hi Nate, I agree with your assessment. A strong core of moral values will in the end determine the decisions that we make. This same core allows us to stay strong against life's adversities and temptations.
In Casablanca, it is interesting to see how Rick's character changes from cynicism to self-sacrifice. Even though most of the movie portrays Rick as a cold and selfish individual, he did not seem to be the same individual when Ilsa first met him in Paris. Rick’s life experiences make him cold and unable to trust people. Despite his negative life experiences with the Nazis and Ilsa's love for two different man, his core morals remain untouched. When it came time to do the right thing, Rick knew that he had to renounce to Ilsa's love in order to achieve the greater good. He sacrificed his own happiness for the happiness of Ilsa and her husband. Reading this article reaffirmed me that a strong core of moral values is extremely important. This core is what allows us to stay strong against adversities and temptations.
Andrea, I agree that "a strong core of moral values is extremely important." How do you maintain them in such a way that you don't wind up pushed off your core like Rick did?
Andres, you raise a point that I thought of: What if the cynic was Ilsa? Did Ilsa lie to Rick that she still loved him to get Victor out of Casablanca? I don't believe that one can truly love two people the same way. Did Ilsa love Rick or her husband? Even though I raise these questions, I still enjoyed the great love story and Rick's amazing worldview transformation.
I never thought that my stories have impacted or created my worldview. Casablanca gives us the ability to see how the stories we live really make us what we are and how we can change it. Rick changed his worldview because he was able to finally know why Ilsa didn't meet him that day in France. Would he have been able to change his worldview even if he would not have seen her again? It was refreshing to see the transformation in Rick and of course, everything turned out all right in the end, would the picture been as powerful if Rick would have been arrested? I like to see the good guys finish first.
Becky, You raise a fascinating questions, "Would he have been able to change his worldview even if he would not have seen her again?" Most of us never do get an explanation of why people hurt us, let alone such a reassuring one. How do we "stay on story" when people hurt us deeply?
Becky, I was waiting for Rick to get arrested at the end. I also enjoyed the transformation of Rick as his worldviews changed. Many people never change after bad things happen to them and they live a not so happy life. I wish more movies today can be made where "good guys finish first" instead of the "good guys finish dead."
Your question about whether his worldview would have changed had he not been reunited with Isla is a good one. I wonder if Rick's story even been worthy of a movie had they not seen each other again. It also makes me wonder if people in real life have stories that aren't going they way they should or want, but they just need that one moment to alter their ending.
Four Levels of Worldview
What I learned about the Four Levels of Worldview in Casablanca and their impact in my life.” No matter how you may think you are making your own life, it has already been planned for you. Taking in consideration after this week reading, I now realize that I am in a culture if removed from I would be lost and without any worldviews. The four levels that has shaped my life that I was previously not aware of are Moral/Decisional, Cultural/Strategic, Philosophical/Presuppositional, and Mythical/Foundational. Which all are the mental things I have taken for granted. Without worldviews one would find it to be a struggle each and everyday just to survive spiritually. The movie also let me know how people and I can give up things that makes you happy to make others happy.
I will admit, I have not thought much of worldviews or how/why, I make the decisions that I do every day, at least not until recently. I found the movie interesting and enjoyed the storyline. It left me wanting to know more about Rick's story in Spain and Ethiopia and what he was going to do next. The time he spent in Casablanca seemed more like an unfortunate detour and did not represent who Rick really was at his core. I did not think he "changed" at the end of the movie, but just got back in touch with whom he really was. That said, Rick's personal experiences obviously influenced his worldview for a period and he became a reflection of the city of Casablanca. Looking forward to this class and seeing everyone tomorrow night!
Great insight Earnie! I really do think that these detours always seem pointless and so incredibly frustrating when we go through them, but once we are 'out' we can look back and see that God had a purpose all along. Never easy to go through the valley of sorrow and try to 'keep our eye on the prize' but it is this thought that usually gets me through whatever God has in store for me.
See ya tonight in class! Looking forward to the interesting discussions to come!
When I first sat down to watch Casablanca, I was not interested and couldn't understand why we had to watch the film and what did it have to do with the class as a whole? By the time the film was over all my questions were answered. I really enjoyed the film, the story line and the characters, including Rick towards the end. Rick started out a very self-absorbed individual, but after the many changes he experienced he realized that Ilsa belonged with Victor on that plan out of Casablanca. In order for his life to progress, Rick realized that he had to make a sacrifice for another human being, which is exactly what he did when he gave Victor his ticket out of town.
Cassandra, I agree with you completely. I didn't want to watch an old black and white movie but I am glad that I did. This movie makes you realize that even people who are angry and closed off can change. Love is a powerful feeling that makes people act in unselfish way. This movie makes you feel good at the end.
What made the story so powerful is the transformation of the main character, Rick. In the beginning you are not sure if you like him but by the end you are on his side. He showed high morals when he put his own feelings aside and did the right thing.
I also did not understand why this class is so important. After watching the movie Casablanca I understand if we do not have worldviews we are of no mental existence. Rick turned out to have morals and had no regrets about helping Ilsa and Victor.
I like tests!
Rick was in love and his world came crashing down when he realized he had lost Ilsa. He chose to become bitter and cold. When Isla came back into his life he allowed Ilsa to share why she decided to leave him. After understanding what influenced her decision he had a change of character. He showed kindness and valued Ilsa and Victors needs above his own. Even though it was a painful decision, Rick did what was morally right and gave the plane tickets to Ilsa and Victor. Just like sticking out my marriage was painful, in the end it was very rewarding.