Abstract
The sociological approach to the analysis of film is demonstrated in this paper. The sociology and socio-logic of film is explicated by using the example of one particular film, Casablanca.
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Notes
- 1.
And perhaps prior to this are questions of what sort of thing is film that we can think about it at all? By film he means the content or narrative or meaning of the film. This may be found in such matters as what are conventionally referred to as story, plot, theme, meaning, and content.
- 2.
In an excellent discussion of how to examine film, Jarvie argues that one must: look at film as a whole including non-verbal elements as well as what characters say since plot does not exhaust content; attend to ambiguity since works of imagination utilize it; and that one must not expect a single correct interpretation but make a cogent case for the interpretation advanced.
- 3.
In a sense, such an examination involves us in what may be called a certain form of bracketing, i.e., in carrying out such studies, the “filmic reduction” would be to “assume that all we know of the world is what we see in the film.” That is, if we try to uncover the cultural presuppositions in the film we do not have to engage in a historical or sociological analysis of the actual “real” society at that time though such efforts may be of value in order to make comparisons and contrasts or to criticize the film’s depictions. The film, examined as a text or cultural product, can be analyzed in its own right, to discover what it contains, represents, depicts, or assumes.
- 4.
One date shown on a chit that Rick initials is “December 2.”
- 5.
Note that this form of analysis describes those actions which are presented in the film as appropriate actions for the characters. It does not raise questions or challenge the “correctness” of these actions or the value positions they may embody. We are therefore not engaging in a cultural critique. Nevertheless it is possible to raise questions concerning the “truth” of such depictions, that is, is it the case that in a society such as the one shown persons could or would be able to act in the way these characters do. It is my position that a careful description of what and how the characters are shown to be doing is necessary before any critical commentary can be undertaken.
- 6.
These are all placed in quotes to indicate that serious study needs to be made to discover what they mean on any particular occasion, i.e., for any particular film.
- 7.
An announcer at that time in the film reads into a microphone “To all officers. Two German couriers carrying important official documents. Murdered on train from Oran. Murderer and possible accomplices headed for Casablanca. Round up all suspicious characters and search them for stolen documents.”
In another scene in a Casablanca street cafe, in response to two elderly persons’ questions as to what is going on, a man says, “This is the customary round up of refugees, liberals and of course beautiful young girls for Mr. Renault…”
And, when the Nazi Gestapo officer lands at the airport and is met by Police chief Renault, Renault says: “we are rounding up twice the usual number of suspects.” Another officer says, “we all know who the murderer is.” The Nazi says, “Is he in custody?” and Renault says: “Oh there’s no hurry. Tonight he’ll be at Rick’s. Everybody comes to Rick’s.”
It is apparent that, in this sequence of utterances, to first say that a round up is being conducted but then to say that the murderer is known, makes the round up an unnecessary and cynical act. And to round up “twice the usual number” is therefore a display of police power which can be considered a demonstration to the public concerning the seriousness of the crime.
- 8.
The command by the announcer is to “round up all suspicious characters and search them for stolen documents”. If he were to have said “round up the usual suspects” it would open the possibility of interpreting the command as ‘insincere’ or ‘pro-forma’, i.e. as one that is not likely to find the guilty parties but as demonstrating that the police are taking actions which others in the community would find appropriate for the crime. That is, since a crime is something to be investigated by the police and a ‘round up’ is part of the process of investigation, the police are doing their job.
References
Jarvie, I. 1987. Philosophy of the film: Epistemology, ontology, aesthetics. New York/London: Routledge/Kegan Paul.
Jayyusi, L. 1984. Categorization and the moral order. Boston/London/Melbourne: Routledge/Kegan Paul.
Jayyusi, L. 1988. Toward a socio-logic of the film text. Semiotica 68(3/4): 271–296.
Sacks, H. 1989. In Lectures 1964–65, ed. G. Jefferson. Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer.
Schutz, A. 1962. Collected papers, vol. I. The problem of social reality. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
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Psathas, G. (2014). Interpreting Film: The Case of Casablanca. In: Barber, M., Dreher, J. (eds) The Interrelation of Phenomenology, Social Sciences and the Arts. Contributions to Phenomenology, vol 69. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01390-9_20
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