Last edited Sat Apr 27, 2024, 10:03 PM - Edit history (1)
I'm thinking for instance of the scene where Huck struggles with reconciling his "Christian" upbringing--which tells him it's a sin to steal another's "property"-- with his growing affection for Jim. In the end, after a tormented internal struggle that is a literary tour de force, he decides he'd rather go to Hell than turn Jim into the slave catchers. It's a wrenching moment for him, a decision to put himself in opposition to everything he's been taught to believe, and a statement on slavery and racism that Twain very consciously made when writing the book, pointing out the racism inherent in American "Christianity" while being true to the racist vernacular of the time.
By contrast, in Casablanca there's seemingly no awareness by the film makers of the racism inherent in how everyone treats Sam and how he acts toward them. True, Rick says he doesn't buy or sell human beings--"Casablanca's leading commodity"--but he never has Sam call him just plain Rick or even Richard, while he never ever addresses Sam as "Mr. Sam."
It's just the racist convention of the time, seemingly accepted without question. It is one of the very few flaws in what is otherwise a near perfect film for the ages.
Edited to add: I had a friend who had a stock of shaggy dog stories that always ended with a parody of "Chatanooga Choo Choo." The only one I can remember now involved Roy Rogers and a mischievous feline, and ended, "Pardon me Roy, is that the cat who chewed your new shoes?'
You had to be there...
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