Casablanca Analysis LYU YANGCHENG2021008895

 Goffman believes that everyone has a "front stage" and a "back stage". The "front desk" is the image we present to the public, while the "backstage" is our true self in private. Rick's behavior in the movie fits this theory very well. He was cold, distant and indifferent to others in the bar, which was obviously his "front-stage" performance in public. He was unwilling to participate in politics and had nothing to do with the war, which was an external image he built to survive and protect himself.

However, when Lisa shows up, Rick's "backstage" gradually becomes apparent. He still loves Lisa deeply in his heart, and although he appears indifferent on the surface, the conversations and interactions between them reveal his true feelings. In the movie, Rick's transition between the "front stage" and the "back stage" is the key to his role and the core of the film's emotional conflict. Another important concept of Goffman is "role-playing", which means that we play different roles according to the needs of social situations. In "Casablanca", Rick plays multiple roles in different situations: he is a bar owner, a lover, and a hero who sacrifices for his ideals and justice. He constantly adjusted and shaped these roles according to external situations and his own inner needs.

For example, when Lisa and her husband Paul needed help, Rick, far from being as callous as he displayed in the foreground, made the decision to help them escape. This decision reveals a deeper idealism and sense of responsibility in him that was not apparent in his bar owner persona. Rick's behavior and decisions are not entirely due to external pressure, but are the choices he made after inner struggle. Through these role changes, what Goffman calls "impression management" is fully reflected. Goffman believed that individuals would adjust their behavior to fit social norms according to different situations. This is what Rick does in the movie Casablanca. He initially showed indifference towards Lisa, which was partly because he had been abandoned by her, and partly because of his attitude towards life in that particular historical context. But as the story progresses, especially when he learns that Lisa and her husband's safety are threatened, Rick makes the decision to help them escape, a transformation that reflects his adaptation to reality and emotions.

Rick's role adaptation is not only a reaction to external pressure, but also a reflection of his inner choices and self-cognition. He began to realize his responsibility as an individual in this war and was willing to pay for it. This transformation in the movie is not only a personal emotional growth, but also his adaptation to the entire social and historical background. Goffman emphasized that individuals play multiple roles in social interactions depending on the situation. Rick in Casablanca is a classic example. He is not just a cold bar owner, but also a man who once loved Lisa deeply and a hero who made sacrifices to protect others. His roles are not limited to just one identity, but show different faces in different situations.

Other characters such as Lisa and Louis also display complex multiple identities. Lisa is not just Rick's old flame, she is also a woman facing a moral choice, and her entanglement between her husband Paul and her past love shows her complex emotions. Louis, as the police chief of Casablanca, is an ally of the Nazis, but his inner moral dilemma and dissatisfaction are also reflected in the second half of the film.

The display of these multiple identities makes each character in the film more three-dimensional and also makes the film's emotional and moral conflicts more complex. Goffman's theory helps us understand how these characters play multiple roles and present themselves in a constant change of situations. But through Goffman's social performance theory, we can also see how the characters in the movie play multiple roles in different social interactions, how they manage other people's impressions of themselves, and how they adjust their behavior in complex situations. Through careful role-playing and self-presentation, the characters in the film not only show their inner conflicts, but also present human choices and adaptations in extreme environments. Through Goffman's theoretical perspective, we can gain a deeper understanding of how these characters present themselves under social and emotional pressures, and how they find the meaning of their self-identity and behavior in this "social drama".