Casablanca R Rated

For smoking. There goes the classics, like the full smoking Casablanca.

Smoking is now associated on the “Silver Screen” right up there with violence, language, nudity and drug abuse in ranking criteria. The MPAA brass are quoted saying “ There is a broad awareness of smoking as a unique public health concern due to nicotine’s highly addictive nature and no parent want their child to take up the habit.”

Apparently studies prove depictions of smoking in the movies have made children more likely to try cigarettes. The Attorneys General in 32 States have publicly called on the MPAA to put “R” ratings on movies containing scenes involving smoking.

The irony is that Casablanca is an anti-fascist movie, and of course anti-smoking laws are the moralist equivalent of fascism, since they are appeals to a prohibitionist state.

Meanwhile, we also learn about Rick’s life before he came to
Casablanca. He grew up during the Prohibition years, when
selling alcohol was illegal in America. Powerful gangsters ruled
New York at this time, bringing alcohol in from outside the country
and supplying it to clubs. The young Rick is given a job by one of
these gangsters, Solly Horowitz. Solly likes Rick and makes him
manager of the Tootsie-Wootsie, a gambling and drinking club.
But trouble breaks out between rival gangsters. Rick’s boss is
killed. Rick has to get away fast. He and Sam, his pianist from the
Tootsie-Wootsie, escape to Europe.

However, if we look beyond the nostalgia and the sentimental theme of lost love and redemption, we see that Casablanca actually presents a complex and intricate political and social commentary on the early days of World War II. The product of a decade when studios were routinely producing “a movie a week,” Casablanca surpasses its humble origins as “just another Warner Brothers’ picture” by exploiting wartime patriotism and the traditional “American values” of freedom, liberty, and equality to shape audiences’ perception of the war. In the most basic sense, Casablanca was an anti-fascist propaganda vehicle which was designed to support U.S. participation in the Allied Forces’ struggle for global justice and democracy at a time when most Americans believed that U.S. foreign policy should have promoted isolationism and neutrality.

With the coming of the Second World War, for which the civil war was a rehearsal, things changed. In the 1943 Ealing Studio tributes to the army in the Western Desert, Nine Men, and to the firefighters of the London blitz, The Bells Go Down, heroic figures are identified as veterans of the International Brigades.

That same year in Hollywood, Paramount filmed Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, the greatest novel about the war, and Warner Brothers allowed Rick Blaine in Casablanca to include on his CV his services to the Loyalist cause.


Richard "Rick" Blaine - Played by Humphrey Bogart The owner of Rick's Café Americain and the film's protagonist. When we first meet Rick, he is a jaded bar owner in Casablanca who wears a dour expression as he drinks and plays chess alone. He constantly proclaims his freedom from all bonds, be they political or personal. After Ilsa enters the picture, he undergoes a considerable change. In a flashback, we see Rick in Paris. He is in love with Ilsa and visibly happy, and he is devastated when she doesn't show up at the train station. Rick never turns back into the lighthearted lover he was in Paris, but he does overcome his cynicism and apathy to become a self-sacrificing idealist, committed to helping the Allied cause in World War II.

Rick Blaine is a worldly American who has a hidden past. He was on the losing side during the Spanish Civil War. He moved to Paris before WW II and was a gun runner smuggling guns into Ethiopia. General Strasser, (the representative of the Vichy Government of France), heard the rumors and came to question Rick. Rick tells him that he is an alcoholic and doesn’t know a thing about the visas. He says he does not belong to either side of the combatants in WW II because he has had enough of wars and he is ’neutral’.


The capitaine tells Rick that while many exit visits are sold at Café Americain he knows that Rick has never sold them and that is why he is permitted to stay open. Rick replies that he thought it was because he lets him win at roulette. The capitaine tells Rick that Victor Lazlo, a famous resistance leader from Czechoslovakia who has escaped three times from the Nazis, will be arriving shortly but that he will not be permitted to leave Casablanca. Rick suggests a 20,000-franc bet on whether Lazlo will get out of Casablanca, but the capitaine agrees only to a 10,000-franc bet, stating that he is "only a poor corrupt official." The capitaine also tells Rick that Lazlo is travelling with a very beautiful woman and tells Rick that he suspects that "under that cynical shell" Rick is a sentimentalist as he is familiar with Rick's having supplied guns to Ethiopia when that country was invaded by Italy in 1935 and with his fighting the Loyalist government the next year in the Spanish Civil War.

I guess I take inspiration from this heroic failure, in the battle against the anti-smoking statists.

Heroic failure describes a person or group failing to accomplish their goal, but somehow gaining the moral upper hand or becoming ennobled in the attempt.

The film Casablanca mentions two heroic failures to develop the Humphrey Bogart character Rick Blaine.

"Oh, laugh if you will, but I happen to know your record. Let me point out just two items. In 1935 you ran guns to Ethiopia. In 1936, you fought in Spain on the Loyalist side.^[1]

The first reference is to the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. In September 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia. Ethiopia lost, but opponents of colonialism and fascism supported their cause. The second reference describes the Spanish Civil War in which rebels led by Francisco Franco gained control of the country. "The Loyalist side" refers to supporters of the losing republic. Thus Rick has fought for the causes of freedom and democracy and earned an admirable (although losing) record.

And so inspired by the great classic of anti-fascism and anti-prohibition we say here's looking at ya kid.

We have much to learn from the characters of Casablanca: in the final scene the airport is dark, the drone of the airplane fills the air and fearless, they venture out into the fog. Into the unexpected.

See:

Rememberance or Revisionism

Kenney is A Funny Guy

Christy Moore - Viva La Quince Brigada

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Morocco team hails stone age tool site dating back 1.3m years

Find pushes back by hundreds of thousands of years start of stone-tool industry associated with Homo erectus

The excavations took place at a quarry on the outskirts of Casablanca, Morocco. Photograph: D Lefèvre


Agence France-Presse in Rabat
Wed 28 Jul 2021 

Archaeologists in Morocco have announced the discovery of north Africa’s oldest stone age hand-axe manufacturing site, dating back 1.3m years, an international team has reported.

  

TOOL MAKING TECHNOLOGY, INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION FOR ITS AGE*

The find pushes back by hundreds of thousands of years the start date in north Africa of the Acheulian stone-tool industry, associated with the human ancestor Homo erectus, researchers told journalists in Rabat on Wednesday.

The discovery was made during excavations at a quarry on the outskirts of Morocco’s economic capital, Casablanca.

This “contributes to enriching the debate on the emergence of the Acheulian in Africa,” said Abderrahim Mohib, the co-director of the Franco-Moroccan prehistory of Casablanca programme.

Discoveries from the Thomas Quarry I site outside Casablanca.

 Photograph: R Gallotti

Previously, the presence in Morocco of the Acheulian stone-tool industry was thought to date back 700,000 years. The discoveries at the Thomas Quarry I site, made famous in 1969 when a human half mandible was discovered in a cave, mean the Acheulian there is almost twice as old.

The 17-strong team behind the discovery comprised Moroccan, French and Italian researchers, and their findings are based on the study of stone tools extracted from the site.

The Moroccan archaeologist Abdelouahed Ben-Ncer called the news a “chronological rebound”. He said the beginning of the Acheulian in Morocco is now close to the south and east African start dates of 1.6m and 1.8m years ago respectively.

Earlier humans had made do with more primitive pebble tools, known as Oldowan, after their east African-type site. Research at the Casablanca site has been carried out for decades, and has “delivered one of the richest Acheulian assemblages in Africa”, said Mohib. “It is very important because we are talking about prehistoric time, a complex period for which little data exists.”

Mohib said the study also made it possible to attest to “the oldest presence in Morocco of humans” who were “variants of Homo erectus”.

In 2017, the discovery of five fossils estimated at 300,000 years old 100km west of Marrakesh at Jebel Irhoud, overturned evolutionary science when they were designated Homo sapiens.

The Moroccan fossils were much older than some with similar facial characteristics excavated from Omo Kibish in Ethiopia, dating back about 195,000 years.

1. *The Part Played by Labor in the Transition From Ape to Man

   https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1876/part-played-labour/...

   This was the decisive step in the transition from ape to man. All extant anthropoid apes can stand erect and move about on their feet alone, but only in case of urgent need and in a very clumsy way. Their natural gait is in a half-erect posture and includes the use of the hands. The majority rest the knuckles of the fist on the ground and, with legs drawn up, swing the body through their long ...

Scientists in Morocco unearth Stone Age hand-axe site dating back 1.3 million years

Issued on: 28/07/2021 -

These Stone-Age tools belong to the same archaeological period as a hand axe, which was unearthed in Morocco in July 2021, and dates back 1.3 million years. © Musée de Toulouse, Creative Commons

Text by: NEWS WIRES

Archaeologists in Morocco have announced the discovery of North Africa's oldest Stone Age hand-axe manufacturing site, dating back 1.3 million years, an international team reported Wednesday.

The find pushes back by hundreds of thousands of years the start date in North Africa of the Acheulian stone tool industry associated with a key human ancestor, Homo erectus, researchers on the team told journalists in Rabat.

It was made during excavations at a quarry on the outskirts of the country's economic capital Casablanca.

This "major discovery ... contributes to enriching the debate on the emergence of the Acheulian in Africa," said Abderrahim Mohib, co-director of the Franco-Moroccan "Prehistory of Casablanca" programme.

Before the find, the presence in Morocco of the Acheulian stone tool industry was thought to date back 700,000 years.

New finds at the Thomas Quarry I site, first made famous in 1969 when a human half mandible was discovered in a cave, mean the Acheulian there is almost twice as old.

The 17-strong team behind the discovery comprised Moroccan, French and Italian researchers, and their finding is based on the study of stone tools extracted from the site.

Moroccan archaeologist Abdelouahed Ben Ncer called the news a "chronological rebound".

He said the beginning of the Acheulian in Morocco is now close to the South and East African start dates of 1.6 million and 1.8 million years ago respectively.

Earlier humans had made do with more primitive pebble tools, known as Oldowan after their East African type site.

Research at the Casablanca site has been carried out for decades, and has "delivered one of the richest Acheulian assemblages in Africa", Mohib said.

"It is very important because we are talking about prehistoric time, a complex period for which little data exists."

Mohib said the study also made it possible to attest to "the oldest presence in Morocco of humans" who were "variants of Homo erectus".

In 2017, the discovery of five fossils at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco, estimated at 300,000 years old, overturned evolutionary science when they were designated Homo sapiens.

The Moroccan fossils were much older than some with similar facial characteristics excavated from Omo Kibish in Ethiopia, dating back around 195,000 years.

(AFP)

Morocco: Casablanca - Hassan II University Holds Patent for Robotic System for Scorpion Venom Extraction


28 DECEMBER 2021
Maghreb Arabe Presse (Rabat)

Casablanca — The Hassan II University of Casablanca holds a patent for a revolutionary robotic system for scorpion venom extraction and will present a book on this topic next January, says the university in a statement.

Having received a positive notice of issuance from the Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC), after its publication last November 30, this invention was made by a research team composed of Mouad Mkamel, PhD student, Professor Anass Kettani, thesis director, Professor Omar Tanane, thesis co-director, and Professor Rachid Saile, Director of the laboratory of Biology and Health of the Faculty of Sciences in Ben M'Sik.

Thanks to this invention, the collection of venom is done via a network of automated conveyors and a central unit to extract the venom by providing electric discharges adapted to each species of scorpion in a faster and risk-free process.

In fact, it consists of a pneumatic and vibratory system that facilitates the recovery of the venom droplets that fall into a filling station. This robotic system ensures a fully automatic process without manual intervention of the operator.

It should be noted that the commercialization of this robot interests several actors at the national and international level, in particular venom farmers and industrial establishments thanks to its promising pharmacological properties.

Scorpion venom is among the world's most expensive as it is used as active principle in the manufacture of drugs and cosmetic products, as well as the production of the anti-venom serum.

The Hassan II University of Casablanca has an excellent project that can be included in the Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer, says the statement.

In the same context, the members of the research team have published a book entitled "Guide to scorpions in Morocco" with a first mapping according to the degree of venom, and they will present it on January 6 at the Mohamed Sekkat University Library.

Read the original article on MAP.

Moroccan University Pioneers Robot Extraction of Scorpion Venom

EShare

The Hassan II University of Casablanca holds a patent for a revolutionary robotic system for scorpion venom extraction and will present a book on this topic in January 2022, the university said in a statement.

Thanks to this invention, the collection of venom is done via a network of automated conveyors and a central unit to extract the venom by providing electric discharges adapted to each species of scorpion in a faster and risk-free process.

Scorpion venom is among the world's most expensive as it is used as active principle in the manufacture of drugs and cosmetic products, as well as the production of the anti-venom serum.

VIDEO: The Scorpion-Milking Robot: Extracting the Poison that Cures - Rethink

• Morocco:  Local University Awarded Patent for Robotic Scorpion Venom Extraction

  MAP, 28 DECEMBER 2021

  The Hassan II University of Casablanca holds a patent for a revolutionary robotic system for scorpion venom extraction and will present a book on this topic next January, says the… Read more »

• Morocco:  Milking It - A New Robot to Extract Scorpion Venom

  EUREKALERT, 2 JULY 2017

  A new scorpion-milking robot designed to extract venom could replace the traditional manual method. Scorpion venom is used in medical applications such as immunosuppressants,… Read more »

Clinton & Charles Robertson/Flickr

Scorpion tail (file photo).

Robert Reich: What Casablanca Teaches Us – OpEd

July 17, 2022
By Robert Reich

A while back, I shared with you my love of Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” — the essential American fable about the generosity and goodness of Americans toward one another, as opposed to the greedy oligarchs at the top (such as Mr. Potter) who care only about building their own wealth and power.

In light of Putin’s war and the rise of authoritarianism around the world, including the United States, I’ve been thinking about another favorite of mine — Michael Kurtiz’s fabulous 1942 classic, “Casablanca.” Even now, 70 years after its release, it feels relevant and poignant.

In the first six decades after World War II, the number of countries considered democratic grew. But researchers have found that, starting five or six years ago, the number of democracies in the world began to shrink, and existing democracies have become less democratic. Consider the rise of strongman rule in Hungary, the Philippines, and Russia, attacks on the courts in Poland, Hindu extremism in India, fears of a power grab in Brazil, and, of course, Trump’s continuing attempted coup.

Which brings me back to Casablanca. Few movies have ever produced as many quotes — “Here’s looking at you, kid,” and “We’ll always have Paris,” and the song “As Time Goes By.” And can you think of any more enduring characters than those played by Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart?

But the core of Casablanca is a defense of democracy in the face of the rising specter of fascism. One of the most moving scenes to me is the dueling anthems — when the German occupants sing “Die Wacht am Rhein,” only to be drowned out by the French refugees singing “La Marseillaise.” I’m told that the tears in the eyes of several of the French actors and singers in this scene were unplanned and unrehearsed. Remember, this was filmed in 1942.

I’m curious about your take: What is it that makes this scene so powerful?

Robert B. Reich is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies, and writes at robertreich.substack.com. Reich served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. He has written fifteen books, including the best sellers "Aftershock", "The Work of Nations," and"Beyond Outrage," and, his most recent, "The Common Good," which is available in bookstores now. He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, "Inequality For All." He's co-creator of the Netflix original documentary "Saving Capitalism," which is streaming now.

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for CASABLANCA 

IT'S AWARDS SEASON

Japanese Sci-Fi Movie ‘From the End of the World' Takes Premier Prize at Genre Festival Fantasporto

Story by Leo Barraclough

Japanese Sci-Fi Movie ‘From the End of the World' Takes Premier Prize at Genre Festival Fantasporto© Provided by Variety


The 44th edition of genre film festival Fantasporto, which runs in Portugal's second city Porto from March 1-10, has bestowed its best film award on Japanese sci-fi fantasy pic "From the End of the World," directed by Kaz I Kiriya.

The movie follows 10-year-old Hana, whose dreams transport her across various eras in Japanese history, and have the ability to save humanity.

The jury's special award went to "The Complex Forms," Italian director Fabio D'Orta's debut feature. The sci-fi horror centers on a man who has sold his body so it can be possessed by a creature of unknown nature.

The prize for best direction was nabbed by Spanish filmmaker Gonzalo López-Gallego for horror movie "The Shadow of the Shark" (La Sombra del Tiburon). In the film, a young woman, Alma, is undergoing therapy as she is unable to sleep. With the help of surveillance cameras, she discovers that during the night her home is under siege by dark and violent forces.

The actor award was taken by Tovino Thomas for fantasy-drama "Invisible Windows," directed by India's Dr. Biju. Set in a dystopian society, it follows an anti-war activist who starts to communicate with the dead.

Eve Ringuette took the actress honor for comedy horror film "Jour de Merde," the debut feature by Canada's Kevin T. Landry. A single mother on the verge of a nervous breakdown takes her teenage son on a work trip to interview a strange lottery winner in an isolated house in the woods.

The screenplay award went to French writer-director Sébastien Drouin for horror-thriller "Cold Meat." It follows David Petersen, who is driving through Colorado's Rockies. After saving a diner waitress from her violent ex-husband, he hits the road again alone through a blizzard, when his car crashes into a ravine. Outside a beast is prowling.

The cinematography award went to Germany's Roland Stuprich for Timm Kröger's metaphysical noir "The Universal Theory."

Shirin Ekhlasi's Iran-set thriller "Acid Base" was named best short film. The shorts jury gave a special mention to French animation "Stabat Mater."

Steven Gaydos, Variety‘s executive vice president, global content, received the Fantasporto Special Award. The festival bestowed the award to honor Gaydos' career as a film journalist, author, screenwriter and producer. Ate de Jong's love story "Heart Strings," which Gaydos co-wrote and produced, had its world premiere at the festival.

The Fantasporto career award went to Belgian director Karim Ouelhaj.

FANTASPORTO AWARDS

INTERNATIONAL FANTASY SECTION

Film Award

"From the End of the World," Kaz I Kiriya (Japan)

Jury's Special Award

"The Complex Forms," Fabio D'Orta (Italy)

Direction

Gonzalo López-Gallego, "The Shadow of the Shark" (Spain)

Actor

Tovino Thomas, "Invisible Windows" (India)

Actress

Eve Ringuette, "Jour de Merde" (Canada)

Screenplay

Sébastien Drouin, "Cold Meat" (U.K./Canada)

Cinematography

Roland Stuprich, "The Universal Theory" (Germany/Austria/Switz.)

Short Film

"Acid Base," Shirin Eklasi (Iran)

Special Mention

"Stabat Mater," Hadrien Maton, Quentin Wittevrongel, Arnaud Mege, Coline Thelliez, William Defrance (France)

DIRECTORS' WEEK

Film Award

"Bucky F*cking Dent," David Duchovny (U.S.)

Jury's Special Award

"Shadow of Fire," Shinya Tsukamoto (Japan)

Director Award

Loïc Tanson, "The Last Ashes" (Luxemburg)


Screenplay

"A Normal Family," Jin-Ho Hur (South Korea)

Actor

Zhu Yilong, "Lost in the Stars" (China)

Actress

Tao Xinran, "Within" (China)

ORIENT EXPRESS

Film Award

"Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms," Wuershan (China)

Jury Special Award

"The Floor Plan," Junichi Ishikawa (Japan)

Jury Special Mention

"The Forbidden Play," Hideo Nakata (Japan)

PORTUGUESE FILM AWARD

Portuguese Film

"Departures," Vasco Viana (Portugal/Czech Republic)

School Film Award

"Esqueci – me que tinha medo," Diogo Bento (Portugal), Universidade Lusófona de Lisboa

Special Jury Award

"À Luz das Impressões," Luís Miguel Rocha (Portugal), Universidade da Beira Interior

OTHER AWARDS

Audience Award

"Half-Way Home," Isti Madarász (Hungary)

Critics Award

"Papa Mascot," Luisito Lagdameo Ignacio (Philippines)

Fantasporto Career Award

Karim Ouelhaj, Belgian director

Fantasporto Special Award


Steven Gaydos, producer, screenwriter, journalist at Variety


More from Variety
Fantasporto Chiefs Beatriz Pacheco Pereira and Mário Dorminsky on Spotting Rising

 Talent in the World of Fantasy

Fantasporto Presents Eclectic Lineup Ranging From Denys Arcand's Satire 'Testament' to Wuershan's Fantasy Epic 'Creation of Gods'

Oscars Big Snub? ‘Casablanca' Win Marked Boiling Point at Warner Bros.

Story by Chris Yogerst

 •  Hollywood Reporter

Jack Warner had been shouldering in on credit from one of his studio's top producers. At least that's what Hal Wallis may have told you after the 1944 Academy Awards when Jack Warner accepted the Casablanca Oscar that some felt should have been palmed by Wallis, the Warner Bros. film's producer. But who should accept the best picture award? Today it's the producers, but during Hollywood's Golden Age it was sometimes the producer, sometimes the studio chief.

Wallis had been with the company for many years, first joining the studio in 1923, their first year of incorporation. Soon, Wallis was managing essential Warner films such as Little Caesar (1931), The Petrified Forest (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1937), Dark Victory (1939), Sergeant York (1941), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and, of course, Casablanca (1942). Despite being released in late 1942, Casablanca didn't go into wide release until early 1943 and wasn't eligible for Academy Award contention until 1944.

The 16th Annual Oscars were held on March 2, 1944, the first time at Grauman's Chinese Theater, and hosted by comedian Jack Benny. The 1944 Oscar for outstanding production (later changed to best picture) nominees were read by producer/director Sidney Franklin. Casablanca was up against some serious competition, including the powerful Homefront drama The Human Comedy and thrilling indictment of mob mentality in The Ox-Bow Incident. Wallis was up for another film as well with Watch on the Rhine. When Franklin read the winner, Hal Wallis got up to receive his award, but studio boss Jack Warner beat him to the stage. For Wallis, the episode was the last straw in an increasingly contentious relationship.


Jack Warner with the Casablanca Oscar, from Motion Picture Herald on March 11, 1944.
© Provided by Hollywood Reporter

On March 3, The New York Times recalled how Warner "seemed as surprised as everyone else when the plaster Oscar was handed to him." In her syndicated column, which didn't run in the Los Angeles Times until April 1, gossip maven Hedda Hopper reported that when the Oscar was announced, Jack "popped up on the stage with the speed of an antelope." As the audience applauded, Jack Benny asked "who's going to accept the award?" You can hear someone in the audience yell "Jack!" As soon as Benny saw Jack Warner he quipped, "oh, OH! Jack Warner, my boss!"

Jack: "Can I say a few words?"

Benny: "I would if I were you. Ya know, how you always talk, you ad lib…"

Jack: "First, I want to thank all those who participated in the making of this picture. From Mr. Wallis, the producer, to Mike Curtiz the director, to Humphrey Bogart, Miss Ingrid Bergman…"

While it's difficult to tell by the audio recording, there must have been a shuffle on stage or Benny got close to Warner and may have seen Wallis approaching. Jack broke his tribute to quip, "I'm not nervous kid, get your hand off my wallet."

Jack continued by thanking "Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, in fact everyone in the cast I can't remember them all. I didn't know we were going to win, if I did I would have rehearsed more. This is really a great pleasure, a tribute to our industry, and we feel very proud at Warner Bros. for this honor."

It's worth reiterating that the first person who Jack thanked was Hal Wallis, making it difficult to see this as a simply bid to steal credit. In his memoir, Wallis recalled the scene, "I stood up to accept when Jack ran to the stage ahead of me and took the award with a broad, flashing smile and a look of great self-satisfaction. I couldn't believe it was happening."


Hal Wallis with his Thalberg Award, from the Motion Picture Herald on March 11, 1944© Provided by Hollywood Reporter

Wallis was furious and, in what feels like a colorful fabrication invented in hindsight claimed that even as he tried to get into the aisle the rest of the Warner family blocked him. Whatever Warner family that may have been there would unlikely have been so aggressive in defending yet another one of Jack's odd public moments. It's no secret that Jack loved attention, and this was the period he began making people call him "Colonel Warner," but he used his moment on stage to thank a long list of people involved and offered a nod to the type of talent that makes his company great. In no way did he make it sound like this was his personal victory.

The Oscar night wasn't all lost for Wallis, who won his second Irving Thalberg Award, which was presented by his former Warner Bros. colleague Darryl F. Zanuck. This award was then a surprise accolade based on a year of production, whereas today it is given as a lifetime achievement award. The Thalberg Award at the time was given "for the most consistent high quality of production by an individual producer, based on pictures he personally produced during the previous year." It should be noted that one of those films, This is the Army (1943), was the movie that led the New York Times to brand the studio with the eternal kudos as a company who combined "good citizenship with good picturemaking."


An ad placed by Jack Warner in Motion Picture Daily , March 7, 1944© Provided by Hollywood Reporter

While many trade publications made no mention of any producer rivalry at the 16th Academy Awards, the next day, Edwin Schallert's Los Angeles Times column, titled "Warner-Wallis ‘Rivalry' Intrigues at Film Fete," took on the question about who deserved the Oscar, production chief or the film's producer? Although Jack "was first to the hitching post to receive the statuette," wrote Schallert, "the issue probably never will be solved any more than the various executive setups cooked up in movieland may be penetrated." He concluded that who gets the award generally goes to "who swings the biggest wallop at the moment in rampageous studio politics." Schallert also mused that both Warner and Wallis knew what awards were coming in advance.

Legend has it that studio publicity boss Charlie Einfeld wrote to Academy president Walter Wanger asking Schallert for a retraction. According to Hollywood journalist Aljean Harmetz's book Round Up the Usual Suspects, when Wallis was asked about what to do about the bad press regarding Jack's "wallop," he retorted, "today's newspaper is tomorrow's toilet paper."

Agreeing to send a memo to Wanger, Wallis sent Einfeld's letter, co-written by Alex Evelove, that validated Jack's decision to take the Oscar. "I am also happy to have contributed by bit toward the making of that picture," Wallis's ghostwritten memo continued, "your comment in your column this morning on rivalry at Warner Bros. is totally unjustified. I would be grateful if you would correct the misleading impression created by it, as well as the impression that we had advance information on the awards."

Schallert quietly published Wanger's clarification on March 6, midway through the column under a nondescript headline. "No chance of Hal Wallis knowing in advance that he might receive the Irving Thalberg Award," wrote Wanger in a wire to the Los Angeles Times. He also assured readers that secrecy of ballots was held by the auditor until handed to the given presenter. Wanger also stated that studio heads may accept awards for outstanding production, as Louis B. Mayer accepted the award for Mrs. Miniver in 1943. The previous year gave precedent to Jack accepting the Oscar.

Still enjoying finding his name in print, Jack took an ad out in the trades that boasted how Warner Bros. always worked "to produce films that will help to champion the basic freedoms of democracy." Of course, the overarching idea of movies that can serve as a betterment of society was solely that of his brother, Harry, to which Jack followed his lead. Jack allegedly refused to let Wallis get pictures taken with the Casablanca Oscar on the lot. Wallis maintained that the Academy wrote him an apology and sent him his own Oscar for Casablanca.

Wallis ultimately left Warner Bros. for Paramount shortly after the Oscars debacle. Wallis cited contractual dispute, but everyone knew he needed a split from Jack. "This fighting for personal glory seems so silly," Hopper continued in her April 1 column, "The public doesn't give a hoot who produced what or when." The same can't be said for Jack Warner, who loved to see his name so much that he added it to the studio logo at the top of every film, including Casablanca, to read, "Jack L. Warner: executive producer," before any other name appeared on the screen.

The 1944 Oscar statues that were handed out at the ceremony were made of plaster, which was part of the industry's agreement to preserve metal during the war. Metal awards were later made and given to winners to replace the plaster stand-in. Greg Orr, Jack's grandson and producer of the documentary The Last Mogul, said that "I believe Jack did jump up and accept the award because he really wanted it … and Jack loved to promote Warner Bros. and himself." The studio hadn't won a best picture since 1937, so Jack was largely over-eager to boast again. That said, Orr continued, "I understand Wallis feeling slighted, but he worked in a studio system where the studio decided everything, or tried to."

"Almost forty years later," Wallis wrote in his 1980 memoir, "I still haven't recovered from the shock." The truth is that both men played a role in the film's creation. Jack greenlit the project, hired his good friend Michael Curtiz to direct, weighed in on casting (lobbied for Bogart), and dealt with the censorship office. Most histories still understandably view Jack's Casablanca Oscar acceptance as in poor taste. As Alan Rode confirmed in his biography of Curtiz, Wallis was still the primary shepherd on this production and deserved better public recognition for a "deserved triumph." However, maybe Hedda Hopper was right when she wrote that the public doesn't care, "all they're interested in is, is it a good picture?"

Art flourishes on the walls of Morocco

Issued on: 28/09/2021

Moroccan street artist Omar Lhamzi works on a mural during the "Jidar" street art festival in the capital Rabat 

FADEL SENNA AFP


Rabat (AFP)

Artist Omar Lhamzi donned a bright yellow vest and paint-splattered shoes, selected a brush and set to work on his latest canvas -- the wall of a house in Morocco's seaside capital Rabat.

Lhamzi is one of a new generation of artists whose murals are changing the face of Morocco's cities.

A wander through Rabat's avenues and alleyways reveals an array of freshly painted works, in which larger-than-life fantasy creatures co-inhabit with realistic portraits and scenes of daily life.

Their creators flocked from across the North African kingdom and beyond to Rabat last week for Jidar -- Arabic for "wall" -- a festival dedicated to street art.

Lhamzi used the side of a house in the working-class district of Yaacoub Al Mansour for his latest work, a man with six ears and green and pink skin floating in darkness, with clouds that echo Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night".

The 25-year-old, who goes by the alias Bo3bo3, completed his first murals in the seaside city of Agadir four years ago.

But he had not been expecting it to become his main field when he graduated in 2018 from the prestigious National School of Fine Arts in the northern city of Tetouan.

Lhamzi used the side of a house in the working-class district of Yaacoub Al Mansour for his latest work

 FADEL SENNA AFP

"I never imagined that my work would be visible in the public space," he said.

Today, however, he covers walls with bright colours, creating a surrealist world full of references to skating and video games, breaking the monotony of the urban landscape.

- Growing interest -

In another part of the capital, Imane Droby perches on a stool in front of a school wall, tracing out a realistic portrait of a woman embroidering.

The 36-year-old from Casablanca says she, too, fell into painting murals "sort of by accident".

"I got a taste for it. It's great to transform a blank wall into a work of art," she said.

She added that street art "is difficult for everyone but even more so for women. You have make double the effort to make your mark."

Imane Droby, a female street artist who also took part in the festival, says women have to "double the effort" to make their mark 

FADEL SENNA AFP

It is an art form that has flourished since the early 2000s in Morocco's commercial capital of Casablanca.

A decade later in 2013, the Sbagha Bagha festival stirred a new level of public interest in murals.

"At first it was really complicated, because unlike graffiti or stencilling, painting murals requires organisation," said Salah Malouli, artistic director of Sbagha Bagha and Jidar.

"At the time, nobody felt comfortable working in public. There was lots of apprehension."

But today both residents and institutions show more interest in murals, Malouli said, and in recent years the artworks have graced walls not just in big cities like tourist hub Marrakesh but also in more remote areas.

- Portraits erased -

The artworks are not always valued by landlords or the authorities.

The municipality of the northern port city of Tangiers sparked outrage over the summer by starting to erase a tribute to French-Moroccan photographer Leila Alaoui, who was killed in a 2016 jihadist attack in Burkina Faso. The authorities later reversed the decision.

Malouli said the artworks are most vulnerable in Casablanca, where flyposting often covers walls.

"Public space is invaded by informal advertising, which complicates our work," he said.

Two works by Italian street artist Millo were erased in recent years.

A woman looks on from her window next to a mural by Moroccan street artist Omar Lhamzi 

FADEL SENNA AFP

Yet for the artists involved in Jidar, there is no question of giving up.

"It's the price of working in public space -- you have to accept what happens, both good and bad," Malouli said.

Despite the challenges, Lhamzi sees street art as a way of "learning to speak and listen to people".

And every year, the scene is growing, with new artists contributing to a collective wall -- just as Lhamzi and Droby started out.

For visual artist Yassine Balbzioui who managed the wall this year, the art form has wings.

In the street, "everything is possible", he said.

© 2021 AFP

French app fighting violence against women brings a ‘revolution’ to Morocco

A French app called The Sorority, aimed at preventing violence against women, was launched a year ago and has recently made its debut in Morocco. It has been a breath of fresh air for its early adopters in the North African country, who denounce what they see as a society plagued by sexual violence. 

“If we can help female victims of violence in France, we can do it in every country,” said Priscilla Routier Trillard, a 34-year-old Parisian, describing her decision to export The Sorority to the other side of the Mediterranean. 

Launched in France in September 2020, The Sorority became available in Morocco on October 16. The app relies on women to protect each other from violence – whether at home, at work or on the street – with an alarm system that sends an alert if someone nearby is in imminent danger using geolocation technology. Instant messaging then allows the victim to contact other users and get help immediately. The messaging function also allows users to get moral support from other women.

 ‘A real social problem’ 

Sarah*, 32, was one of the first Moroccan women to join The Sorority. From the age of 14, she faced regular harassment when walking to and from school. A boy physically attacked her younger sister Amal*, who was 13 at the time. 

The two sisters grew up in the upscale Les Princesses area of Casablanca. But in Morocco, Sarah said, “you can be harassed anywhere by any type of man”.

Asma El Ouerkhaoui was similarly quick to join The Sorority upon its launch in Morocco. A 39-year-old computer scientist living in Rabat, she dresses like a tomboy. “It would be too risky to wear a skirt,” she said. “But traditional dress doesn’t protect you either; friends of mine who wear a veil are also targeted.” 

Sarah said that “the moment an abuser recognises you’re a woman, you’re screwed. It doesn’t matter what type of fabric is covering you.” 

She never felt such a “threat” when living in France, said Sarah, who studied law in Bordeaux. “There’s a real social problem in Morocco; we need to stop hiding our faces with veils.”  

Like all the Moroccan Sorority members who spoke with FRANCE 24, Sarah said that harassment started as soon as she went through puberty.

“As a Moroccan woman, it becomes clear that you’re no longer a child when certain men – men your father’s age – look at you with a lustful gaze.” 

Victim-blaming 

The list of recent sexual assault incidents in Morocco is staggering: Sexual abuse is filmed and broadcast on the Internet by the perpetrators; a string of incest cases hushed up by families; the rape of children; a 96-year-old woman sexually abused by a group of young people. 

The figures are striking too: A 2019 survey by Morocco’s Ministry of the Family showed that more than half of Moroccan women say they have been victims of sexual violence. But only 6 percent of them have dared to file an official complaint – and less than 10 percent of female victims of domestic violence leave abusive spouses. 

All the people contacted by FRANCE 24 said they know women who have been raped or beaten by their husbands. None of them felt they could speak on the record, despite a promise of anonymity. 

Zainab Aboulfaraj, a journalist from Casablanca, said this was unsurprising. “The most conservative fringe of Moroccan society manages to propagate the idea that many women who have been raped deserved what happened to them – whether because of their behaviour or because of what they were wearing.” Consequently, it is deemed “extremely shameful” for women to talk about rape, she continued. 

Working on a project in the spring of 2020, Aboulfaraj thought it would be impossible to talk to rape victims about what they went through. “The victim support associations I contacted thought I was crazy,” she said. After several months, four women finally agreed to talk to her. But they kept their first names and details of where they lived a secret even from her.   

Thus the web series #TaAnaMeToo (“#I am also MeToo”) was born. Four rape victims broke their silence through the anonymity provided by the animated format. 

Aboulfaraj had long hidden her own trauma as if it were a form of shame. Before now she had never dared tell anyone about the day when a gang of boys surrounded, attacked and groped her in Rabat when she was 14.

“I healed my own wounds by helping other women heal theirs,” she said.  

A small audience, for now 

“If only I could have used an app like The Sorority in 2004,” said Loubna Rais, an international development consultant. One night that year, Rais miraculously survived an attempted rape and found herself all alone in an unfamiliar town. 

Along with other activists from the Masaktach (“We won’t be silent”) association, Rais had long dreamed of an app like The Sorority.  

Now she is one of 117 Moroccan women who have downloaded the app. But only about 40 of them – mainly in the major cities of Rabat and Casablanca – have actually registered on The Sorority 

Morocco enjoys relatively good Internet access, and 75 percent of Moroccans own a smartphone. But there may be an intrinsic flaw in the app.

With the monthly minimum wage at 2,929 Dirham (€271) and Internet access costing 10 Dirham (€1) per gigabyte, what percentage of the Moroccan population can actually afford to participate in The Sorority, asked Raw, the creator of Sobisate.tv, an Instagram channel dedicated to feminist causes in North Africa.

“Let’s also not forget that this is a French-language app, so it doesn’t reach the majority of the Moroccan population, who either read only in Arabic or are illiterate,” said Raw, who uses a pseudonym and who has nevertheless signed up with The Sorority. 

But victim-blaming remains a big problem. In January 2021, the well-known Moroccan dancer Maya Dbaich mocked some rape victims by saying “they were asking for it”. 

In September, a video of the sexual assault of a young woman in Tangier in northern Morocco was shared online by a 15-year-old boy. That gave rise to a widely viewed interview on the ChoufTV network in which a female neighbour of the attacker came to his defence and blamed the woman. 

The Moroccan media has made much of the fact that women also blame the victims. But Sarah said it is important not to fall into the simplistic trap of thinking that “women are the worst enemy of other women”. 

“The society in which we live instils in everyone the idea that women are at fault,” Sarah said. “And some women have internalised this way of thinking.” 

Although the picture looks gloomy, “the winds of change are blowing in Morocco”, according to Aboulfaraj. 

“The Moroccan youth was once quite reserved, but now they have social media,” she said. She, too, decided to join The Sorority after speaking to FRANCE 24.  

Instagram accounts such as Sobiaste.tv and La vie d’une Marocaine (“The Life of a Moroccan Woman”) have relayed hundreds of testimonies about the abuse suffered by women and girls in Morocco. 

But these posts aren’t just shining a light on sexual violence – they are also denouncing the Moroccan state and the cultural norms that help cover it up. 

Patriarchal societies in general, and Morocco in particular, try to instill a belief that women should see other females – first and foremost – as rivals, Sarah said.

“But The Sorority is bringing a kind of revolution in Morocco, because it shows us that isn’t true.” 

The people behind the app have been holding training sessions to prepare people for situations in which they have to help women under attack. During one early test, Sarah sent out a false alarm. Several app users immediately got in touch with her, ready to take action to get her out of harm’s way.

“I understood then that The Sorority could inspire women to travel for miles to rescue a complete stranger,” she said. “That filled me with renewed strength.” 

*Names were changed to ensure anonymity.

This article was translated from the original in French.