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126 Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 4 2o18
Graciela Susana Boruszko | Transliteratures
authenticity and identity respecting the political and cultural frameworks of the transcultural
space that does not delete the individual identities but rather hosts them, giving each partici-
pant not only a space, but also the freedom of expression and the right to participate in the
dialogue that keeps on inviting rather than restricting. The main character Rick is timeless so
it seems to be out of place in a discussion when time in its chronological line is discussed. The
accusation seems to be directed to the anachronistic insertion of a character that in order to
be placed outside of time, he should have had to conquer that place “above” History and not
just be assigned to him. A characteristic that normally elevates people or events above History
seems to diminish Rick due to a lack of effectiveness. In a certain way, Rick becomes less than
the Moroccan extras that were “placed” in Casablanca as objects rather than subjects or cha-
racters. The line of time becomes blurry and the historical events are represented instead of by
the events of war rather by the events that had repercussions in the lives of the citizens that were
forced to navigate structures within a local and an international cultural and political unstable
circumstances amidst the acceleration of time that somehow leaves Rick outside of the regular
negotiations of personal freedom. It seems that Rick stays jailed in himself and time expels him
from History while the cinematographic world saves him by placing him in the timeless world
of art. He is condemned to be observed or admired or hated with no agency in the literary
discussion of the next century. The author indicates that History and the reality imprinted in
the cinema create confusion. As time goes by it seems that both enter in competition and films
are endowed with a more robust sense of reality than History records convey.
“Qué lejos, inolvidable Rick, pero qué cerca
también. Qué cerca porque Casablanca,
como si permaneciera fuera del tiempo,
luce todavía su reputación de lugar de trán-
sito, y aunque los candidatos al viaje de
salvación ya no son los mismos y el docu-
mento exigido se llama hoy visado, resulta
inevitable conceder que historia y cine a
veces coinciden y se confunden.” (Cerezales
2004:59) “So far, unforgettable Rick, but so close
at the same time. So close because Casa-
blanca, as it would stay outside of the realm
of time, it displays a reputation of a place of
transit, and even thought the candidates for
the journey or travel towards salvation are
no longer the same that required document
is now called a visa, it is unavoidable to con-
cede that History and cinema sometimes
coincide and they get confused.”
(Translation by the author)
The author then approaches both times and cultural events by pointing to the shared charac-
teristic that Casablanca in the film and today constitutes a place of transit. In this way, the
subtitle “travelling” acquires a new and deeper meaning. It becomes a dialogue of travelers in
a globalized world that ceased to see it as divided parcels but rather a place of transit where
people seek to find better realities and better places for individual lives rather than a political
agenda with more collective connotations or repercussions. The only stable element between
both transcultural productions like Casablanca and Amé…Rick is the fact of being a place of
transit and encounters. Each tells a story constructed according to the worldview of the cen-
tury that produced it. The author also seems to attempt to correct the first partial intercultural
event depicted in the film Casablanca since an unequal dialogue characterized it, where a more
powerful position managed to silence “the other.” The “timeless Rick” becomes the “unfor-
Mobile Culture Studies
The Journal, Band 4/2018
- Titel
- Mobile Culture Studies
- Untertitel
- The Journal
- Band
- 4/2018
- Herausgeber
- Karl Franzens University Graz
- Ort
- Graz
- Datum
- 2018
- Sprache
- deutsch, englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY 4.0
- Abmessungen
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Seiten
- 182
- Kategorien
- Zeitschriften Mobile Culture Studies The Journal