You are asked the following question:
“The society we encounter in a text can be deeply disturbing for the reader/viewer” – Discuss.
You write this as part of your answer:
In ‘Casablanca’ & ‘Sive’ corruption is a feature I found deeply disturbing in both societies. In Casablanca pickpockets roam the streets and men are shot dead for daring to challenge those in authority. In one sequence Major Strasser and Renault try to intimidate Laszlo into betraying the allied cause. I was shocked to hear Renault comment of Urgarte’s death “we haven’t decided if he commit suicide or if he died trying to escape”, thereby suggesting that it would be easy for them to kill Laszlo too and get away with it. Similarly in Sive, Mena and Thomasheen are utterly corrupt and, like Renault and Strasser, use intimidation to get their way, threatening Nanna with the county home if she won’t go along with their plan to ‘auction’ Sive off to Sean Dota. One significant difference between these societies is that although the locals in Sive disapprove of this match (“In the village the public houses are full of the mockery of it”), they are unwilling to intervene, whereas, in Casablanca, all of the refugees stand together and challenge Strasser’s authority in the scene where they sing ‘La Marseilles’ to drown out the Nazis’ singing. However, despite the disgusting and disturbing lack of bravery shown by the community in support of Sive, I think selfishly I’d prefer to live in this society simply because it’s not as dangerous as Casablanca and you’re less likely to be putting your life at risk if you challenge those in authority.
Now, before I analyse the ingredients for you, can you answer the following questions:
- Identify the 6 linking phrases used above:
- Find 2 direct references to the Q asked & 2 implicit references to how I felt about these societies.
- Number the 6 key moments I referenced above.
Right, here it is again but with the different elements colour-coded:
In ‘Casablanca’ & ‘Sive’ corruption is a feature I found deeply disturbing in both societies. In Casablanca pickpockets roam the streets and men are shot dead for daring to challenge those in authority. In one sequence Major Strasser and Renault try to intimidate Laszlo. I was shocked when Renault commented of Urgarte’s death “we haven’t decided if he commit suicide or if he died trying to escape”, thereby suggesting it would be easy for them to kill Laszlo too. Similarly in Sive, Mena and Thomasheen are corrupt and, like Renault and Strasser, use intimidation to get their way, threatening Nanna with the county home if she won’t go along with their plan to ‘auction’ Sive off to Sean Dota. One significant difference between the texts is that the locals in Sive disapprove of this match (“In the village the public houses are full of the mockery of it”), yet are unwilling to do anything to stop it, whereas, in Casablanca, all of the refugees come together to stand up to Strasser and challenge his authority in the scene where they sing La Marseillese. Despite the disgusting lack of bravery shown by the community in support of Sive, I think selfishly I’d prefer to live in this society as it’s not as dangerous as Casablanca and you’re less likely to be putting your life at risk if you challenge those in authority.
Now let’s analyse the different ingredients in the answer:
In ‘Casablanca’ & ‘Sive’ corruption is a feature I found deeply disturbing in both societies. = statement linking the texts, linking phrase (both), direct reference to the question asked.
In Casablanca pickpockets roam the streets and men are shot dead for daring to challenge those in authority. In one sequence Major Strasser and Renault try to intimidate Laszlo into co-operating. I was shocked when Renault commented of Urgarte’s death “we haven’t decided if he commit suicide or if he died trying to escape”, thereby suggesting that it would be easy for them to kill Laszlo too. = Key moments & examples from text 1
Similarly in Sive, Mena and Thomasheen are corrupt and, like Renault and Strasser, use intimidation to get their way, threatening Nanna with the county home if she won’t go along with their plan to ‘auction’ Sive off to Sean Dota. = Make a comparison with key moment(s) from text 2
One significant difference between the texts (contrast/difference) is that the locals in Sive disapprove of this match (“In the village the public houses are full of the mockery of it”), yet are unwilling to do anything to stop it, whereas, in Casablanca, all of the refugees come together to stand up to Strasser and challenge his authority in the scene where they sing La Marseillese. (point out a significant difference between the texts/societies)
Despite the disgusting lack of bravery shown by the community in support of Sive, which I found both disturbing and upsetting, I think selfishly I’d prefer to live in this society as it is not as dangerous as Casablanca and you’re less likely to be putting your life at risk if you challenge those in authority. (final sentence gives personal response/preference)
