Postmodern Culture

Otero-Pailos, Jorge.
Casablanca's Régime: The Shifting Aesthetics of Political Technologies (1907-1943)
Postmodern Culture - Volume 8, Number 2, January 1998

The Johns Hopkins University Press

Jorge Otero-Pailos - Casablanca's Regime: The Shifting Aesthetics of Political Technologies (1907-1943) - Postmodern Culture 8:2 Casablanca's Régime: The Shifting Aesthetics of Political Technologies (1907-1943) Jorge Otero-Pailos © 1998 PMC 8.2 ...the concept of reality is always the first victim of war. --Paul Virilio, paraphrasing Kipling (War and Cinema 33) Vacillating Realities At the corner of the bar a man in a white suit, probably an American business traveler, asks for more coffee and looks intently at a young professional woman who, seated across the room, is slowly sipping a Martini. The bartender notices his stare and quietly smiles while drying off the sparkling glassware. The room is dimly light by wall sconces that cast a pale glow over posters of Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca. "As Time Goes By" is playing almost imperceptibly in the PA system. Five clocks on the wall mark the time in L.A., New York, Paris, Moscow, and Tokyo. He could be anywhere in the world. The napkin under his drink has a familiar logo that reads "Rick's Café," and through the front door he can see the Hotel receptionist. The man finishes his coffee, walks slowly to the front door of the Hotel, and exits. He pauses for a moment to light a cigarette and to look around. An immense boulevard lies before the building dividing a row of modern structures from an old masonry city wall. "Is this really Casablanca? It looks nothing like the movie," he murmurs. It is a...