The story of Yvonne in Casablanca is perhaps the greatest example of economy in storytelling that I've seen. She appears in only three scenes in the entire film, with this one the last of them. Her total screen time combined is probably no more than a minute. And yet, in those brief stretches, we see an entire character arc play out; and what's more, an arc that acts as a microcosm of the entire film. [...]
The same woman who was willing to compromise everything for her own security is realizing how far that compromise has made her fall; is realizing that she may never see the homeland she loves again; is realizing that she'd rather die a true Frenchwoman than live a traitor. It's the same type of journey we see Rick travel more slowly throughout the movie, and shows perhaps the film's most important motif: the choice between personal desire or safety and the greater good. How many people must have faced similar choices in the war -- to collaborate or die? Yvonne isn't just herself in this scene; she's representing scores of people as she faces hard truths and makes her emotional break.
Cinema's greatest scene: Casablanca and La Marseillaise
Tech Elites Recreate Burning Man Inside Their Living Rooms
Like a modern version of a medieval minstrel, a singer named Jess Magic is helping A-list entrepreneurs get in touch with their inner child in private "songversations."To Jason Silva, the tech futurist and TV personality, her gatherings are a safe space for entrepreneurs who "sacrifice friendships, relationships and time," only to "realize that it's lonely at the top."
Tech elites who are looking for more than extra zeros in their bank statements are finding it in an unlikely place: so-called songversations, emotion-heavy gatherings that combine philosophical rap sessions with improvised music, run by a ukulele-strumming songstress who describes herself as a "heartist." [...]
Branded as "Soul Salons," they import the cosmic-explorer sensibility of Burning Man's dusty playa into the cozy living rooms of prominent entrepreneurs, where they sing freestyle on topics as diverse as environmental degradation and heartbreak. Think of it as a free-jazz equivalent of an Esalen retreat. [...]
Despite her wood-nymph aura, or maybe because of it, Ms. Magic has found herself in some button-down circles. In 2016, she performed at the Women Economic Forum in New Delhi and at a star-studded birthday party of her friend Ken Howery, a founder of PayPal, on Necker Island.
"I don't know if you'd call this a breakthrough," she said, "but I got Peter Thiel to sing along and Elon Musk to smile."
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