Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane is an iconic American film directed by Orson Welles that was released in 1941. The film examines the life and legacy of the fictional character Charles Kane, who was based in part off of real-life media mogul William Randolph Hearst. The film opens with the death of Kane in his extravagant estate “Xanadu” and the famous last words “Rosebud…” Through flashbacks and written memoirs, the life of Kane is examined- from his childhood to his death, as a news reporter named Jerry tries to figure out the meaning behind “Rosebud.” At its time of release, Citizen Kane was highly praised by critics and was even nominated for 9 Academy Awards (Ebert, 2008). However, the film was a commercial failure and was soon forgotten, for a few years, until its reputation was restored in the 1950’s and people began to recognize its brilliance. Although Citizen Kane was released over 70 years ago, it remains an important piece of American film history and is relevant to today’s viewers.

The American Film Institute placed Citizen Kane at the top of its list of “The 100 Greatest American Movies of all Time” nearly 70 years after the film was released in 1941 (“Afi’s 100 years…100 movies,” 2007). At the time of its initial release, there were many controversial events surrounding the Citizen Kane that contributed to its commercial failure and lack of appreciation among moviegoers of the day. The film’s protagonist, Charles Kane, was based off of the real-life media mogul William Randolph Hearst, who was extremely unhappy with the way the film portrayed him and his life. In fact, he was so unhappy with the movie that he attempted to keep the movie from being released entirely. His efforts resulted in the film’s delay and limited run in theaters and it is believed that some of his tactics cost the film the commercial success it deserved (Lennon, n.d.).

One of the most obvious ways in which the film reflects historical events of its time, stems from the fact that the protagonist was inspired by the life of the media tycoon William Randolph Hearst, who was a fascinating historical figure. I had the opportunity to go on a tour of Hearst Castle a few years ago (the model for Xanadu in the film), and while watching the scenes of Xanadu in the film, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities. In addition, Charles Kane was a newspaper tycoon in the film, and during the 1940’s, newspapers were a whole lot more relevant than they are today. When Kane enters the newspaper business, he becomes powerful largely due to the fact that he used yellow journalism tactics, which was likely a very familiar thing to moviegoers of the day.

Although I wasn’t alive in the 1940’s, I believe the films’ setting, plot, and events all paralleled real-life experiences and events going on at that time, and that made it historically important, and it is what continues to make Citizen Kane relevant today.

The story and the message of the film are timeless and continue to be entertaining and relevant to today’s audiences. The film depicts the “American Dream” as anything but desirable, and its’ portrayal of how unhappy Charles Kane was, despite his massive amounts of wealth, is somber.  One of the most poignant scenes of the film occurs when child Kane happily plays in the snow outside of his family’s house, even though they are poor. After Thatcher takes Kane, he gives him what appears to be the “American Dream” of financial stability and affluence, material wealth, and luxury. However, these things obviously fail to make Kane neither happy nor emotionally stable, and as an adult, he uses all of his accrued money and power to either make other people miserable, or to try and fill the void in his life with material possessions. The gigantic estate Xanadu that he builds near the end of his life really illustrates how lonely and empty his life is despite his wealth. The film was released in 1941, the same year that Pearl Harbor was attacked and the United States entering WWII.  The years prior to the films’ release were tumultuous and some of the darkest days in the United States’ history. Citizen Kane finally began to be recognized as a cinematic masterpiece in the early 1950’s, and I believe it was in part due to the film’s depiction of how wealth failed to make Kane happy, which probably resonated with audiences who had struggled through two world wars and a great depression. I believe the theme of the movie spoke to audiences who had been struggling for so long to even provide for their families and live comfortably. The film shows the viewer that even inordinate amounts of wealth won’t bring happiness. Kane’s final words—“Rosebud”—shows that the only fond memory Kane had of his life came from his childhood, when he was loved and secure and happy with his parents in their little home.

One illustration of how Citizen Kane remains relevant today can be seen in the 2011 film The Social Network. Like Citizen Kane, the film depicts the life of a media tycoon, this time, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. Using the same kind of narrative and flashbacks, the viewer watches the rise of Zuckerberg, who uses ruthless tactics and alienates his friends and loved ones. Like Charles Kane, however, Zuckerberg fails to find happiness in his wealth and fame, and the same kind of apparent loneliness and isolation that was depicted in Citizen Kane is prevalent throughout Social Network. And, much like Charles Kane longed for his childhood sled on his deathbed, the Social Network ends with Mark Zuckerberg, alone after being sued by his former friends, refreshing his Facebook pages after requesting the friendship of his old girlfriend. Despite all of his money, and his attainment of the “American Dream,” Zuckerberg, like Charles Kane, is miserable, and wants more than anything to recreate the happiness he once felt before his rise to power and wealth.

Citizen Kane is definitely one of the most iconic and important films in American history. Before watching it, I didn’t think I would enjoy a movie made 70 years ago, but even with the black-and-white images and how old the film is; I truly enjoyed it. The Social Media is one of my favorite movies that came out this year, and watching it in class along with Citizen Kane made it especially interesting, and I was pretty surprised at how easy it was to compare and contrast the two movies. Even though it’s old, Citizen Kane remains a relevant and important movie in American film today and probably will for a very long time.

References

Afi’s 100 years..100 movies. (2007, June). Retrieved from              http://www.afi.com/100years/movies.aspx

Ebert, R. (2008, September 04). Whats your favorite movie?. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved from http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/09/whats_your_favorite_movie.html

Lennon, T. (n.d.). The battle over citizen kane. Retrieved from        http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kane2/producers.html

The reason I choose this paper to put into my eportfolio is because Citizen Kane was my favorite movie that we watched in class this semester. I feel that this film was a great example of all of the topics and elements in introductory film that we discussed in class this semester. I was also very impressed to see the similarities with this film and The Social Network. I think that this film will most likely be shown in introductory film classes for years to come because of the pioneering elements and effect, and have been duplicated in many films that have been made since.