One of the focuses of Citizen Kane is to question how
fulfilling the American Dream (and the financial attainment that comes with it)
actually is. Charles Foster Kane has achieved everything that can be hoped for
in the American dream. He has enough money to build a palace and enough power
to start a war. He hoards statues and paintings and builds Xanadu, “the
costliest monument a man has ever built to himself.” In the end, however, he is
alone inside Xanadu among his possessions and, on his deathbed, it is a childhood
memory to which he turns.
Orson
Welles communicates the theme of the hollowness of the American dream through
the camera shots he chooses, the design of the sets, and through intricacies of
the plot. Many times the camera pans over the countless crates of the statues
and paintings Kane has purchased. You see that many are still packed in crates
and haven’t even been touched. Their sheer number and abandoned state show how
much they really matter to Kane. This shows how Kane collects people. He doesn’t
really have a mutual relationship with others, rather he wants to know that others
love him.
Shots that show the distance
between Kane and others show how he is withdrawing from the other characters.
This happens several times throughout the movie. One scene shows shots of Kane
and his new wife at the dinner table, switching from her face to his until
finally, the camera pans back and you see that rather than sitting in close
proximity they are now sitting at opposite ends of a large table. In a manner
of seconds you the progression of their relationship from a seemingly healthy
couple to distant almost strangers is shown. In the scenes near the end of the
film the distance between Kane and his second wife is emphasized. In the huge
space of Xanadu they have to almost shout at each other to be heard.
At this point Xanadu comes to
symbolize how Kane has built a huge, empty shell around himself. The sets used
are huge, with warehouse sized rooms and massive statues. All the walls are
ornately decorated and carved giving the impression of grandeur. However, most
of the space inside the rooms is empty, with the room itself dwarfing the
people inside. Kane and Susan look miniscule compared to the rest of the house.
When Susan leaves him Kane looks small and lonely wandering Xanadu. It becomes
clear that the Kane which he built for the public eye, with grandiose speeches,
opera houses, chains of newspapers and radio stations, and a magnificent palace,
is a façade. The real Charles Foster Kane is lost somewhere inside the cold
stone walls. This point was driven home by the shot of Kane walking through the
parallel mirrors, revealing his likeness copied endlessly. Finally, on his
deathbed it is not his wives or newspapers or vast amounts of wealth that he
thinks of, but the memory of a childhood toy.
Luke Fegenbush
Luke Fegenbush
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ReplyDeleteI really like what has been said in this post. Although Kane had many people who were viewed as the ones closest to him in his life, the distance from all of them was always apparent. It was like Kane refused to let anyone pass a certain point, like he had walls up protecting outsiders from his heart. But the way Kane interacts with people, I don't think can be pinned on him fully. I feel as if anyone who is just pulled from their childhood and told to start over, leave behind their family, their home, and all that they know up to this point and basically become a new man, would hold many similar characteristics that Kane exhibits throughout the film. But in summation, I agree with this and like what you've said.
ReplyDeleteI thought this post was very clear and concise. I think the idea of the "American Dream" is spot on with reality and agree with where your points lay in the argument. The main part of your argument is drawn from him using or controlling people and objects to try and achieve happiness. He was not able to do this due to the barriers he built up between himself and reality. The main point is that he was not actually able to achieve happiness regardless of his material items. Overall you had a great post, and you used very strong examples to back your argument, but agreeing with sarah in the comment above, there are many other possible themes that the argument for the post could have been on. But great job, I enjoyed reading this!
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ReplyDeleteI think this was a really great post over all. Your main argument was clear and consistent. You had details to support your claims as well. The “American Dream” and our consumer culture are definite themes that can be drawn from the movie. I agree with your argument overall. Kane kept collecting and filled his mansion with exotic and expensive items, which ending up burning in the end. As American’s, we would do well to take this theme to heart. The futility of acquiring and collecting items only to die and leave them behind in the end is pretty clearly communicated.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this theme is one among many other possible themes possible. I think your post would be stronger if you were to mention some of the other possible themes in the film. Several other prominent themes such as: isolation, old age, control, materialism, complexity of a human life, etc are presented. Perhaps you could have argued why the shallowness of the American dream was the strongest of these and used evidence. By mentioning these other themes you would have broadened the audiences’ understanding of the film and demonstrated your knowledge. In addition to mentioning the other themes you could have used a few more details to support your claims. In conclusion, think your post would be stronger if you were to acknowledge the other possible themes of the movie and chosen to give more detail as to why one theme is the most important. A few more details and examples would have been helpful, but great job overall.
I really like what has been said in this post. Although Kane had many people who were viewed as the ones closest to him in his life, the distance from all of them was always apparent. He had wives who he’d be in the same room with and he wouldn’t be anywhere near them. For example, in his flashbacks of his first marriage, they don’t come closer together than the two end of a ten foot dinner table. They exchange many words. Aside from their conversation, the two of them really don’t show any sense of a connection at all. Then with his second marriage, things are brighter as far as the connection to one another, but the distance from one another still exists just the same. In the scene where his wife is yelling at him about the critical article of her performing in the newspaper, they carry on a loud conversation while Charles in a chair with her way on the other side of a massive Xanadu suite. It was like Kane refused to let anyone pass a certain point, like he had walls up protecting outsiders from his heart. But the way Kane interacts with people, I don't think can be pinned on him fully. I feel as if anyone who is just pulled from their childhood and told to start over, leave behind their family, their home, and all that they know up to this point and basically become a new man, would hold many similar characteristics that Kane exhibits throughout the film. Although, I feel as if being alone in peace is the way that Charlie Kane may have liked it all from the beginning. In my opinion, this is illustrated in the scene where Kane as a young boy is out with his beloved sled, Rosebud. In what can very easily be argued as the brightest part of Kane’s story, he is alone in a field of endless glistening snow and his favorite toy. This toy was the memory that kept Charlie at peace, and was also his dying word. I agree with this and really like what has been said.
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