- Entertainment and Media
Central ideas, symbols, & film techniques of "Citizen Kane"
Important ideas, symbols, & film techniques of "Citizen Kane":
1. Rosebud (motif): The rasped final word of Charles Foster
- Entertainment and Media
Central ideas, symbols, & film techniques of "Citizen Kane"
Important ideas, symbols, & film techniques of "Citizen Kane":
1. Rosebud (motif): The rasped final word of Charles Foster Kane is a recurring element which is a device to both emulsify the narrative; but also to provide a poignant reminder that the protagonist is fraught with irony.
- o Rosebud is both a symbol and metaphor for the life which Kane essentially pursues. It is an aural representation of the love, happiness, simplicity, and innocence which defined his tranquil existence in "Little Salem". Thus, the juxtaposition between his former life and that which he actually possesses causes Kane to propel himself in any direction he perceives will ameliorate the absence of his salient ideals.
- o Eg. Kane attempts to generate a sense of love expressed by the public to himself via his ill advised political campaign, and also during his vicarious operatic abomination "Sallambo", starring "awful ignorant" Susan Alexander.
- o The irony is that Kane's pursuit of the ideals that define "Rosebud" causes him to essentially expunge his connection to them.
- o Eg. Kane relinquishes a connection to innocence as he destroys Susan's innate character. He publicly humiliates her during an attempt to inspire and channel love to himself, because of the assumed quality of the operatic experience which is aforementioned.( NB: See published HUB about Kane's downfall for a more weighted discussion)
2. Jigsaw-puzzles (motif): The jigsaw puzzles of Susan Alexander can be considered superficially as a means to fulfill her intransigent existence with Kane; as the audience essentially associates this image with unresolved issues and fractured personalities. However, the pervasive implication the Welles' explicates is that:
- o Since not all the pieces fit succinctly, it symbolizes that often the characteristics of an individual are contradictory. Thus, it underscores the futilities of Charles Foster Kane, as he is fraught with hypocrisy. This trait is highlighted by the incessant conflict others face when exposed to all the elements that forge one's character - E.g. thoughts, emotions, actions, public attributes such as name and appearance.(NB: See published HUB about Kane being difficult to know for a more weighted discussion)
3. Jewels (motif): Jewels are pervasively considered as an expression of the altruistic ideal love. However, the irony Kane's gifts are that he wishes to provoke others to express love for himself; which is essentially the inversion of the perennial social convention.
- o E.g. Kane's attempts to prove love rather than express it - jewels to both Susan and Emily Monroe Norton, & the "Declaration of Principles" for the people/ "the working man".
4. Campaign office rubbish (symbol): The low-set camera position exemplifies the contrast between the size of Kane's aspirations, and his actual position in reality. The relative position of the streamers, in comparison to the "KANE" posters, symbolizes that he perceives himself as more significant than he actually is.
5. "Xanadu-still unfinished" (metaphor): This phrase proves as an aural metaphor for the director's perspective that one can never achieve the American Dream. It is inevitably elusive, even with wealth that is of a magnitude which "no man can say".
- o Also NB: Welles essentially portrays that money cannot compensate for emptiness.
6. Images of Purity/ Perfection (symbols/ motifs/ metaphors): Welles employs these as a device to establish an association to untainted tableaux's and subsequently a perfect existence, yet the further implications of them emanate the harrowing truth for all, that such a life is tragically ephemeral.
- o Bernstein's recollection of the "girl in the white dress, with a white parasol": This girl symbolizes perfection and purity, however the salient implication of his comment that his experience lasted "only for a second", figuratively conveys that one's connection to the perfect existence is fleeting.
- o The Snow Globe: This proves to be a visual manifestation of Kane's concept of a perfect life, as he perceives that his former life in Colorado offers a paradigm for happiness.
7. 