“Citizen Kane” is a tale of the “Charles Foster Kane”. “Citizen Kane” was one among the major controversial movies continually built up. Kane was one of the most controversial films ever made. Hearst, affronted from his representation, presented RKO a diminutive chance to wipe out the movie. When that attempt did not work, newspapers of the Hearst go aboard on an operation of denouncement in opposition to Welles, therefore demonstrating that the dishonesty of the press and the condemnation of the power in film were specifically the aim.
Citizen Kane is an iconic movie that changed the way Classical Hollywood cinema was viewed. This film had such a high expectation around it when it was first released in 1941. Citizen Kane was surrounded with various rumours of the movie being based on the real life story of the famous newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. However it was never clarified by Orson Welles that the movie was actually about Hearst so the movie could not just be branded a biographical movie. The genre of this film was hard for film critics and viewers to decipher.
Two films, although created years apart yet have a lot in common, including their content of it’s narrative techniques. Both films, even though black and white with strokes of genius of cinema offer a vast stretch for study. I will be looking at Sir Orson Welles “Citizen Kane” (1941) and Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashomon” (1950). We see in Citizen Kane he values for the American life. The three abstract themes that constantly follow through Citizen Kane are Wealth, Power and Love.
In a little known story about the history of Mark Cuban we get a great example of perseverance and dedication. In an article that was published telling the story of his life we learn that Mark, who was born in America also had a dream and that dream was to better his life and make money. His story didn’t start out all that well in terms of success. In the early stages of his career Cuban tried to make a name for himself in many different fields, but failed miserably in almost all of them. He failed as a carpenter, a cook, and as a waiter.
In Citizen Kane, Welles characterises Kane as a wealthy and known newspaper mogul. However, despite his excess wealth, the audience is positioned to see Kane die lonely and isolated. Kane’s diminishing reflection in the mirrors when Susan leaves him. this imitates the character’s own loneliness and emptiness despite being the prime example of an individual who has successfully achieved the Great American Dream. This visually symbolises the trap in the flawed ethos of the dream.
Ewa, living in less than desirable conditions, must use her body to provide for the most important person in her life. In Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, a news reporter must uncover the mystery behind Charles Kane 's (Orson Welles) last words, "Rosebud". Kane, a wealthy man by inheritance, led a vapid life filled with materialistic desire and a hunger for power. When Kane 's newspaper doesn 't gain traction he implements a new way to catch the eyes of customers called, 'yellow journalism, ' using headlines to attract readers instead of meaningful content. This type of journalism at the time was used for swaying the public eye to push the agenda of whoever owned the paper.
Photography is the key element of mise en scene that determines how an audience will interpret the visual information in film. Orson Welles used the photography of his 1941 film Citizen Kane to emphasize aspects of the film he wanted viewers to focus on, and to remove non-essential information from the frame. This was accomplished through various camera techniques including manipulation of angles and proxemic patterns. Approaching the end of the film, there is a scene just after Susan (played by Dorothy Comingmore) has left her husband, Charles Foster Kane (played by Orson Welles), where he proceeds to trash her bedroom in a fit of anger. As Kane stumbles around the room, sweeping items onto the floor and throwing things into walls, (Welles
“Born by the River” illustrates my version of the “American Dream” because Cooke expresses this faith that things will change, despite social segregation. For example, Cooke mentions, "how it has been difficult over the years facing “segregation and inequality,” but he has hope a change will come for the future (Stanza 1). Cooke sings in a doubtful manner because of the unjust times he 's living in and explains all the harsh realities he is faced. Although he lives under these circumstances, his hope is restored because colored Americans began to stand up for what 's right in civil rights movements. Similarly, today we are faced with opposing laws that make it harder for “equal opportunism” for immigrants in America, but these dreamers still stand tall in protests for their fight against unequal opportunities.
King quotes America’s creed to support his case, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” King believed this to be “deeply rooted in the American dream.” With evidence that the injustice and inequality of the actions in his time were wrong and against American laws and dreams. This makes King’s speech much more effective because the people are more likely to change when realizing things have been wrong since the
Religion is portrayed in this film through the church and it emerges when Will Kane is very desperate for help. He has gone from the saloon, to the hotel as well as private homes in order to seek help but has recruited no one. Thus, out of desperation Kane goes to church in order to seek help before Frank Miller arrives in town. This scene conveys many religious elements as it begins with the priest reading the biblical passage Malachi as Will Kane interrupts the service and asks for help. This illustrates that religion is portrayed as a form of refuge for Will Kane, as religion merely surfaces when Kane is desperate and has nowhere else to go for help.