The “No Trespassing”
sign that we see at the beginning of
the film does not only indicate the boundary of Kane’s estate, but also his basic attitude toward friends and the world. Despite his celebrity status, Kane was a very lonely person. Kane told Susan when they first met, "You know too few people, and I know too many. I guess we're both lonely." He was not lonely in the way Susan was though. His sadness was not temporary; it could not be fixed by meeting new friends and having company. Kane's loneliness was a permanent condition because he never allowed anyone to see the traumatized boy that he kept hidden. In a way Kane never knew who he was.
To hide the injured child inside him from the world and himself. Kane makes a public persona of a powerful publisher and man of the people. He refused to look into his inner self right to the time of his death. Only his last look at a snow globe in the first montage may show some small form of self-recognition.
So, why does Kane keep everything to himself? There are so many different theories to that question and none are confirmed. Do you think it is for more selfish reasons or more selfless reasons? Also, why do you think the movie is called, "Citizen's Kane?" I think it is because Kane has two different parts to him and the only one we see for most of the movie is the persona he puts on in front of the people.
I think Kane keeps everything to himself for the same reason he told Susan- he was lonely. Despite knowing so many people, Kane never really felt a connection with any of them, and so he never told what 'Rosebud' was and what it meant to him. Maybe it was also because he didn't himself know what the sled meant to him, but in the end he realized it was the life he could have had if he had never left it behind. Also, I agree with what you said about the title of the film: Kane belonged to the citizens, he pledged to give them the truth in his papers, and he outwardly appeared as one of them despite never truly feeling the same.
ReplyDeleteGreat use of referencing and images. To answer your question, I think Kane keeps to himself for many reasons. 1) because he is lonely. He doesn't trust, or connect with many people. He tends to go for materialistic items, I believe, as his way with coping. 2) I think his life has been so eventful meaning he's been through so much; he's used to things being inconsistent and since everything is always changing, he is too. I agree with your final comment on the title of the film, that Kane puts on this persona in front of the people, which doesn't change with Emily because to everyone he is dedicated to his business. But with Susan there are multiple personas, as this devoted guy, promoting her singing, while still doing newspaper, then how he acts with Susan at home. Great idea asking these two questions as it hasn't been discussed or brought up.
ReplyDeleteI think Kane keeps everything to himself as a form of protection against the world because he is so distrusting of everyone. Kane's parents orchestrated the plan to have Thatcher take him away, so to be sent away by your own parents would be a good enough reason for Kane not to trust anyone. I also agree with what you said about Kane having two different parts to him: a private and a public version. The movie could be called "Citizen Kane" because for most of the movie we see the persona he creates and that persona is generic "citizen" of the US and he thinks that is the best version of himself to put forward.
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