In a particularly odd method of presenting a story, the movie Citizen Kane takes place mostly within the past, not in the sense of being placed before our current time, but rather through the use of flashbacks. Viewers follow a young reporter as he as he interviews people about a recently deceased Mr. Kane, who led a long life as a business tycoon and a politician in the United States. . Orson Wells, the writer of this 1940’s classic, depicts Kane as what many would consider the perfect example of who it means to be an American. He is an intelligent, well raised man, who both pursues and gains greatness in all aspects of life. Upon his death bed Kane whispers the words “Rosebud” while holding a glass snow globe, a phrase that is quickly snapped …show more content…
Yet something that occurs throughout the story is that events that change who Charles is and his individual dreams and morals are often portrayed with happy music. An example of this is the scene in which the inquirer holds a party for Kane before he leaves for the vacation in France that will lead to his eventual first marriage. This scene consists of several musical numbers and even a chores line of girls that sing about how great Kane has become since he abandoned his moral values to create a better, through way of buying off a competitor’s newspaper writers. Kane is sung to that he is wonderful and that his actions are justified by their result5. Charles, like many people accepts that the social idea of the American dream is their dream, despite the fact that it may not be. Kane is pushed by the people around him to fulfill this great ideal of success that does not belong to him, but becomes blinded by the peer pressure around him. Much of the music reflects this, lending to the fact that both Kane and many of the people who knew him believed that what Kane did and how he changed was a good thing. Unfortunately, the peace that Kane experiences with his change, such as the happiness he felt after his wedding is painfully short term. Once he has begun to change those shifts in personality escalate, encouraged further by the people around him, turning into a snowball effect that leads him further and further away from the man he truly wanted to be. As people expect more from Kane he attempts to please them by being a successful businessmen the a politician, going lengths that will eventually lead to him, upon his deathbed realizing that the life he lived was not the one he
Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, was an exemplary and ground-breaking work. In narrative structure and film style, Welles challenged classical Hollywood conventions and opened a path for experimentation in the later 1940s. Gregg Toland’s deep-focus cinematography and Welles’ use of low-key lighting are often discussed aspects of the movie. True, these were areas of innovation, but when watching the movie in class I was particularly struck by the use of camera movement, or “mobile framing” as described in Film Art. In this historical analysis, I will take a detailed look at how Welles and Toland use camera movement to develop and challenge the Hollywood style. By referring to other movies viewed in Professor Keating’s class, including The Cheat, Wings, Applause, Double Indemnity, The Last Laugh and Bicycle Thief, this paper traces one aspect of innovation and diffusion in the movie many call the greatest film ever, Citizen Kane.
Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer about a young mans names Chris McCandless who's dream which become reality, but then ends up in a tragedy. Jon Krakauer is a very unique author which his story creates many emotional and valuable lesson throughout the story.
Do you ever have a dream? What is your dream? Having a dream is crucial for people to work hard to make the dream come true. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, the main character, had a dream— to be a well-liked salesman—and had strived for this dream throughout his whole life. But he committed suicide to end his life. He was not happy in the process of achieving his dream. Arthur Miller, the author, reveals a negative attitude towards Willy’s behavior and beliefs. Willy is a man with flaws that leads to his downfall. I share the same attitude with Miller. Yet, I pity the tragedy of Willy.
On a cold Halloween night in 1963, in the film Halloween, a six-year-old boy named Michael Myers was seen stabbing his older sister to death with a gigantic kitchen knife then leaving to stand outside the house with a blank expression on his face. As a result he was sent to Smith Grove’s Mental Hospital which he escapes from 15 years later to go after 17 year old Laurie Strode and her friends Lynda and Annie. Warshow’s essay, The Gangster as Tragic Hero, depicts American society’s need to show public cheerfulness and maintain a positive morale as well as its desire for something more sinister, something more brutal. This desire to indulge in the forbidden fruit of sadism and cruelty is what makes the gangster persona so appealing to the nation. He is the man of the city. He emerges from the crowd as a successful outlaw and his only aspiration is success through brutality.
What I believe Orson Welles means by Citizen Kane being a “failure story” is, despite Charles Foster Kane’s immense amount of wealth and status due to his career as a newspaper tycoon, he is a man who is very unhappy in life. The story shows how prosperity and power is ultimately useless in the absence of genuine love from others.
The American Dream has long been thought the pinnacle idea of American society. The idea that anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or financial status, could rise from the depths and become anything they wanted to be with no more than hard work and determination has attracted people from all around the world. Two writers from America’s past, however, have a different opinion on the once-great American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck have given the public their beliefs on the modern Dream through the novels they have written, The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men, respectively. One novel placed during the Great Depression and the other during the Roaring Twenties both illustrate how their author feels about the Dream itself through the use of many literary devices. While both novels have main characters with hopes for something better, all the characters seem to fall into the same plagued pit. Through depravity and decadence, the American Dream seems to have become exactly what its name implies: A dream, not a reality.
Every person has an American dream, no matter how big or small, everyone has one. Their dreams however, vary from person to person, based on past experiences. While some people will chose to try to own a small farm in California, others will want to go to Hollywood and become an actress. Though American dreams are commonly found in living people they are also able to be within fictional characters as well; such as in Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. Only American dreams can go astray due to problems that were not foreseen. In Of Mice and y Men, Lennie was the unforeseen problem with George, Candy, and his American dream because of his ableism. His mental ableism made him love to touch soft things such as hair, even though he could end
All humans have dreams and goals for their future that they wish to someday turn into reality. Dreams are different for every person, and some dreams are greater and grander than others, but they are all similar in that humans live for dreams because humans innately crave a better tomorrow. While many people do achieve their ultimate goals within their lifetimes, some people have unattainable dreams that are destined for failure. Two quintessential American novels, The Great Gatsby and the Catcher in the Rye, recount the stories of two hopeful young men with lofty plans, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield. Both of these utopian young men possess impossible, unreachable dreams; Gatsby desires to rewind his life so that he may enjoy it with his beloved Daisy instead of losing her while at war, and Holden wishes for time to halt altogether so that he must not face the challenge of growing up and becoming an adult in a cruel society. Through the example of both of their tragic stories, it is evident that humans often rely too heavily on dreams, and when these vital dreams fail because of corrupt societies, they lose touch with reality and fall into despair and defeat.
The Catcher in the Rye is a historical fiction novel by J.D Salinger. The book starts with Holden Caulfield, the main character, explaining a little about himself and goes on to tell his story of what happened after he left Pencey. Everyone strives to set themselves to a place in life where they feel safe, comfortable, and secure, that is the American dream. The journey to achieve this dream is known as the American experience. In the novel, Holden tries to act and look older. He reflects on his shortcomings and the setbacks in life, and leaves to collect himself, all reflecting elements of the American experience.
Peter D. Hutchinson, Kelly Nyks, and Jared P. Scott produced a film called Requiem for the American Dream. The narrator throughout the film, speaking behalf of the filmmakers, is Noam Chomsky, a former MIT professor of linguistics. Chomsky is considered one of the most influential intellectuals of the 21st century. During the film, Noam Chomsky delineates the wage inequalities between the poor and the wealthy, then relates all of it to the middle class. The majority of U.S citizens live in the middle class, so the policy would be determined by the middle class. So for Chomsky’s purpose of convincing others that higher tax rates are beneficial on the economy, Chomsky directs the message to the middle class, to convince them of his and the filmmaker's message, and to fulfill their purpose. The film, Requiem for the American
In your view, how does Welles’ portrayal of the complex nature of happiness contribute to the enduring value of Citizen Kane?
The story of Charles Foster Kane was truly one that could go on as timeless. Born in poverty Kane was given away with the promise of having a better life. In a material point of view Kane lived a very fulfilling life filled with anything he ever wanted. Although throughout the movie, Kane despised the situation in which he was brought up in. Being placed under the care of his mother’s banker really influenced the way he viewed the world. He considered himself a people’s person a sort of hero for those in worse situations than his own. The mass appeal for this character along with the truly original storyline and plenty other factors led many people everywhere to gain a huge appreciation of this movie. Despise its early failure following its
a better way of life - but something always seems to get in the way of
The idea of wealth bringing power is exhibited by Charles Kane, in Citizen Kane by Orson Welles. In Citizen Kane, the theme of money bringing ultimate power, more specifically the shift of power from Thatcher to Kane, is shown through lighting and Angles. Wells’ uses low-key lighting, high-key lighting and Angles to show as Kane gains money, he gains more and more power.
Dreams are series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. Dreams occur during a certain stage of sleep known as REM. Several different psychologists, including Freud and Hobson, have studied dreams. Psychologists have provided many theories as to what dreams are and the meanings behind them.