The ambiguous nature of truth in media is clearly demonstrated throughout the whole of Citizen Kane. This is initially portrayed through the newspaper headlines at the start of the film which are shown to juxtapose each other and help to show different perspectives of Kane’s death. The Inquirer states that the “Entire nation Mourns Great Publisher” in contrast to the Chronicle which states that “Few will Mourn Him”. This beginning not only introduces the newspaper magnate Kane and the influence of fame but also the fact that truth is completely based on perspective and is not subjective, especially in the media. This is also portrayed when comparing the anecdotes of the loyal Bernstein and the bitter Leland. Bernstein’s account shows Kane as …show more content…
In the beginning, Thatcher believes that obtaining the newspaper company ‘The Inquirer’ is seemingly useless however Kane believes that this newspaper company can be used to “look after the underprivileged”. Emphasising the purpose and the ideals of Kane, however, this belief doesn’t last. As his paper grows in stature these morals begin to degrade. He starts to lie in the newspaper, which is shown in a line that was adopted from Hearst “you provide the prose poems, I’ll provide the war”. This parallelism provides the start of yellow journalism where the news is supposed to shock and therefore sell the paper even if the story is false. The start of the degradation of morals is shown by the chiaroscuro lighting as Kane signs the “Declaration of Principles”. As he signs this he is shown to move from the light into the shadows, foreshadowing Kane 's descent into corruption due to the hunger for power. This is coupled with the camera shooting Kane from a low angle symbolising Kane 's escalation in power which is shown to be the cause of the fall into corruption. The corruption of Kane is also shown in his relationship with Emily and the deterioration of their relationship. This is conveyed mainly through the montage scene which depicts Kane and Emily being close in proxemics implying initially the bond that they share however as time …show more content…
The American Dream is the belief that hard work and perseverance is able to achieve wealth regardless of social class. This is shown initially in the flashback to Kane’s childhood which begins with cheerful music showing Kane playing by himself but still being happy, but as soon as Thatcher is brought into the frame the joyful music disappears foreshadowing a loss of happiness as well as the breakup of the family. Kane is shown to be standing outside playing with the snow while the adults are deciding about his future, the use of deep focus enables both the adults in the foreground and Kane in the background to be clear and visible. Kane even though he was alone is shown to be enjoying his life however as Thatcher comes into his life and swaps emotional security for financial security his happiness disappears. However the lack of emotional security from Kane’s childhood has caused him to be emotionally insecure, this is demonstrated in the visual metaphor of Kane 's reflections in the mirror. The mirrors reflecting Kane by himself signifies the loneliness of Kane, this is emphasised as he walks straight by the mirrors symbolically illustrating that Kane doesn’t acknowledge his loneliness. The many reflected Kane in the mirrors also demonstrates that there are numerous different personalities of Kane. Due to the illusion that is created the audience
The foils of everyday life make for surprisingly quality entertainment. This concept may appear quite counterintuitive, but it is constantly proven true in Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1996 film Fargo. Beyond the film’s oddball subject matter lies a surplus of middle class misfortunes and simpleton fodder. These seemingly extraneous components of the film are actually extremely crucial to the atmosphere the Coen brothers created. Despite having such a lack of regard for human life, the film still is extremely relatable to the common man and blue collar USA. This is exactly what Joel and Ethan Coen were aiming for with this film. They were trying to create as relatable and real of an atmosphere as possible. This persistence to creating a believable
Mise-en-scène, what the audience sees in a film, is crucial to the movie’s development. Lighting and props are two of the many important aspects of this category. The previously mentioned scene has the goal of representing Kane’s early ideology of what the New York Daily Inquirer will become and provide for its readers. While writing the document, Welles constantly uses lighting to illuminate it for the audience, naturally drawing eyes to the paper even before it is introduced in the film. The lighting of the scene helps viewers identify the document’s value, especially in comparison to Kane as he tends to be less lit then the paper for the majority of scene. The other three cast members, Leland, Bernstein and briefly Sully, continue to be lit but almost never to the magnitude of the paper itself. The first cut of the scene shows Kane writing the document from outside; where a burning gas lamp is the key lighting, allowing the audience to easily notice both the flame and the paper. In the following cut, Kane continually looks at the paper and the gas flame as to signify their imp...
In your view, how does Welles’ portrayal of the complex nature of happiness contribute to the enduring value of Citizen Kane?
The American Dream started off as propaganda in order to make the American people of the early twentieth century work harder to build a successful economy. The idea of the American Dream is that every American citizen has an equal opportunity of making money along with owning a large house, some land, and having a family with kids. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates that the American Dream, no matter how simple is impossible to achieve. As everyone has their own interpretation of the American Dream, Steinbeck uses George and Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s Wife to demonstrate how the American Dream is impossible to achieve and how important the dream was for people so they could carry on with their lives.
Achieving the American Dream has been the ideal for people living in the United States for decades. People believed that the way to get there was through hard work, also known as the “Protestant work ethic”. The American Dream can vary depending on the person. Some people think that owning a house with a white picket-fence is the American Dream while others think that it is becoming a celebrity with a lot of money.
When Kane enters the Newspaper building, there are straight lines that surround him from the molding on the ceilings, the door frames, and the poles. These lines symbolize how straightforward and ambitious Kane is when he comes in, he assertively takes control of the newspaper business with no trouble. Lines can also be seen later on in the film when Kane is finishing Leland’s editorial. Kane is on the left side of the screen typing covered in shadows of the bars reflecting from a railing nearby, while Leland is on the right side of the screen looking over his shoulder, and Berinstein placed in the background. This evenly separates Kane and Leland with Bernstein behind, creating a frame that is divided into three. By framing the characters, Welles exemplifies crucial moments in the
“The American Dream”. What is it? What is it all about? “The American Dream” by definition is; the idea that everyone should have an equal opportunity to live a successful life through hard work and dedication. In both the novel ; The Great Gatsby, as well as the film ; Catch Me If You Can, both protagonists, James Gatz (Gatsby) and, Frank Abagnale Jr demonstrate how they view their own “American Dream” as well as how they pursued it. Although they both view it differently, they both pursue it in similar ways.
Throughout the course of a lifetime, a common phrase heard is “don’t judge a book by its cover”. This phrase indicates the fact that it is nearly impossible to truly evaluate the life and feelings of a person just by what can be seen about them. This is the case in the film Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles. Charles Foster Kane is a man who would appear to the general public as having it all. A very popular man, Kane owns a successful newspaper company for which he is known worldwide. He builds a gigantic mansion for his second wife and himself, surrounded by intricate and expensive statues. Kane seems to be perfect in every single way, and one may think that he is the happiest man alive. However, Charles never had the things that
Orson Welles ' introduced innovating editing and sound design in the 1940s with Citizen Kane (1941). Welles uses editing and sound to show the audience the passing of time, this is seen the breakfast montage. Welles uses sound bridges during the transitional wipes of fast moving images which fade into the next shot. The sound bridges act as links between the two scenes and make the time difference apparent to the audience. At the beginning of the montage Welles uses a slow zoom combined with romantic music to show the love between Kane and Emily. Both characters appear in the frame together with deep focus and slow paced editing which shows the closeness of the couple in the early years. This is juxtaposed by the end of the montage showing
The American Dream, in my eyes, would be described as unrealistic. It's a notation put in people’s minds that an individual can achieve anything he or she sets his or her mind to do. Now the outlook is being perceived as pessimistic, then again, I believe “The American Dream” is overestimated. When I was a young child, I aspired to be a princess who lived in a castle with a handsome prince and live happily ever after; I aspired to be a princess until I was thirteen. Still, it was instantaneously disappointing when reality dawned upon me, I could never be a princess. Although it left me completely devastated, I soon realized, there’s a huge difference between dreams and reality.
The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity.
In conclusion, the American dream targeted the individual working hard in the pursuit to become successful and wealthy, with high-quality job and prosperity. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the American dream symbolizes being free from any kind of restrictions and the ability to have the pleasure in the wide-open Western edge. However, The Great Gatsby criticizes the American dream due to moral and social value decay of the society.
Also, Welles furthers the image of how demanding Kane is of Susan and many others. Mr. Welles conveys the message that Kane has suffered a hard life, and will continue until death. Welles conveys many stylistic features as well as fundamentals of cinematography through use of light and darkness, staging and proxemics, personal theme development and materialism within the film, Citizen Kane. Welles prominently portrays his figures with a specific amount of light or darkness, stunningly affecting whole scenes stylistically. The scene at Xanadu establishes Mr. Kane as an overbearing, controlling character.
Americans have the opportunity to pursue what they love and achieve their goals in life (Rank np). Many people in America have different ideas and pictures in their heads of what the American Dream means. From the idea that it's about making a lot of money and owning a big house, to creating a good life for your children in a good environment there is a wide range of meanings of the dream. Others believe that America is this great melting pot full of people with all sorts of different ethnic backgrounds (Michels np). The American Dream was first introduced during America’s great depression by a man named James Truslow Adams. He first came up with the phrase “The American Dream” in his book, The Epic of America. In his book he taught Americans what they had to do in order to live the dream (Wills np). Explaining the Dream, Adams told America, that “the American Dream is the belief of the American society that each individual can, through hard working and strength of mind, achieve anything.” (Michels np) People still use the ideas from his book and use them in everyday
In today’s society the term “American Dream” is perceived as being successful and usually that’s associated with being rich or financially sound. People follow this idea their entire life and usually never stop to think if they are happy on this road to success. Most will live through thick and thin with this idealization of the “American Dream” usually leading to unhappiness, depression and even suicide. The individual is confused by society’s portrayal of the individuals who have supposedly reached the nirvana of the “American Dream”. In the play “Death of a Salesman” Willy thinks that if a person has the right personality and he is well liked it’s easy to achieve success rather than hard work and innovation. This is seen when Willy is only concerned how Biff’s class mates reacted to his joke of the teachers lisp. Willy’s dream of success for his son Biff who was very well liked in High School never actually became anything. Biff turned into a drifter and a ranch worker. In the play “Seize the Day” Tommy who is financially unstable also pursues the idea of getting to the “American Dream” and becoming wealthy. He foolishly invests his last seven hundred dollars and eventually loses it leaving him broke and out of work. In both plays following the American Dream is followed in different characters and in both the characters are far away from it leaving them broke and forgotten by almost everyone.