Citizen Kane: Reflections by Justin Kaplan
I had never seen Citizen Kane before we watched it in class. I had heard some people talk about the movie but had never been able to see it. I have a couple different beliefs about the movie. I think that the reason why it is in many peoples top 5 movies list is because they can understand and appreciate the quality of the movie for its time period. The lighting and camera work was astonishing for its time period. I really believe that this was an amazing movie in its era and the characters did a good job playing their role. Kane was perceived as a man of great wealth and power, when really all he wanted was love. Kane never received this from his parents because of being taken away from them at such a young age. I feel sympathy for Kane because I know that deep down inside he really was a good man and just never knew what "love" or real love actually felt like because he didn't receive it from his parents. This story shows you a different side of a rich and wealthy American. Most people believe that they live these amazingly happy lives and have no problems, when in reality this was the exact opposite of how Kane felt. Kane was a very lonely and dark man. Kane's second wife did not know who Kane was and had no clue what he was worth. I think that Kane was intrigued by the fact that she did not know who he was and he felt like he could start from scratch with her. He ends up making her sing when he knows along with everyone else that she is not meant to do it. Kane was a man that was infatuated by his power and wanted to prove the news papers wrong for calling his wife a "singer" and not believing that she could actually sing. He knew that the opera was not right for her but wanted to be the one that was responsible for everything with her. He wanted all of the power because this is what made him happiest. I think that this was a sad story because it just shows that because of the lack of love in his childhood, Kane grew up to be a very lonely and unhappy man. At the end of the movie, Kane's last words were "Rosebud." I believe he said this to show that all he ever wanted was a good family and a normal child hood. Overall I actually kind of enjoyed this movie and thought it was very interesting to see the ups and down's that Kane went through throughout his life.