Multiple narrators tell he story of Charles Foster Kane's life. We see his life in a newsreel format, in Thatcher's memoirs, and as told by Bernstein, Leland, Susan Alexander, and even Raymond, the butler. What is the point of telling the story in this way? Does each narrator give a specific "spin" or have a particular bias? Does each see a distinctive aspect of Kane's personality? Is each section told in a different way, utilizing different techniques of filming (such as camera angles, deep focus, lighting, or even choice of music)? What" bang for our buck" do we get from this jigsaw narration? Is it equal to or greater than the sum of its parts?
The life of Charles Foster Kane is depicted in the movie, Citizen Kane. Kane’s character is shrouded in mystery. Throughout the film, a news reporter interviews various individuals about their interactions with Kane. Thus, the story is told from many different perspectives that further confuse the viewers about Kane’s identity. Bernstein, one of Kane’s friends and employees, characterizes Kane as a great man whom he respected. Bernstein even displays a large painting of Kane in his office. On the other hand, Susan Alexander thinks of Kane as a terrible person who uses those around him to help bolster his public image. Right before she leaves Mr. Kane, Alexander exclaims, “You’ll give people anything in the world, but they have to love you for it.” This quote highlights Alexander’s belief that Kane only cares about himself and how people view him. The stories told by Bernstein and Susan Alexander are polar opposites and, along with the stories told by the other narrators, prevent the viewer from creating a clear image of Charles Kane. While the viewers make assumptions about Kane, the fact that we never actually hear from Kane himself also makes it impossible to generate a clear image of his character. Furthermore, the camera techniques utilized during each narration give different points of view of Kane. When Leland and Susan Alexander speak, low angles and extreme low angles portray Charles Kane as an imposing, powerful character. In Leland’s story, both Leland and Kane are portrayed through extreme low angles so Kane does not seem more daunting than Leland; both men appear to be in positions of power. However, in Susan Alexander’s portion of the film, Kane is illustrated almost exclusively with low angles, and the shots of Susan Alexander are primarily from high angles. These camera angles represent Kane’s power over Susan Alexander by making him appear larger as he towers over Susan Alexander’s vulnerable character. The low angles used in these two narrations are confusing because they paint conflicting views of Kane. Further, in Bernstein and Raymond the butler’s narrations, the use of predominantly straight-on angles reveal nothing about the characters or how they view Kane. This again contributes to the overall feeling of confusion as the viewers try to piece together an image of Charles Kane. While Citizen Kane is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, it is very difficult to appreciate the main character, Charles Foster Kane, due to the many contradictory viewpoints presented throughout the film.
ReplyDeleteIn Citizen Kane, Charles Foster Kane’s life is told from many different perspectives to show that nobody really knows who Kane is, demonstrating how it’s impossible to understand who a person really is. This facet appears in the bias in which each character brings to their idea of Kane. One hand of the spectrum, we have Bernstein, who idolizes Kane, hanging a picture of Kane above the mantle in his office. Speaking very highly of him, Bernstein sees Kane as both an equal and a superior. Bernstein never really has had any negative experiences with Kane, as the scene he recounts is a joyous party scene when Kane recruits the best journalists for his newspaper firm, The Inquirer. The scene is decked with joyous music, and the angles of Kane are straight forward or looking from a downwards angle, depicting Kane’s impact on Bernstein. On the contrary, Susan Alexander’s depiction is the exact opposite. Her retellings of Kane paint a picture of manipulation, gas lighting, and selfishness. In the scenes she retells, one moment that stands out is when Kane forces Susan to stay in the opera business after she tells him he wants to quit. As Kane is delivering his mandate to Susan, the film creates a dutch angle on Susan’s face as she sits on the ground, looking up at Kane’s shadow. This angle shows Kane’s inherent and dangerous power over her. Additionally, Leland and the Butler’s depictions of Kane both speak about Kane’s downfalls, in contrast to Thatcher’s depiction of Kane as a passionate spitfire. The purpose of showing these character’s perspectives is to show how, despite how many people spoke about Kane, nobody was able to capture Kane’s essence in the same way. Actually, everyone’s idea of Kane was very different from the others. The jigsaw format is presented to correlate with the concept of the search for rosebud. Rosebud signifies the unifying subject that represents Kane, and since no one was able to identify what Rosebud is or what it represents, no one is able to understand who Kane really is.
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ReplyDeleteDirected by Orson Welles, Citizen Kane is unique by utilizing multiple narrators in order to fill the gaps of Charles Foster Kane’s complex life. His actions are mysterious and often misunderstood by his companions, legal guardian and financial advisor. Kane is an eccentric man who choked on the silver spoon he was brought up, rather than using it to steal from other people’s food. He was raised with the cold embrace of the American dollar. His childhood lacked love, compassion and healthy relationships. For that reason, he spends his adult life trying to attain the love and compassion he has never had. Although, because he grew up without experiencing healthy meaningful relationships he fails to cultivate them as an adult. Kane has many perspectives because he changes his personality in accordance to his surroundings. In the party scene when Kane buys out the newsmen from The Chronicle Kane’s closest friend from college Jedidiah worries that he will change to accommodate the writers that improve his public appearance. He worries that Kane will not conform the writers to their standards but the opposite will occur and Kane will forgo his values for companionship. The story being told from multiple narrators allows the audience to understand all the different perspectives on Kane. The entirety of his identity is like a puzzle, with every additional interview of the people that knew him, best is adding a piece to solve the puzzle and see the bigger picture. The hole in his heart in which he fills with quests for companionship can never be filled because the more he tries to fill it, the bigger the hole gets. The multiple narrator format is hinting at Kane's jigsaw identity; it is representative of Kane contorting his identity to please others.
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