Licorice Kane

As a film buff, I figured I had to get around to seeing “Citizen Kane” sooner or later. Now that I have an excuse though to see it for a class review, I might as well take the opportunity. Known to many film historians as one of the best films ever made, “Kane” is a movie I somewhat had a different idea about. The only thing I knew about it was the famous political gathering scene in which Kane addresses the people in front of a giant poster of himself and that every time anyone sees something like it since then, it’s either a spoof or a reference. Same goes with anything having anything to do with the name “Rosebud.” Knowing this, I assumed it was mostly a political film. I was wrong, of course. It’s a film about the life and times of everyone Hollywood bigwig’s favorite type of bad guy: a business tycoon.
As the story begins, Charles Foster Kane, renowned businessman and newspaper mogul, dies, leaving a grand estate, billions of dollars and a trail of business history behind him. It’s up to reporter Jerry Thompson to interview person after person related to Kane in an effort to get the big story of his life. And that, he does. It seems that Kane grew up in a poor family, and then gets adopted by a Mr. Thatcher who raises him the rest of the way in Chicago where he has the opportunities to go any way in life he wants. And so he grows up to be a very lucky young man who decides that it might be “fun” to own a newspaper. But as soon as he does, he does the one thing that most papers gave up a long time ago and starts to purposefully lie in his headlines and articles.
In the first twenty minutes of this 2-hour-long film, it’s plain to see that this film isn’t entirely friendly to newspaper folks. Although lead reporter Jerry Thompson seems of good character, almost every other reporter of his creed is seen every five scenes or so in this movie swarming around public figures like flies, a cliché which, to this day, is still used to portray reporters in the movies. Also, it seems pretty accurate to anyone who reads headlines and watches the six-o’clock news. Reporters pretty much put themselves in this light.
It’s also clear to those of us with a basic grasp of 20th Century on news that “Citizen Kane” is a character whose life and character was meant to parallel that of another famous yellow journalist, Citizen Hearst. William Randolph Hearst to be exact. Both Kane and Hearst became famous for not just owning newspapers, but libeling scenarios and people in an effort to make big headlines and juicy stories. Hearst owned “The Examiner” while Kane owned “The Enquirer”, both owned ridiculously large and exquisite mansions, both helped start a war on Spain by putting it in big black letters on the front page. The one difference I can find between Kane and Hearst is that I believe Hearst graduated college while Kane got expelled from every college he went to. From what I understand, the “Examiner” still exists to this day, while the “Enquirer” has found it’s proper place in the tabloids among other such equally honest printings such as the “Weekly World News.” Makes one wonder.
All in all, I consider “Citizen Kane” an amazing film on grounds of its cinematography and good use of earlier special effects. It’s also a grand example of a man whose main goal in life is to be loved by one and all, but can’t figure out that you don’t go about accomplishing that by forcing your loved ones to do your bidding. On a side note, I also find it amusing that Hearst reportedly tried to discredit film legend Orson Welles, the writer, director and star of the film, by labeling him as a Communist and forbidding any advertisements for the movie in his papers. There’s an easy lesson to be derived from this story: stay out of trouble and be an honest man, etc., otherwise someone else might come along after you’ve pulled your crimes and actually depict you in a somewhat accurate manner, thus embarrassing you for all eternity. This film is not just a classic. It’s a way of telling history.