Citizen Kane Analysis

The enduring power of Orson Welles’ 1941 film Citizen Kane arises from its profound exploration into ideas each deeply embedded within the heart of the human experience. A multitude of perspectives and contradictions shape and shroud our insight into protagonist Charles Kane’s enigmatic existence. Specifically, Welles explores the corrupting nature of excessive power, the significance of childhood to affect his ability to maintain adult relationships, and the complexity of human nature.

Citizen Kane expounds how an overreaching ambition for power can corrupt previous altruistic motives to inevitably lead to an individual’s moral degradation. Welles reveals the flaws of the idealised 20th century American Dream, where the increased focus on

The structuring of the film as an investigation of Kane’s life reflects the emerging prevalence of voyeurism in 1940s Hollywood film production. During the opening scene, the fish eye lens through a snow globe visually symbolises the audience’s distorted perception of Kane, whilst the fragments of glass symbolise Kane’s own shattered psyche. Subsequently, the voyeuristic obstructed shots through a fence in “News of the March” suggests the audience’s minimal knowledge of his private life while, the polarised opinions of Kane as “a communist” and “a fascist” similarly reveals the multiple contradictory perspectives. As such the newsreel proves unsatisfactory in providing a holistic understanding … Moreover, the use of multiple, subjective narrative flashbacks provides a fractured portrait of Kane providing limited insight to his true identity. The mid-shot portrait of Kane behind Bernstein is indicative of his reverent attitude towards Kane as his inferior hence influencing his altruistic image of him as “an honest man”. This, however, is juxtaposed with the mid-shot of Leland, which suggests a level perspective, to reveal Kane’s true machinations as egotistical with “no conviction except himself”. As such, Welles deliberately structures the film to expose the timeless idea that the complex nature of human existence is subject to perception. Thus, the film’s circular structure, commencing and concluding with the “no trespassing sign” underlines that despite investigation into Kane’s psyche, the audience maintains an incomplete understanding of his true identity. This is in line with Leonard Leff (1987) who states that the “inconsistent point of view of shots” within the film “frustrates the viewer’s expectation of coming to know Kane” and understanding his multifaceted psyche. Hence, the single word