Citizen Kane as film art

Film ArtA different way of studying narrative, artistic choice, and literary devices!

Journal Are movies “art”?

How are movies different than novels? Why don’t we study movies like we study novels?

How are movies similar to novels?

Film Form

What do you see?

What’s going on?

Form The human mind craves form If you’re listening to a song and it

abruptly stops or you’re reading a book you like and misplace it before you’re done, you feel frustrated

Art invites us to create meaning with our mind, to look for patterns, and think even if it is as simple as “have I heard this before?”

Classic example The Boy Who Cried Wolf:

One day a young shepherd was watching his flock and was bored so he cried, “Wolf! Wolf!” and everyone in the village came to help him. When they got there he laughed at them and they left. The next day, similarly bored, the boy cried, “Wolf! Wolf!” and the villagers again ran to the rescue but only found the boy laughing at them. The day after that, a terrifying wolf came and the boy yelled “Wolf!!! Wolf!!!” but nobody in the village believed him and nobody came. And the wolf ate the boy…

What’s this story about?

It’s about a boy who has some laughs and then dies on the job.

It’s about how communities exist on trust It’s a morality story in which the message is

that people shouldn’t lie It’s a reminder of the dangers of nature It’s a story about how peoples’ desire not to

look ridiculous outweigh their desire to protect people in danger

It’s a reminder that working alone is dangerous

Boy Who Cried Wolf – form and meaning

Plot summary Explicit meaning Implications (reading between the lines) Relation between narrative and

viewer/historical moments Ideological implications/references

Formal Expectations Of course the story isn’t that complicated… The PLOT of the story is easy, but there are cues

in the story that tell us it’s bigger than the plot Absence of dates, proper pronouns, or details (boy’s

hair color etc.) suggests the story is not historical The format of the story (two lies, then a wolf attack)

reminds us of similarly structured stories The boy meeting a bad end reminds us of other

cautionary tales In the suburban 21st century Bay Area there are little

applications to lupine safety warnings

Form is not the same as content

Rather, it is the system in which all the parts of art create a pattern that change perception subject of a painting, brush strokes, color

choice, style choice, social existence, thematic implications, emotional response of viewer etc.

Art may have cues that make us think about things beyond the actual content of the art the form of the art can be bigger than just

what the art is about

Activity Assume “A” is the first letter in a series

A

What follows?

AB “A” was a clue You made a formal hypothesis

Basically following the alphabet as you’ve been taught

Your expectation was confirmed

What follows AB?

ABA Whoa!!!

The new form takes us by surprise We are now puzzled We readjust our expectations

What follows ABA?

ABAC What other possibilities were you

thinking? Lots of you probably though ABAB Your expectations limit possibilities as well

as select them If you guessed ABAB you probably will

be able to make a strong hypothesis about the next letter

What will be next?

ABACA You entered into active participation

with the form of this series creating, and readjusting expectations as your experience unfolds

As we watch our film think about what expectations you have, what patterns you see, and what choices the filmmaker is making

Ground Rules This is class – you aren’t doing anything except

watching and thinking about this movie Do not watch this movie on your own and ruin it for

everyone else I’d appreciate help with the blinds when we

transition to this topic No talking – save questions and comments for later We’ll probably be journaling on these activity days I will always warn you if there might be something

uncomfortable coming up in the film

Citizen Kane 1941 Drama Written, directed, and starring

Orson Wells His first film

Similarities to biography William Randolph Hearst Powerful media mogul (more

later) Tried to prevent from film

getting released Considered by many critics as

the greatest film ever made

Orson Welles Success as radio and stage actor

War of the Worlds broadcast and panic

Interest in the power of media to shape popular perceptions and sense of reality

He was interested in how the media speaks to and/or represent the people

Contradictions and ambiguities in the message of the film.

Let’s watch!0-3min

Opening SceneLet’s watch

Review opening scene

What is unique about this opening? Who is this person? Where are we? How would you describe this

place and what inferences can you make about the person or events?

What actually happens? What questions do you have? What is the tone or mood of this movie

going to be?

Let’s Watch Again Citizen Kane is famous for being a film

many thing you can watch without sound and still understand what is generally happening because the camera gives you so much visual information for you to make inferences

What does this sign mean? Where do we usually see it?

Humans are curious – this warning is shrugged off to satisfy that curiosity

We continue to be curious about this window

Everything else in the scene is interesting – in fact the window might be the more-boring piece of this

Then we’re inside the window in somebody’s bedroom

He says “Rosebud” then dies

We are confused – and that’s the point You don’t see people’s faces The setting is confusing and

sometimes flips around suddenly Deliberate disunity

We have expectations based on stories

Repetition and variation means that we actively as viewers develop awareness of the film’s formal system

Expectations We are left with so many questions after the

beginning Usually opening scenes introduce the movie, not

confuse us And usually people don’t DIE in the first scene

Based on our experience of other films, we know the narrative structure of this film is going to be very different…

Just like the ABACA activity, we pick up on cues and create expectations When those expectations aren’t met, then suspense is

created

BTW When examining art

you have to get in the habit of analyzing CHOICES that the artist made

Look at the window, does it look familiar?

Is this on purpose? We don’t know. We assume “yes” and make an analysis from there…

Next Scene

Newsreels Before TV news, most

Americans went to movie theaters to see footage of current events Especially during WWII

Format of these would have been very relatable to people watching Citizen Kane in 1941

Historical context late 1930s & early 1940s

The New Deal class politics

Rise of Fascism World War II still a fresh memory

“Yellow journalism” News based on sensationalism and

crude exaggeration. Media moguls used newspapers to

advance business interests rather than report news

William Randolph Hearst

Inherited money from father’s silver success during California Gold Rush

Started several newspapers including SF Examiner World’s largest news organization Known for sensational stories Hearst family is worth $28 billion today

Big personality, ego, and impact on journalism

Failed marriage and political aspirations HUGE celebrity and champion of poor but

also erratic, isolated, and wealthy

Hearst Castle Built by William Randolph Hearst

and a good metaphor for his wealth

Took 28 years to build 127 acres of gardens, 56

bedrooms, 68,000 square feet (White House = 50,000)

Thousands of important paintings, statures, and antique furniture

A zoo, airport, movie theater, etc.

Hearst vs. Wells When Orson Wells made Citizen Kane it

was clearly a movie about William Randolph Hearst

Hearst tried to have the movie destroyed and threatened theaters that showed it

Even though it is considered by most film critics to be one of the greatest films of all time, Citizen Kane never won any awards

Let’s watchWe’ll watch from the begging to review the very first scene one more time

Newsreel Clip

Newsreel Clip Compare the first two scenes

The death scene The newsreel clip

What is different about the feel, goal, or execution of these two scenes?

The first few minutes are mysterious and confusing

The newsreel clip is the opposite – clear, objective, and providing LOTS of facts

We know EVERYTHING about this guy and the movie is 12 minutes in!

Of course the movie isn’t over

Again, expectations tells us there has to be more

So even though we have LOTS of factual information about this guy, we know there is going to be more and we are curious

All of this is done on purpose – ARTISTIC INTENTIONALITY

Even though the first two scenes are very different, they have the same effect: we are curious and want

to know more

Charles Foster Kane Timeline

Put the following moments in the correct order

1. Builds an opera house for his second wife, Susan Alexander

2. He tries to get involved with politics but there is some kind of affair

3. Kane starts newspapers

4. Mom inherits worthless land that actually is a silver mine (the “Colorado Lode”)

5. Newspaper empire established – everyone gets their news from Kane

6. Spends his time in his HUGE “Xanadu” mansion alone and isolated

7. Young Kane goes to live with his banker/trustee Thatcher

What has happened in the first two scenes?

What questions do we have?

How is this movie similar to other movies/stories we’ve encountered? How is it different?

Review Even though the first two

scenes are very different, they have the same effect: we are curious and want to know more

What do we think this movie is going to be about? Why?

We have a lot of information about Kane What don’t we know…

Let’s Watch Next Scene – reporters and

Thatcher12:30-30:16

Thatcher Flashback

Faceless Reporters What is their purpose to the story? Why can’t we see their faces?

Not a mistake – ARTISTIC INTENTIONALITY – when the artist does something on purpose, we pay attention and analyze why

What is their job? To find out who Kane “really” is Yet we don’t know who they are

because we can’t see their faces Their job is our job – we as a viewer

are in the process of figuring out this riddle…

Review: who have we met?

Susan Alexander We don’t really get

information from her What do we learn

about Susan Alexander and what questions does it raise?

Can we make an predictions about this character for the movie? Why?

Walter Thatcher Kane’s trustee

Rich powerful banker What does Kane think of

him? Doesn’t like him Specifically tries to

destroy his business and the way he conducts his affairs

What do you think of Kane so far?

What motivates him? What adjectives can you

use to describe his personality?

Do you like him? Is he sympathetic?

Note: timeline and use of flashbacks

We skip around a lot Kane as little boy, young

adult, old man It’s clear based on visual

cues that we are going from one to another

Notice the use of transitions White page to white snow Poor, forgotten sled to

fancy, rich sled

Focus on: cinematography

Cinematography The art of “painting with light”

The photography part of film-making Telling a story without sound

Citizen Kane is a film many people think you can watch on mute and still get most of the emotions or facts of what is happening!

Movies = language Movies are like language

Language has tools (alphabet), rules (grammar(, art (inflection, word choice), and expectations (syntax, convention)

Movies have rules build on your expectations breaking them in purposeful ways making lots of decisions affecting the

information you see and the emotional response or intellectual cues that information is designed to give you

What to look for in cinematography

Exposure/ Aperture Shutter Speed Shot Sizes and

transitions Camera Angles/Moves Scenes and sequences

Framing Depth/saturation of

color Tone of color or

intensity Position of actors or

props

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXAr2yiYCV4

Some examples

Some examples

Some examples

Some examples

Some examples

Interesting Quotes CK “if I hadn’t been rich, I might have

been a really great man”

WT “What would you have liked to have been?”

CK “Everything you hate.”

To think about

Next Clip30-49:28

First Some Background

We’re going to meet Bernstein Kane’s financial advisor and current

executive for Kane companies Old friend

We’re going to see Kane start his newspaper in a flashback

We also see some humor and a musical These were standard things in movies in

the 1940s It just seems odd to us a little…

Let’s Watch!

Bernstein Flashback

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Bernstein flashback We see Kane start the

Enquirer with high ideals and low standards

Kane buys his way to success and celebrates

Also collects statues And a fiancé

Questions? Predictions?

Declaration of Principles

Kane has this dramatic moment

Offering himself as a savior or spokesman for the poor and the general public

Is he a do-gooder? Is he idealistic? Is he just a sham artist who knows how to get people to like him?

Bernstein flashback We see Kane start the

Enquirer with high ideals and low standards

Kane buys his way to success and celebrates

Also collects statues And a fiancé

Focus on: Sets

Sets Sets are the physical objects that

characters interact with and among Props, scenery, etc.

A container for human events in a film Filmmakers CONTROL their setting which

means (except for documentaries) most sets are manufactured and therefore

reflect CHOICES which the filmmaker uses to show THEME or build the story with non-verbal cues

What do you see?

How could the choice of the set impact the narrative or mood of the scene? What information does the set

give us (even sub-

consciously)?

• The Chair

• Makes Bernstein look small/ important at the same time

• Kane’s portrait

• Literally looking over Bernstein (showing power relationship? Memory always there?)

• Pictures

• This is a movie about memory and that’s what’s happening in this scene (why are the photos disorganized?)

To think about

Discuss

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Jed Leland’s Flashback

We learn about Emily

We learn about his failed political career

We learn about how Kane met Susan

We learn how Leland and Kane stop talking to each other

Emily and the scandal

We see Kane’s first wife go from loving newly-wed, to a little bitter at his newspaper, to estranged

What is the scandal here? Why does Emily leave Kane?

What does Kane’s behavior show us in this scene?

What do you think of Susan?

What do you think of Leland?

He is like Kane in many ways

But how is he different? What do they fight about?

Do you think he’s a good friend to Kane? Is he a sympathetic figure?

Jed Leland’s Flashback

We learn about Emily We learn about his failed

political career We learn about how Kane

met Susan We learn how Leland and

Kane stop talking to each other

Focus on: transitions

Editing is the process of connect scenes

A CUT is a simple edit But there are fades and bleeds and

swipes and all sorts of different tools that can tell the story

This may seem simple, but these transitions tell a story and can be beautiful for the eye or mind

Examples

Movies are languageThe things we see are choicesThose choices signal to us artistic intentThe goal of the artists is what we are analyzing, thinking about, reacting to, and learning how to be better storytellers from

Complete Kane check-in

Quick, journal-like responses to some questions and quotes

Interesting Quotes

KANE: A toast to love on my terms. Those are the only

terms anybody ever knows - his own.

LELAND: Guess all he really wanted out of life was love. That's Charlie's story, how he lost it. You see, he just didn't have any to give.

SUSAN: I don't know many people

KANE: I know too many people maybe we're both

lonely.

Next clip – Susan’s flashback

1:25:30 – 1:38:10

A note: there will be a scene with an implied suicide attempt, please feel free to leave the room if you need or talk with me

Discuss

Susan’s Flashback I

Journal – write as much as you can as fast as you can with examples from

the film Does Kane love Susan? Why does Leland send Kane that note of

“Declaration of Principles”? Why does Kane do that crazy clapping

thing? What do you think of Susan? How would

you describe her? Do you like her?

Journal Check-in: what do you think of this movie? Describe Kane and tell me what you think of him? What is the conflict in this movie? Is it

different for different people? What do you think the theme is going to be or be connected

to?

Last clip – the rest of Susan’s flashback and

the ButlerNOTE : we will see a moment of domestic abuse which is very

upsetting – if you are worried about this scene you can see me, leave the room or otherwise take care of yourself

Remember: I will be pretty upset and hurt

if anyone ruins the ending for anyone else

– we won’t watch movies in class anymore if this

happens

Last Clip Re-CapWhat do you think? What questions do you have?

OMG!!!! We discovered what

“Rosebud” is!

Rosebud was Kane’s sleigh when we was a boy!

How did you feel when you found out about this?

What does this mean for our understanding of Kane?

Is this a satisfactory ending?

Why did Kane care so much about this sleigh?

What did you think Rosebud was before this ending?

Who is Charles Kane? That was our (the reporters’ question)

Find out about Rosebud and you discover who Kane is --- do we???

Journal: Kane and Susan’s relationship

How would you describe their relationship?

Why does Kane behave this way to Susan?

Why does Susan still feel “sorry” for him?

Sub-conscious associations and

symbolism

Did you notice? The snow globe

is a big deal – he says “Rosebud” twice in the film and the snow globe is in both of those scenes

Where have we seen it?

Puzzles

Key Quotes