These direction techniques create a lot of tension because up to the point where the word Rosebud comes out of Kane’s mouth there is a lot of tension and suspense because we are wondering who is behind the castle, and the camera doesn’t give anything away. And to create further tension and a man says Rosebud and we have no clues. In the second sequence we find out more about Kane himself, exactly how important he was. In the second sequence we find out Kane is globally well known as newspapers all over the world wrote his death as front page news. We also find that he was in politics, the media and into forestry and doubled ownership. Kan’s image is his biggest selling point. In this sequence we find out that Rosebud was Kane’s last words, and that someone’s last word could say a lot about the person.
Rosebud sets up the narrative motivation in that the audience and Mr Thompson want to know what the meaning behind Rosebud is, what was on Kane’s mind at his last breath. There is a brief mention of sled to give the audience another subtle clue. Rosebud sets up the structure in that Thompson, the man in charge of Kane’s life story is now on the search of the meaning of Rosebud. I think Thompson is kept hidden in the dark because he’s not an important; he’s just the man in search of Rosebud to complete his documentary on Kane. Thompson is more a surrogate member of the audience. Thatcher is Kane’s guardian, assigned by the bank. Thatcher’s relationship with Kane is purely business, not a real friendship. Kane’s relationship with Thatcher is one where Kane sees Thatcher as the man who took him away form his family.
So Kane hates him and does everything in his power to wind him up. An example is that everything Thatcher believes in, Kane believes in the opposite. What’s going inside, the rest of his future being planned out. The camera slowly draws back from Kane through the window to a perspective of the mother’s view; she’s inside, signing papers that determine her son’s future. The sled that Kane has slowly gets covered with snow until you can barely see it. This symbolises Kane’s old life being in the past and slowly forgotten. Kane gets a new sled representing his new life with Mr Thatcher, Kane sarcastically says
“Thank you”
Kane really wishes he had his old life back. Kane liked his old sled better than his new one, meaning that he liked his old life better than his new life.
Bernstein’s relationship with Kane is completely different from Thatcher’s in that Bernstein admired Kane’s drive for life and his commitment to work and working class people, Bernstein had a friendship with Kane. Bernstein was Kane’s assistant. Bernstein’s story about the girl on the ferry relates to Rosebud because Mr Bernstein met this girl in his youth, when he was young. The story also means that love is something you remember for ever and the fact that things that others consider trivial can yet be important. Rosebud is memory that he has kept with him and out of all his achievements that is what has really made any sense and been most important to him.
Leyland’s views on Kane were very different from Bernstein’s in a big way, yet Leyland was Kane’s friend to. Leyland viewed Kane as a swine and a man who did brutal things. Bernstein thought of Kane as model figure, someone you could look up to. Leyland’s views on Rosebud are that
“All he really wanted was love, but he didn’t how to give it”
Leyland’s views on Rosebud are that he didn’t how to love, but he wanted love from everybody else. When Kane met Susan Alexander he was going to find his lost youth in a warehouse of old childhood memories. This suggests that he realised he lost something in his childhood days. Kane looses his political career as a result of a meeting with Susan Alexander; he also looses his marriage to his wife. His political career meant everything to him. When he lost that he lost the people, which he craved. The fact that his marriage was over didn’t mean as much as loosing the love of the people. There is no real mention of Rosebud until Susan Alexander leaves, but she does represent Rosebud to a certain point because Kane met Susan Alexander as he is going to find Rosebud. When Susan Alexander leaves Kane, Kane sees the paper weight and this sparks a memory of Rosebud.
The jigsaw puzzle represents the fact that he always starts tings but never finishes them. As well as the puzzle representing not finishing things it also represents Kane’s life in pieces, and that there will always be apart of his life missing, and that is the ability to love and be loved.
Raymond’s views on Rosebud are that Kane said a lot of things that didn’t mean anything. Kane smashes up the bedroom because he realises that everything he has bought Susan Alexander doesn’t mean anything. The things he bought her didn’t make her stay with him and they didn’t make her love him. Kane stops at the paper weight because the house in the paper weight that is snowing reminds him of his childhood sled and what he lost in the process.
The mirrors represent the fact that he is alone and everything he did, he did it for himself, he was very self absorbed. His identity becomes disintegrated. Even though he was acting like he was there for the people Kane just wanted there love. Thompson’s conclusion of Rosebud is that
“No word can sum up a man’s life”
He thinks Rosebud is something he couldn’t get or something he lost. Thompson also thinks that Rosebud is like
“A piece in a jigsaw puzzle, a missing piece”
I think this means that Kane could never be whole like a jigsaw puzzle because he is missing love, the last piece of the puzzle. Rosebud is revealed when men chuck away Kane’s old things in the fire. There is a close up shot of the sled with a thorny rose, and the word Rosebud slowly burns away with the thorny rose, and eventually disappears in the fire. Rosebud is something Kane held close to his heart. Rosebud was his sled which he used to represent what he lost. He lost his childhood and the ability to love and be loved.
