Citizen Kane In Class Assignment

Citizen Kane, often thought to be one of the most influential films of all time, brings up a number of important themes and topics still relevant to our day and age. It addresses the meaning of love, of a man or woman’s legacy they leave behind, of wealth and the media’s attempts to manipulate their audience’s opinions. One of the biggest topics addressed is the legacy people leave behind when they die. Throughout the film, various people who had known Kane well, talk about the man they knew- the man behind the facade and the wealth. The film leaves us wondering what we will leave behind and how we want to be remembered both in the public eye and in the eyes of our close relationships. There are those who hate Kane for his monopoly on the media and his attempts to sway public opinion. Leland, one of his closest acquaintances points out that at the beginning of Kane’s newspaper takeover, he had a list of purposes and ideals that he would strive towards achieving. However, by the time he was a massive success, he threw away all of those principles he had written down. There were those who respected Kane because he had built himself an empire, although he lost it later on in life.