Citizen Kane

1. Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

Citizen Kane is based off of the newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst. Obviously, once the word got out that it was based off of Hearst, the Hearst media empire tried to suppress the film. The film showed Hearsts' life story and how everyone viewed him. There were mostly negative thoughts pertaining Hearst and that showed in the film. In the film, most people thought Kane was self-centered and did not particularly like him. The same way people felt about Hearst.

2. Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content.

This article basically tells the life of William Randolph Hearst as a newspaper mogul. Apparently Hearst was both born and he died in California, but he was a true New Yorker. He did all of his business in New York. Trying to change the city in the process. Hearst wanted to become mayor, running twice, but not winning. Whenever he wanted something, he just bought it and didn't care how it affected anyone else. "Hearst was a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it." He'd go through so much just to build his empire, but it slowly crumpled. No one fully knows the reasoning behind a lot of the projects he started, but couldn't finish. He bought whole buildings, built chapels, built an empire. He did it all or at least he tried to.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E1DD1439F930A35750C0A9649D8B63

3. Apply the article to the film screened in class.

In the film, there was a moment when Kane decided to buy an entire newspaper just because it seemed fun to him. In the article, it is mentioned that Hearst wanted to lease two floors inside of a building ad the landlord wouldn't let him so he just bought the whole building. Orson Welles definitely got Hearst's personality correct with that one. He did things just because he could. Also, in the article it says how Hearst had a movie studio in which his mistress starred in about a third of the productions. That is just like in the film, Kane had his mistress performing all of the time. Even when she didn't want to. Even though the audience didn't really like her. He still made her do it. Almost everything that is presented in the article correlates to the film. There is no doubt that Welles based Citizen Kane off of William Randolph Hearst.

4. Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Citizen Kane is sort of like a biography. It shows William Hearst's life perfectly. It may not be exact stories, but they're definitely based off of him. Orson Welles used the major newspaper mogul to make his first film. The amount of money, research and time that went into this film is evident. This has to be my favorite film that we've viewed so far because I can directly see where the story came from. Welles theatrical background definitely helped him when he decided to make this film. For this to be his first film and it's known as one of the greatest movies in history is absolutely amazing.