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ACF Critic Series #33: Citizen Kane, Part 2
This week, Telly Davidson and I wrap up our conversation on Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane–the tyrannic soul who wants to be loved by everyone, erotic longings that slip the bounds of nature, and the failure of friendship to limit madness. We talk about the problems of love and friendship, but also about politics and media, or how tyranny shows up in the age of Progress.
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This was the best, most insightful analysis of Kane I have ever heard or read. Bravo!
One quibble. It was stated that Kane attempted to make Susan Alexander into an opera star to make her respectable to upper-class society. This may be one reason. But I believe his main motivation was to play the role of his mother, forcing Susan to change her life against her will just as his mother had done to him. He came up with this idea when Susan told him her mother wanted her to sing grand opera. She said, “You know what mothers are like.” Kane’s entire demeanor changes as he says, “Yes. Uh-huh.” Then he immediately asks if she has a piano. This mad thought would become his obsession after the campaign scandal and their subsequent marriage.
That’s an astute observation. Kane does resemble his mother a lot; a lot more than his father, too! There’s more to that part of the story. Her opera is of a kind with his collecting European art. A desperate grasping after Old World aristocracy, a ground independent of the shifting ground of American democracy, where you can be wiped out in the markets, or forgotten, or destroyed politically…
Thanks for the compliment. I’d be grateful if you could help with the podcast–if you can share it with people, & rate/review us on Apple Podcasts.
I thought I had reviewed the podcast on iTunes, but I was mistaken. Just gave you a much-deserved 5-star review.
Thanks, kindly!