preview

Citizen Kane Mise En Scene

Decent Essays

Citizen Kane is a movie starring Orson Welles that is loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst and the media empire that he built in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Mise en Scene is possibly the most important chapter that we have covered that pertains to Citizen Kane and shows numerous examples of it throughout the film to reinforce loss as a recurring theme. Citizen Kane’s non verbal strength is made evident through the use of not only intrinsic interest but through the use of isolated figure versus clustered and off-screen information as well. Perhaps one of the most important segments not mentioned in our scene summary notes that encapsulates Mise en Scene is when Charles Foster Kane is giving his speech when he’s …show more content…

The use of intrinsic interest was effective in this film due to the fact that Kane was a guarded and somewhat secretive man when it came to his personal life and the background information given through these shots was helpful when trying to understand the deeper meaning of his actions. It also helps to show the parallels between the fabricated narrative of Charles Foster Kane’s life and the real life of William Randolph Hearst. In the film the use of isolated figure versus clustered is very obvious. It is used throughout the film to show the social isolation of Kane as his success grows in moments when he decides to put aside personal relationships in favor of financial growth and notoriety. Kane tends to appear stronger and more in control in moments when he’s by himself then in moments when he is surrounded or affiliated with others who the film portrays as individuals or groups who “weaken” him; this results in the film often showing Kane in moments of anguish amidst being successful because he feels misunderstood, isolated and detached from those that were once closest to him. However eventually his isolation catches up with him as we see in the beginning of the film when we are shown the no trespassing signs and fences before his death; subsequently showing that his isolation has eliminated everyone that would’ve mourned him. Other examples of this are how he periodically moved from

Get Access