Citizen Vain

Citizen Kane is an excellent and stimulating film. I believe the story is social commentary on the human condition and it's innate vanity. Charles Foster Kane spent his life trying to garner the attention and "love" of others. Every action he took was in the pursuit of this cause. For some, this paints a picture of a man deprived of affection and compassion. I see it as a man too concerned with himself. He starts his career with a newspaper, something that has great sway over the people who read it. His next venture was to become governor, another position of higher power. Finally, after losing it all, he opens Xanadu in the hopes that he can influence even more people to come stay it his resort. Each position Charlie sought was one of great power. He didn't want love or adoration, he wanted control. This was even more apparent in his relationship with Susan Alexander. Every second of their relationship was guided by his hand, following his principles and his goals. Susan was more of a statue being moved to and fro, so it is fitting that she spent a majority of their relationship in Xanadu surrounded by Kane's multitude of other statues, symbolic of the people he lost sway over. All he had left was those statues, silent and stationary. Kane was a vain man, and the story of his life reflected that.