Citizen Kane Blog Post

The film Citizen Kane uses a variety of lighting as a means of portraying the different roles and circumstances of different characters at specific times. For instance, Orson Welles' decision to place a darker light on the reporters symbolizes the circumstance that they are in. Throughout the process of analyzing Mr. Kane's life and what he meant when he said his last dying word, "Rosebud," the reporters are in the dark as to what this meant. In the very first scene with the reporters, it is clear that Welles' intention was to portray them as faceless beings whose primary role in the film is to provide a sense of mystery as to whom Mr. Kane was to the audience. The important role that lighting plays in the film is also proven in the scene when a reporter is talking to Susan Kane in the restaurant. In this scene, all of the light is on the singer while the setting and reporter around her are dark. This use of lighting helps demonstrate the importance of what Susan is saying and how she is feeling alone at that moment. Towards the end of the film when Mr. Kane and his wife are sitting at a table and she is passed out from a drug overdose, the use of lighting is evidently symbolic of Mrs. Kane’s physical and psychological state. By using deep focus and all of the lighting on Mr. Kane, the background behind him, and the drugs on the table, it symbolizes the importance of the drugs over Mrs. Kane.