Citizen Kane: Thatcher/Kane Relationship

As the film progresses, the relationship between Kane and Thatcher changes significantly. This is shown by not only the plot, but also the cinematography. Early on in the film, a young Charles Foster Kane is sent off with Thatcher to live in the east as part of an exchange for a gold mine found on his parents’ land. Thatcher is seen as an authoritative figure in Kane’s early life. This is shown by the frequent use of low angle/high angle to establish Thatcher’s superiority. When Kane grows older, he eventually becomes part of the newspaper business. After taking over the “New York Inquirer,” Thatcher criticizes the paper and Kane’s work. Their relationship changes drastically in one scene where Thatcher comes into the Inquirer’s office and begins scolding Kane for the use of yellow journalism in the newspaper. As the two are speaking, Kane is sitting down at a desk and Thatcher is standing up. A high angle shot is used over Thatcher’s shoulder as the conversation continues. Thatcher eventually sits down and the camera slowly moves down from a high angle to a normal over the shoulder shot. Thatcher stands up in anger as Kane explains to him that he is the publisher of the Inquirer and that it is “his duty to see to it that decent, hard working people in this community aren’t robbed blind a pack of money mad pirates.” Instead of returning to a high angle shot to show Thatcher’s superiority when he stands up, Kane stands up with him and the camera tracks up with them and the camera angle remains the same. This shot shows how Kane has finally reached a point where he is just as powerful, if not more powerful than Thatcher, unlike when he was a child.