“Rosebud.” Just one word. The last word of a dying man, breathed on his deathbed. But it intrigues a reporter to solve the mystery behind it. Why did he say it? What or who was it? And what did it mean? The reporter thinks that if he can find the meaning of Rosebud, he can find the man. This quest leads him to unravel the entire life, the whole existence, of an imposing press baron, Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles).And just like that, “Rosebud” kicks off the entire narrative of Citizen Kane (1941), widely viewed as the best movie ever made.The entire film is about finding the meaning of this last word. The word that is believed to hide the deepest mysteries behind worldly success and power. And that’s precisely why it’s much more than a plot device.The creation of Kane’s last word, and the quest for its meaning, are as convoluted and debated as Mr. Kane himself. So, let’s try to solve this over-80-year-old mystery and ascertain if we can find out who Charles Foster Kane is.More than MacGuffin: The Thematic Weight of RosebudIn Citizen Kane, “Rosebud” is the flicker that sets off the series of incidents that strive to solve a mystery called Charles Foster Kane. It’s the engine that pulls the entire story forward. Although the characters famously fail to solve this mystery, we, as viewers, come pretty close.The Engine of the Plot: The Journalistic QuestThe story opens with Kane on his deathbed in his vast, empty...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Wednesday, 5 November