Citizen Kane, Its a Wonderful Life, and Wall Street - Essay Example

This paper discusses three films, Citizen Kane, It's A Wonderful Life, and Wall Street to describe the economic problems that capitalism presents to the American economy. Moreover, it defines the meaning of life as understood by capitalists. It is found that self-interest as opposed to the communal spirit is the ruling force in the life of a capitalist. Film & Society Citizen Kane (1941) reveals a significant aspect of human life - that, in fact, human interpretation of a biography is entirely dependent on the interpreter's personality, background and/or experience. This idea is the central feature of the Rorschach Inkblot personality test and the Thematic Apperception Test used by psychologists. The producer of the biography of Kane's life recognizes the fact that a human being is not necessarily the sum of his activities and property, while asking his reporters the real meaning of Charles Foster Kane. In an effort to find the real Charles Foster Kane - a composite of a number of historical personalities such as the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst; the aerospace and movie mogul Howard Hughes; and the Chicago utilities magnate Samuel Insull - the film helps the viewer discover that there is something deeper that drives the life and achievements of a person. This depth of insight may be called the meaning of life, the interpretation of life, or an individual's motivating force to do what he does and to live the way he lives. Charles Foster Kane died following a successful business life with the word "Rosebud" on his lips. This word apparently had nothing to do whatsoever with the kind of persona possessed by Kane. Was it the name he had decided on for a new business venture, given that wealth and power were Kane's predominant interests as revealed by his biography In any case, Kane's story unfolds in a series of flashbacks, each one providing insight into an attribute of Kane previously hidden from the viewer. The life story of Kane is told by a succession of people that were connected with him. Each of these people saw a separate side of the man, and none of them could see him whole. Thus, all people in relation to Kane saw him differently, and each one's viewpoint was imbued with prejudices, making the recollections rather vague and unreliable. The man himself never gets to tell his own story. How close would his story be to the reminiscences of his associates We cannot tell, and all that we are left with is our own interpretation. If money is our preoccupation, perhaps we will define Kane's life as a money-making enterprise, just as a person dealing with aggression in the home is most likely to view the Thematic Apperception cards with an eye for violence. Kane's life had changed irrevocably from a materialistic standpoint. He was a rich man who knew how to remain prosperous through his business undertakings. Yet, viewers of the film have noticed that riches did not necessarily bring unconditional happiness in the man's life. Rather, he seemed to have felt vulnerable and alone, and on his deathbed he remembered the simple snow globe and the Rosebud, which was the sled he used in his youth. Kane appears to feel nostalgic about his childhood as death knocks at his door. Was he trying to recall certain values that he had failed to live by due to his ever increasing occupation with the guarding of wealth Once again, the interpretation depends on the viewer. It will be not considered wrong to assert here that Kane was remembering his childhood and the Rosebud at the end of his life because death marks a return to a state of being we were closer to at the time we were children. Would it also be correct to state that the meaning of life is really to remember that state of being and live as intimately attached to it as possible, so that death takes us to a world that feels better than this one and we are not taken by surprise right at the end of this life term Literature on near death experience has often mentioned the dark tunnel experience, whereby a person is made to see his entire lifetime in flashbacks. Is Citizen Kane truly that dark tunnel experience for Charles Foster Kane Certainly, the memory of the simple snow globe and the Rosebud do permit the viewer to interpret these recollections as the beginning of the dark tunnel experience in the case of Kane. If we allow ourselves to interpret the meaning of life as an attachment to our essential state of being - post-birth - it is easy to see that the American Dream holds little meaning in the life of an American citizen. Money and power have no meaning for the departed soul. And, in fact, Citizen Kane was one of the first films to depict the American Dream as anything less than appealing. Kane was a happy-go-lucky child who did not mind spending his time alone. There was peace and security all around him. But when he is moved by Thatcher out of his house, Kane enters an entirely new world - this one of financial affluence, material luxury, and all the anxieties that seem to accompany it. For the first time in his life, Kane appears unhappy and unfulfilled. The American Dream has duped the man with its shallowness. Kane uses his money and power to either attempt to purchase love or to make others as disheartened as he himself seems to be. It is his wealth, as a matter of fact, that divides him from other people. At Xanadu, he is lonesome, so death comes as a stranger or a friend to define for him the ultimate state of all humans - complete end of the American Dream and all other desires that an individual carried along with himself during this life. Kane is surrounded by his possessions while breathing his last. He has no associates to comfort him. The economic problem of disparity in capitalism, defined by the distance of the poor from the rich, and the rich from the richer, is expressed here clearly. Kane could not only manipulate and destroy people that possessed less than he did, but also keep at a safe distance from them in order for them not to be able to share his earned rights through the pursuance of the American Dream. Frank Capra's 1946 film, It's A Wonderful Life, had similarly captured the essence of the economic problems posed by capitalism as opposed to the core cultural values of America. Capra believed that the rich and the powerful had none of the fundamental qualities to preserve American freedom - equal freedom in all respects for all. How can a society ruled by disparity in its economic structure be expected to divide freedom equally Capra's Henry Potter is a big money capitalist. Cold monetary self-interest appears as his interpretation of life. Potter, like Kane, is alone without loved ones for support. His only social relations are financial in nature. Potter is intolerant of the American working class and the nation's ethnic minorities, referring to them as "suckers," "riff raff," and "garlic eaters." A bigoted predator is what Capra appears to be, revealing in the process that big time capitalists are only directing America toward a predatory existence under their reign. The film warns that a rapacious capitalism would destroy America's core cultural values unless ordinary citizens reconcile the tension between the haves and have-nots, and between self-interest and the communal spirit. Each of these has a grip on the American consciousness, as disparity is never obscure or out of sight. Capra offers a wonderful solution in the form of George Bailey - one who fights to temptations of self-interest at every turn but fails to involve the entire world in the battle. Oliver Stone's Academy Award winning Wall Street (1987) was another film that portrayed capitalism as a less than desirable option for the American economic structure. The film has many memorable scenes and dialogues. One of the speeches in the film describes the intellectual state of the capitalist thus: The point is, ladies and gentleman, greed is good. Greed works, greed is right. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed in all its forms, greed for life, money, love, knowledge has marked the upward surge in mankind, and greed, mark my words, will save not only Teldar Paper but the other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. It is obvious that self-interest is the principal motivating force behind the life of a capitalist - self-interest at the expense of the communal spirit that could have helped to bridge the differences between the haves and the have-nots. Wall Street involves a young stock broker by the name of Bud Fox, who is desperate seeking a position at "the top." Settling on a plan to become connected with his idol, the extremely successful businessman Gordon Gekko, Fox embarks on a journey where much evil is submitted to and good dispensed with. Bud Fox's father, Carl Fox, represents the good side pursuing the young man to submit to the morals that feel right. Gekko, on the other hand, is the evil genius teaching Bud a lesson quite opposite in nature. The young man faces a battle between good and evil and ultimately follows Gekko to reach "the top." There are illegalities and ethical conflict involved in the process, of course, but these differences with 'the good' do not bother the young Bud Fox. He turns into a very wealthy young man with all the perks - a fancy apartment, a trophy blonde, and luxury cars. In the end, Bud Fox has to go to jail when a business clash erupts between Gekko's corporation and Carl Fox's small company. The film is very important in terms of reflecting the public's general dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in the big business world. Equality is an essential, and nobody wants to see malpractices that not only soil the basic economic fabric of America but also make the poor even poorer. The recent Enron debacle that the American public has witnessed has once again proved that capitalists could be responsible for great loss facing the nation. Whether there is illegality involved or not, the fact remains that disparity is a sickness that the American economy must seek healing for. References 1. Citizen Kane. (1941). A Film. Directed by Orson Welles. RKO Pictures. 2. It's A Wonderful Life. (1946). A Film. Produced by Frank Capra. 3. Wall Street. (1987). A Film. Produced by Oliver Stone. Read More