Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane was released in 1941 starring and directed by Orson Welles and twice topped the lists of best movies of all time in 1999 and 2007 respectively. The film narrates the rise and fall of media tycoon  Charles Foster Kane. The story is framed through a reporter trying to find out what his last word meant. The story itself is largely told through flashbacks as the reporter interviews crucial and important people in his life. This allows different time periods to be portrayed accurately by those who knew him at that time.

The character of Kane is largely based upon Hearst, however Welles admits other rich men were used and we can also draw parallels between the life of Kane and that of Welles himself. 

In the film we watch Kane start a newspaper, establish a list of principles and in due course completely ignore them in the drive for greater circulation and his own fame and fortune. In Citizen Kane, Kane argues the paper must be easy to read, to provide entertainment with big headlines and small paragraphs. Similarly the Daily Mail was created as the busy mans newspaper with have no articles over 250 words, a paper for a man to read on the train, to interest them in a sufficiently simple way.

Whilst parallels can be drawn to Lord Northclife and the Daily Mail and Mirror it is best analysed in comparison of Hearst’s life and accomplishments.

For example Hearst famously said ‘You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war.’ And as such is largely credited for pushing the US into war with Spain, this scene is mirrored in Citizen Kane almost exactly.

Hearst attempted to destroy the film both figuratively and literally. The film managed to become a moderate success before fading into obscurity until it’s brilliance was noticed by the French and once again in America. Hearst’s campaign to destroy the film would be his own end as now every reference to his own life, his accomplishments and his career are drawn in parallel to that of Charles Foster Kane.