1.
Kane's loneliness in his later years reminded me of Gatsby. Kane’s most fatal blow was calculated on the eve of the election by Jim Gettys, his most despised, corrupt political enemy, and then immediately abandoned by the voters. A political version of the American dream was thus shattered. He believes that his commercial success, his brave actions for the people, and the superb means of manipulating public opinion make him most qualified to be favored by voters, or in other words, the favor of the "America" that he loves deeply. His relationship with the voters is like his relationship with Susan. He treats her as a lover and gives everything for her, but completely ignores what she really wants and thinks. He establishes his self-esteem and self-identity with his love for Susan/the voters, because he desperately desires to be accepted and loved by this lover. However, just as the wealthy and advanced Daisy who represented the illusory American dream abandoned Gatsby, voters and Susan also resolutely abandoned Kane. Kane and Gatsby have the same respectable and pathetic characters.
Kane's American dream is also related to wealth itself. The "Rosebud" he never forgets is just the name of the sleigh in his childhood, representing the simplicity and joy of childhood. But when he became wealthy and successful, and was able to influence European peace, the Spanish-American War, and public opinion, he was no longer happy, he became empty and lonely. In this sense, "Citizen Kane" mocked the superficiality and nihilism of the Fortune version of the American Dream.
2.
Kane also reminded me of a song, Rufus Wainwright’s Going to a Town, written when the Iraq War fell into a quagmire in 2007. Wainwright explained the meaning of the song in 2007: "The meaning is very simple, mainly because I am currently very opinionated about the United States, just like all of us. We all love the United States, and I think everyone loves her in some way. But We must admit that we have made too many mistakes on too many issues in the past, and we need to face this fact.” In the song, Wainwright sang:
Tell me, do you really think you go to hell for having loved?
Tell me, enough of thinking everything that you've done is good
I really need to know
After soaking the body of Jesus Christ in blood
I'm so tired of America
I really need to know
I may just never see you again, or might as well
You took advantage of a world that loved you well
I'm going to a town that has already been burnt down
I'm so tired of you, America
From 2003 to 2020, after experiencing the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, the financial crisis, and Trump, can you continue to describe your opinions on the United States simply as I'm so tired of you America?
If Kane and Gatsby’s American dream is about personal wealth, identity, and acceptance by mainstream society, then the American dream shattered by millennials is about incompetent governments and their disastrous domestic and foreign policies. , The political system that shelters the powerful, the increasing polarization between the rich and the poor and the consolidation of classes, and the so-called mainstream values that restrict millennials from pursuing new lifestyles.
3.
In the end, Kane reminded me of Donald John Trump. This business tycoon, also from New York, is like Kane, maverick and even weird, self-centered. They have been married and divorced many times, one likes singers and the other likes models. They all participated in the election campaign and claimed to "Drain the swamp", and they were ruthlessly attacked by political opponents but never conceded.
Trump once said that "Citizen Kane" is his favorite movie. He gave his own interpretation, saying that "Citizen Kane" is a movie about "wealth accumulation", and the ending of wealth accumulation is not necessarily positive. Trump said with emotion that perhaps wealth does not mean everything, because Kane has wealth but not happiness. "As he gets richer, his table gets bigger and bigger, and the distance between him and his wife on the other side of the table gets farther and farther. Maybe I can understand this feeling." Trump also commented Tao, in real life, wealth will isolate a person. He even gave Kane a suggestion, saying "change yourself to a woman."
Trump's grandfather also opened a hotel in the west, and it took three generations of accumulation to have today. But the difference between Trump and Kane is that Kane's love for the United States is both simple and selfish, while Trump is a political speculator who has no principles at all. Kane's inner world is far plump than Trump. It can also be seen from Trump’s comments that Kane is a modest, courteous, well-educated journalist and publisher, and Trump’s level of cognition may still remain in middle school.
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