Citizen Kane Response

After our viewing of Citizen Kane, there were a number of scenes that stuck out for me. However, the most notable scene for me was the overdose scene, when Kane walks into Susan overdosed on medicine and unconscious on their bed. It is the first few seconds of when he walks in is what really struck me. Prior to the scene, the viewer suspects that Kane might not care as much for Susan as he should because he forces her to continue her awful opera shows and then reports about them horribly in his newspaper. However, for me, this scene confirmed that. Kane opens the door after he gets no response from Susan, and he quickly surveys the scene before walking up to her bedside.When he approaches her, the camera focus is what gives away his true feelings. As he’s standing next to his overdosed wife, the camera is focused on Kane and the bottle of empty medicine, while Susan is blurry in the middle. The significance of how the camera is focused on the foreground and background, while the middle ground is blurry, is hugely significant ti understanding Kane’s feelings. It shows to the viewer what Kane truly cares about, his reputation and what might ruin it. The camera being focused on himself represents his reputation, while the focus on the empty medicine represents what could hurt him. His wife’s wellbeing does not concern him. This scene helped me in understanding what type of person Kane was, and gives more meaning to his actions and what he truly wants.