Citizen Kane's Influence on Contemporary Media

Two aspects of Citizen Kane that I found to be incredibly interesting were both its beginning and ending shots, and its use of flashbacks, and how the film's use of those two cinematic devices have influenced other forms of entertainment. The movie, as we all know, begins with a shot of a sign located outside of Charles Foster Kane's Xanadu estate that reads "NO TRESPASSING", and proceeds to zoom in to the mansion within. As the movie draws to a close, the same events transpire, but in reverse order, showing a shot of the mansion, and moving outwards until the "NO TRESPASSING" sign is shown again, and is then overlaid by the words "THE END".  It is my opinion that these words represent Kane's continued unwillingness to truly open up to or let anyone into his life. He does not want anyone to "trespass" into his deep and personal feelings of regret, and continues to feel this way throughout his life. Thus, he is in the same place emotionally at the end as he is in the beginning. This connection between the film's beginning and ending immediately reminded me of the television show "LOST", a 2004 ABC series that begins with the opening of main character Jack Shepherd's eye while he is laying face up in a bamboo field, and ends with its closing in the same field. Jack is also met with a dog just moments after he opens his eyes, and sees the same dog just moments before the series concludes. There is no doubt in my mind that Citizen Kane influenced "LOST" creator Damon Lindeloff's use of this cinematic technique. In addition, Citizen Kane tells Charles Foster Kane's life story through the use of numerous flashbacks and a non-linear storyline told from many perspectives. These cinematic techniques are all present in "LOST" as well. In fact, the series is told only one half in the present day, and one half in some sort of non-present time. The series also expands on the Citizen Kane idea of flashbacks by making use of "flashforwards" in time, and even what has become known as a "flashsideways", or a flash to an alternate timeline. In addition, each "LOST" flashback is based around a different character's perspective, and oftentimes the same events are presented from different viewpoints. Citizen Kane has withstood the test of time and become known as one of the greatest movies of all time because it has influenced contemporary entertainment media through various cinematic techniques that the film pioneered.