1. Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

As like any other piece of art ahead of its time Orson Welless Citizen Kane was a victim of its
own success. Aside from being a film which broke Hollywood tradition it also managed to bullfight the
rich and powerful. Its no wonder it had such a hard time to get theatres to play it. Inspiration was
drawn from a very force not to be reckoned with, and yet, Welles did exactly that. By using a powerful,
insanely rich, and well-connected figure like William Randolph Hearst, Welles and his greatest film ever
was doomed to be a commercial failure. Regardless, it was certainly ahead of its time. It broke new
ground in lighting techniques, camera angles, narration, and character development.

2. Find a related article and summarize the content.
In Roslyn Masss article A Linking of the Legends: The Great Gatsby and Citizen Kane she takes on
the task of comparing and contrasting Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby with Welless Citizen Kane. The
comparison uses the Joseph Conrads literary principles as a vehicle to explain how the narrative of both
pieces relate. Conrads principles describes that writers only repeat themselves but provide a telling of a
story that differs depending on whos telling it and whos reading it. He adds that its important provide
either several points of view or no view at all. In case of the latter, the reader would provide the
perspective.
The article recounts how Welles toyed with the idea on telling a story several different ways
using the same characters and events. What would differ would be the character providing the narration
and interpretation. The Great Gatsby offers a similar experience since the main character first learns
about Gatsby through what is told by different people.
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3. Apply the article to the film screened in class.
The article applies itself by conveying the break from traditional storytelling. Both works, The
Great Gatsby and Citizen Kane provide an unusual experience for the viewer and reader. They provide
the story through different perspectives and even multiple narrations.
Another characteristic of both films is the building of fascinating larger than life people as the
center of the story. Later we find their demise and in isolation realizing they cannot purchase what they
most desire despite all their power and money.
4. Write a critical analysis of the film
Its easy to see why this film is considered the best American film of all time. Presently, in
todays standards, it could be considered slow, maybe even boring. Maybe, its because as technology
has progressed so has the ability to provide visual spectacle. Thus, using unusual narration to catch the
audiences attention has been lost. And when it does happen, Pulp Fiction for example, it still relies
chronological displacement rather than different perspectives of characters.
Genius!

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

1) (x) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) (x) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that
in the paper.

3) (x) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation
and citation within the text.

4) (x) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of
the paper.

5) (x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) (x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the
source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) (x) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) (x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas
used in my paper.

Name: ___Dennis Rojas____________________ Date: ____________________________