Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 12+
Classic should be required for any movie lover.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Citizen Kane is a serious, grown-up film that will have little appeal for young kids. For teens (and any older kids who shows a budding interest in the art of movie-making), however, it is the must-see portrait of an early 20th century media tycoon. Made in 1941, it's thought by some to be the best movie of all time, both for its audacious techniques and for the depth of its characterization. Several scenes show principals drinking or drunk; there is pipe, cigar, and cigarette smoking throughout. Kane's implied adulterous affair has an impact on the plot, but there is no overt sexuality and no swearing or offensive language.
- Families can talk about how Kane used his newspaper to influence politics and stir up the public's interest in war. Do newspapers and other news media still do that?
- Why do you think he said "Rosebud" when he died?
- Have you ever visited Hearst Castle, which was the model for Citizen Cane's Xanadu? (An overhead shot of William Randolph Hearst's estate on the California Coast at San Simeon is shown in the film as Xanadu, where Kane lives.) It's now a California State Monument and is open to the public for tours.
The good stuff
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Positive messages: No amount of money or possessions can ensure being loved or being happy. The deep hole in the heart of someone who feels unloved or unworthy can never be filled.
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Positive role models: Charles Foster Kane is a classic case of a man searching for love and losing everything in his misguided efforts to find it. Seemingly idealistic and compassionate in his early adult life, he is eventually destroyed by self-destructive and delusional behavior that adversely affects everyone he appears to care about.
What to watch for
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Violence: Two brief incidents: Kane slaps his wife; and in a moment of fury he wrecks everything in the room.
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Sex: The discovery of his affair ends Kane's marriage and upends his political aspirations. No scenes of a sexual nature.
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Language: Not an issue
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Consumerism: Not an issue
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Leading characters are drunk in two sequences. Several other scenes show characters drinking alcoholic beverages. Smoking (pipe, cigar, cigarettes) appears occasionally throughout.