How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Citizen Cane.
Quote #7
EMILY: People will think—
KANE: What I tell them to think.
Kane is pretty clear on what he thinks of the general public, especially the part of the public that reads his newspapers. In his own words, people will think whatever he tells them to. In his mind, the common people are too dumb and poor to stand up for themselves, so they need a hero like him to save them. Unfortunately, there's not much point to being a hero if you don't respect the people you're trying to help.
Quote #8
NARRATOR: For forty years appeared in Kane newsprint no public issue on which Kane papers took no stand. No public man whom Kane himself did not support or denounce—often support, then denounce.
Media moguls have always had a lot of power in America. But back in the days of Citizen Kane, men who owned lots of newspapers had the power to sway entire elections and mold public opinion on almost any issue. And that's exactly why Kane has no trouble taking clear positions in all of his newspapers. He doesn't even pretend to report the news objectively.
Quote #9
NARRATOR: For wife two, one-time opera singing Susan Alexander, Kane built Chicago's Municipal Opera House. Cost: three million dollars.
Kane likes getting things his own way, and whenever reality doesn't agree with him, he tries to use his money to smash a hole through reality itself. For example, look at his attempts to make his second wife Susan into a famous singer. Everyone knows she'll never have the talent to do it, but Kane plunks down three million dollars just to build her an opera house to perform in. Now that's what you call trying to make a fantasy a reality.