The Use of Psycho and Citizen Kane in The Examination of Parenting Styles

Society desires the ability to make their own decisions. Whether that be through free will, or the freedom to make choices based on previous experiences without restriction, the idea of self-control over the events that occur is valuable. However, both Psycho and Citizen Kane argue that our lives are completely dictated by the parents, and the very first experiences humans have are the ones that shape us and direct us the most.

Citizen Kane begins the story with his childhood itself, in which he is happily sledding in the background as his parents talk about sending him away with Thatcher for a proper education and a generous amount of money. The deep focus allows us to experience dramatic irony as they quickly sign the papers after hearing about the money deal, all while Kane is ignorantly and blissfully playing. The mother of Charles Foster Kane tells him as he is sent away that he “might be the richest man in the world…”. From the very beginning, money drives the story forward, and Charles’ most recognized and dearest people in the middle of isolated Colorado as shown by the blowing blizzard around their house with no others in visible sight. It shows that since birth to death, Charles Kane has been surrounded by money and people who are obsessed with it. The blatant hording of statues, the building of Xanadu, and his extravagant parties was a clear example of his materialism. However, perhaps the most psychologically interesting parts about Citizen Kane is the criticism from Susan Alexander as she states that she doesn’t want to be bought with money, but instead go outside and have fun. She implies that Kane’s use of money was never to live a happier life, but instead a “better one”. In his attempt to show love to Susan, it comes off as trying to buy her love, and reflects the way in which Kane’s parents sold their love and bond with Kane for money. His only way of showing affection is the one he has learned his entire life, as shown by the flashbacks to Christmas with Thatcher, and the number of stocks he has received from Thatcher. There was never a memory where they seemed to truly enjoy each other’s company, because he was never really Kane’s father, but instead a business partner to him. Kane resented him for stripping him of the life that he could have had with his parents. It is unreasonable to say that Kane felt no love for Susan, as he specifically enjoyed her company due to the fact that she liked him despite not knowing he was a newspaper tycoon. However, he couldn’t please her by trying to help her achieve her dream of being a singer by building an opera house. The ideas that Charles Foster Kane is a hollow character is completely false, in that his character is so psychologically complex from his childhood and thus leads to his hollowness as a human being. The seemingly conflicting ideas of his death and his last words of “Rosebud”, an allusion to his childhood, at the very beginning of the movie is undoubtedly referring to the end of his emotions. However, he realizes that the leaving of his wife and the loneliness he felt started at the very beginning of his life, and is why it begins the story with it. He was dead from the very start, and was incapable of being “human” to both his first and second wife.

Psycho and the portrayal of “Mother” within the beginnings of lives is obvious from Norman Bates and his incredibly awkward and out-of-place lines. As he talks to the female protagonist about his childhood, he states that “A child’s best friend is his mother!” and how Mother stated all girls were whores except her. Once again, as the portrayal of the house and the motel itself is often in the pitch darkness of the night, and their home is far off the main highway, the seclusion of Norman’s life is very similar to that of Kane’s childhood. Both of the seclusions show just how important the teachings of a parent can be, and this idea is exponentially shown with Norman Bates in the very end. Before the murder of his mother and her lover, he followed her words to the T, and murdered all the girls that he subconsciously felt went against his mother’s ideals. He is so attached to his mother, the woman who set his foundations of beliefs and morals in place, that when he kills her out of jeaulosy, he cannot let go of her ideas. Almost on an animal-like instinct that resides in all animals, humans included, to follow the teachings of the parents in order to survive, Norman Bates could not throw away his “god”. Much in the idea of auteur theory, Mother was able to “direct” his actions, controlling what he saw and what he heard. Even though she was incapable of controlling his actions to exactly do what she wanted, she was able to pave the only sensible road for him to follow. Even the constant motif of birds allude to the idea of him as a fledling. In order to fly and survive, he must listen to his Mother, or run the risk of dying without passing on his traits to offspring, the greatest primal fear. Because of these circumstances, he is caught in an endless loop of desire for women such as the female protagonist, and his teachings as a child, which finally tear his mind apart. His emotional death, much like Kane’s, began as a child, but he was never able to recover and realize it. Yet, despite Kane having an epiphany and Bates not, both were far past the brink of return.

Citizen Kane and Psycho both were fantastic movies cinematically, with camera movements and lighting. However, all these elements focus upon the complexities of the human mind, and question the ability of free will.