Themes
Sound serves many functions in this scene, includ-
ing the development of several major themes and
concerns:
- Kane’s youthful longings fulfilled. A major
strand of the narrative conveys Kane’s life-
long bullying of others, mania for buying
things, and egomania as a reaction to being
abandoned by his parents at an early age.
Here he begins the scene by addressing the
new reporters and likening his acquisition of
the Chroniclestaff to a kid who has just got-
ten all the candy he wants. This statement is
punctuated by the sound of a flashbulb. - Kane’s ruthless ambition. The mix of bur-
lesque dancing, loud music, and serious
conversation about ethics only underscores
Kane’s determination to do whatever is
necessary to attain his goals. - Kane’s disregard for ethics and principles and
his relation with his two closest associates.
Kane’s domination of the scene is made
personal by his humiliation of Leland
(throwing his coat at Leland, as if Leland
were a lackey) and teasing of Bernstein
(“You don’t expect me to keep any of those
promises, do you?”), a further reference to
the “Declaration of Principles” that Kane
flamboyantly writes and prints on the first
page of the Inquirer. The dialogue in this
scene (and those scenes that precede and
follow it) further clarifies the relationships
among Kane, Bernstein, and Leland.
The care and attention that Welles and his col-
leagues enthusiastically gave to the sound design of
this scene was virtually unprecedented in 1941 and
was seldom equaled until the 1970s. In giving this
rowdy party the appearance of a real event, not428 CHAPTER 9SOUND
Analyzing Sound
By this point in our study of the movies, we know
that sound (like everything else in a movie) is manu-
factured creatively for the purposes of telling a
story. As you attempt to make more informed
critical judgments about the sound in any movie,
remember that what you hear in a film results from
choices made by directors and their collaborators
during and after production, just as what you seedoes. This chapter has provided a foundation for
understanding the basic characteristics of film
sound and a vocabulary for talking and writing
about it analytically. As you screen movies in and
out of class, you’ll now be able to thoughtfully
appreciate and describe how the sound in any
movie either complements or detracts from the
visual elements portrayed on-screen.✔In the movie overall, how is music used? In a
complementary way? Ironically? Does the use of
music in this movie seem appropriate to the
story?
✔Do image and sound complement one another in
this movie, or does one dominate the other?
✔Does this film use silence expressively?
✔In this movie, do you hear evidence of a compre-
hensive approach to sound——one, specifically, in
which the film’s sound is as expressive as its
images? If so, explain why you think so.✔As you analyze a shot or scene, carefully note
the specific sources of sound in that shot or
scene.
✔Also keep notes on the types of sound that are
used in the shot or scene.
✔Note carefully those moments when the sound
creates emphasis by accentuating and strength-
ening the visual image.
✔Does the sound in the shot, scene, or movie as a
whole help develop characterization? If so, how
does it do so?