Comparing "Citizen Kane" and "American Beauty"

      The symbolic meaning of these two very intriguing films is really up to opinion and perspective. The symbols and themes in these movies may be a little complex as they are either given to you too often to be noticed at all, or too sutile to notice at first. To begin with, Citizen Kane first significant symbol is given to the viewer at the beggining of the film, the very famous "Rosebud". By what the viewers see, they might predict that the meaning of Rosebud will be revealed at the end. Turns out the people investigating Kane and his death couldn't find the meaning of his childhood sled to him; sort of a perfect symbol to explain that what a person thinks can't be quite understood unless he explains it himself.

Kane looks at his snowglobe reminding him
of his childhood, says his last words "Rosebud",
and dies.

     But what could it mean? is the question left to the viewers and really, it is an open ended film. Some clues are scattered throughout the film but no one will ever know if they are exactly correct or not, reason why listening to some theories really can help develop what you believe it means. Several clues reveal that Kane didn't quite have a childhood, wanted to buy love, and technically tried to have everything in the world. Maybe he wanted all these things because he was trying to find the childhood he didn't have, of course, using the wrong approach; reason why he said "Rosebud" as his dying word. He mentioning the sled with which he used to play reveals that he realized that to experience childhood he would have needed to play and be a child. But then again, this is just a theory and anyone could find something more explicable and reasonable; proving that the movie is open ended.

Lester lusting of over his daughter's friend.
(This is a fantasy) Roses, symbolize desire and appear
all throughout the film.

     The adaptation of this film, "American Beauty", is really a modern version of the same idea of old an old person hunting for happiness. Lester, the hero of the movie, is a married man with a  daughter living in a normal house like a regular family would. At the beggining of the film, Lester tells the viewers that in less than a year he was going to die, but he also mentioned that he as dead anyway. This reflects on Kane as older man with everything he wanted but still sad. Lester then lusts for one of his daughter's friends reavealing that he wanted his childhood, what he could do when he was a teenager, just like Kane. Lester rebels, smokes drugs, quits his job, gets a job at a fast-food place flipping burgers (like he did when he was a teen-ager),  drinks, and works out; this reveals his attempts to be young again and do what he didn't. 

     Finally, both of these films come together to explain the value of youth and how people should value the beauty of the world and not just pass it by. This is told in a very sutile way through the use of symbolism and goes to show the geniuses behind these films. A decent way to look at these is as fables, they teach something through a story instead of just telling the readers/viewers what to do straight out. But in the end, what the viewer learns is what they intrepreted, meaning that these movies could teach a million things to a million people and they makers might not even know. That is the beauty about these films.