I watched Citizen Kane years ago as a child and didn’t appreciate its meaning. However, viewing it as a young adult last Friday gave me a greater respect and admiration for the movie’s potent messages, depth, and relatability. Citizen Kane has been ranked as the greatest movie of all time by various media outlets, and I finally understand the reasoning behind these honors.

The renowned film begins with the death of a wealthy newspaper magnate, the fictional Charles Foster Kane. His last word, uttered upon his deathbed, was “Rosebud,” and the movie centers around an investigation of this word’s meaning. We eventually discover that the word “Rosebud” was inscribed on the wooden sled Kane had as a child, an item with which he was playing moments before he was sold by his parents to a rich socialite named Robert Thatcher.

Therefore, Rosebud is symbolic of Kane’s childhood, the only time in his life in which he felt genuinely loved and nurtured, carefree, and happy. It is interesting to consider our own, individual Rosebuds. Sometimes I, like Kane, do wish to return to my days as a kid, when the world seemed so simple and so innocent, and stress was essentially nonexistent. Its hard to grow up and realize the evil, immorality, and corruption that exists on this planet. It is difficult to come to terms with the struggles and hard lives that many members of low-income communities, minorities, and third-world countries face on a daily basis. Life gets increasingly complicated and feelings of anxiety become commonplace. Thus, it is difficult not to sometimes want to return to the days of naivety and pure, uninhibited fun.

However, there are many benefits of being an adult that I would not want to lose in returning to my childhood. Despite having to accept the presence of poverty and immorality on the planet, as adults, we gain the power to induce change in these societal issues. We are taken more seriously by others, and have the ability to speak up for ourselves and be heard. Additionally, as adults, we have more freedom and the independence to choose our individual paths. We get to decide our own priorities and how we want to live our lives. So, every period in our lives has its advantages and disadvantages, its happy and its sad moments. However, we always tend to look back on the past positively, when in reality there were many hardships we faced. Meanwhile, we are often unhappy and ungrateful in the present moment. This is an important point, as Kane’s childhood didn’t seem like the greatest experience – his dad implied that he had corporally punished Kane in the past. Kane’s home seemed isolated, in the middle of a snow-covered Colorado. Did Kane have neighbors with whom he could hang out? Because Kane’s family was so poor, it is unclear how high Kane’s quality of life was at his parents’ home. This is not to say that I agree with Kane’s mother’s decision to sell his child to a rich socialite with the intention of giving him a better life — that is a whole other discussion. My point is that the past is not always as great as we remember it to be, but we always long to return to it rather than enjoy what we have now. This was Kane’s problem – he resented being taken from his childhood home so much that it affected his capacity to live a happy, wholesome life full of love, enjoyment, and appreciation for his privilege.

In conclusion, Citizen Kane revealed that longing for the past isn’t necessarily the best endeavor. It is absolutely important to reflect on our past, but when these reflections inhibit our ability to thrive in the present moment, it becomes problematic.