In The Mirror Who Are You?

“Have you ever tried to sit through Citizen Kane?” Joey Tribbiani asked Rachel Green in a disbelief tone. This was a line from the series Friends, where the character Joey asked Rachel this question and was surprised how she understood the film, when he found it hard to sit through. To his luck Rachel agreed that it was boring. I sat and remembered this line from Friends as I watched Citizen Kane. I could empathize with Rachel and Joey’s thoughts on the film. Sitting through the first few minutes was a little dull to watch. My first impression of the film was a little daunting, as watching a film from 1941 with no color, made it hard for me to be drawn into the film.

Despite that, as I continued on I realized the film had so many beautiful elements in it. From the sets, costume, acting, sound design, angling and framing, it was captivating. In the face of all that, what really caught my interest was the melancholic story. If I could phrase the story in 8 words it would be, “A man who had everything, but lost everything”. The movie drew many realizations for me but one thing I wanted to share was simply this, “Remember who you are”.

In the midst of the film, Kane was faced with many occurrences that changed his morals. Even though in the beginning, he knew who he was, and who he could be for his city. Although, it began to change when he fell in love with people's perception of who he was. When it came to his loved ones, he began making choices based on selfish ideals, till there was no love he could give. In the end, there was no one next to him, even with all his wealth and possessions, he died all alone, unable to bring anything with him in his next life. There’s a shot where he passes a mirror and all we see in that scene, is an infinite reflection of himself, all alone. I really loved this shot and thought it was genius! It made me think as I looked to myself in the mirror, “Who Are You?”

This message reminded me of how important it is so remember who you are! I know there’ll be instances where I am faced with impossible choices, but they become easier when I recall who I am, my goals and purpose. How about you? When you look in the mirror, amongst all the worldly things, who are you deep inside?