“Rosebud…”

“Citizen Kane”? Anyone? No?

Aside from the fact that not a lot of people watch the good movies anymore – at least, from my keen observations – I’ve noticed a lot of odd trends lately. You know, in my life.

But in “Citizen Kane”, which is ranked by the American Film Institute (AFI) as the greatest movie of all time, the audience sees a retrospective view of the life of one, Charles Foster Kane. Orson Welles plays Kane, a wealthy newspaper owner who builds an empire of sorts, mimicking the life of the real William Randolph Hearst. Between flashbacks and interviews with those close to Kane, the story winds through a series of life-changing events in Kane’s life, as reporters search for the reason behind Kane’s mysterious last utterance before his death: “Rosebud.”

Now, I’m not here to write a film review or a history recap, but as we watched most of this film tonight in my Appreciation of Film class, I was engaged in finding out what on earth “Rosebud” really meant. And I also don’t want to spoil the film for anyone, but the significance of the term “Rosebud” is found embodied in a material item from Kane’s long lost childhood.

This particular item is lost in the end and no one find out the real meaning of Kane’s last word. But as I watched the ending, I was reminded of how little time we actually have here on earth.

Kind of a downer, isn’t it?

But recently this has been a considerable push in my brain: what on earth are you doing? More so in the grand scheme of, you know, God’s plan. It’s so incredibly, stupidly easy to be enthralled in the workings of society. Right now, if you’re reading this, chances are you were probably reading about someone else somewhere on this planet before you read this. Or working on homework. Or taking care of your kids. Or watching the news. Or laughing at a sitcom.

Or something that involved other people.

And what about these other people? The other similar lifeforms on this planet we share. “Earthlings.” We all have different thoughts and beliefs and experiences, but some of us can unite for like causes. Some of us even believe in God.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that there is never enough time in a day. Most days I would really appreciate another hour at least, if nothing else but for extra sleep. But most times we toss the time out ourselves. We strive to be rich, to be successful, to be noticed, to be loved, to be respected, to be accomplished…you fill in the blank.

Kane lost his life. He died. But he also left it unhappy – as wealthy as he was, he was ultimately un-stinkin’-happy.

Christ lose his life; he lost it for us, so that we could be saved from the silliness of this world and ourselves. As ridiculous as that sounds, how could we not accept that over any riches this world can offer?

And we’re supposed to live like this:

“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.’” – Luke 9:23-26

What have you lost lately? What are you willing to lose? That’s something I’m asking myself and boy, is it tough. But it really isn’t much, when I see the blessing God provides in the long run. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

So since we’re talking (and be “we” I mean “me”) about movies, here are the topmost films on the AFI list that I have personally seen:

1. “Citizen Kane” (1941) #1
2. “Casablanca” (1942) #3
3. “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) #5
4. “Gone with the Wind” (1939) #6
5. “Vertigo” (1958) #9
6. “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) #10
7. “Star Wars” (1977) #13
8. “The Graduate” (1967) #17
9. “On the Waterfront” (1954) #19
10. “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) #20