America's Arc

One of the proposed titles for the film Citizen Kane, a film many critics claim to be the best film ever, was The American.  Without question, the main character Charles Foster Kane is "the American" they were referring to because his life represents not the common American life, or even the ideal American life, but the country itself.

The United States of America began when the castaways from Europe rose up to defeat the great British army to gain their independence.  They began as a country of people who didn't know much about being in power, but knew that they wanted to have certain ideals that they illustrated in the Declaration of Independence.

Charles Foster Kane was very similar.  He didn't fight for his fortune, but he did come from nothing but was then somehow selected to inherit a great fortune.  At a young age, he took over a newspaper company, and on his first day, he created his "Declaration of Principles", which were promises that he would not be corrupt and deliver unbiased news, which the public deserved.  However, when he signs this declaration, he is in a shadow, showing that he is "in the dark" about what is to come.

Much like Charles Foster Kane, America rose and became among the most powerful forces in the world because that's what they desired and felt they deserved.  However, Kane begins to lose everybody's support when he refuses to make amends for others.  For example, when his opponent in the race for governor threatens to expose his affair to the public, he stays in the race despite not having much of a chance rather than backing out to protect his image and his family.  He does this because he is convinced that he is the best and nobody can do anything to him.

I find this to be the mindset of America as a country as well.  America has plenty of power in the world, so they believe their way is the only way and refuse to make amends for others because of their ego, much like Kane.  One example of this in American history is the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end WWII because they felt risking 30,000 American lives in an invasion (which nobody denies would have been successful) was not worth it when they could just kill hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese people.  America did this because they truly believed they were better and that their lives meant more.

America's narrative arc thus has been identical to Kane's through his early years: start from nothing, but then gain power but promise to retain ideals, which are later tossed aside as they are corrupted by having too much power and by things they couldn't see coming.  America has not yet encountered the complete downfall Kane did at the end of his life with no real relationships, but perhaps this movie was predicting it?