Michael Jackson in a remake of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane,costarring LaToya as Blanche.
“But ya are Blanche, ya are.”
Excellent analysis, jesseboy; I watched Kane last weekend for the first time in probably eight years, and the same thing occurred to me. The shots of Xanadu kept reminding me of the Neverland Ranch scenes in that “Michael Jackson tells all” or whatever the interview last month was.
Actually Jacko’s central motivation seems to be a return to pre-adolescent innocence, whlie Kane’s was a desperate desire to be loved unconditionally as he was by his father (my analysis), but yeah, the similarities were a little startling.
Here’s a potential thesis statement: Citizen Kane definitively laid out the archetype of the Wealthy American Hermit, which we’ve seen in Michael Jackson, Howard Hughes, Hetty Green, and so many others.
Discuss.
“Mr. Landis, I’m ready for my close-up!!”
Actually, a close-up of Michael Jackson right now is one of the scariest things I can think of. Scarier by far than anything in Thriller.
I think threads about the King Of All Media Hype belong in Cafe Society.
Mom, is the hideous freak governor yet?
[hijack][nitpick]Davies was W.R. Hearst’s mistress. Susan Alexander was Kane’s wife. Davies was a well-like comedienne who stuck by Hearst, while Alexander was an undertalented opera singer who nagged Kane and eventually dumped him. Welles later said he regretted the fact that his film had been insulting to Davies.[/nitpick][/hijack]
Actually, I would go so far as to say that Michael also has the desire to be loved unconditionally- not so much by his father, but rather by an adoring public, just like he used to be. Like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, as someone else brought up, he wants to be loved by his fans, adored, worshipped, etc.
And he seems really torn between staying in the public and being reclusive. He has grown up in the public eye- I suppose it’s difficult for him to make a distinction between his private and public life.