# Rosebud was Citizen Kane's ... ARRRGGGHH!!! \[spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2001, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939 "2001-05-19T21:44:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/41 "2011-12-11T22:35:05Z")
Avoidance of spoiler story: I’m in a high school class that was called “Utopia” where we were reading books about utopias and (mostly) dystopias. The book that we were working on was “Brave New World,” which I had read before but was reading again. During class, the teacher called out K in the back as to why he wasn’t reading anything. He said that he had finished the book. She asked how it ended. He said that the Indian (or was it Savage) had on steel toe boots and was acting like a compass. Me, the teacher, and I think one other person laughed out loud. No one else had a clue what that was all about. At the end, the Indian (Savage) hangs himself, and the last paragraph is: Slowly, very slowly, like two unhurried compass needles, the feet turned towards the right; north, north-east, east, south-east, south, south-south-west; then paused, and, after a few seconds, turned as unhurriedly back towards the left. South-south-west, south, south-east, east. … ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/42 "2011-12-11T22:35:52Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > This is actually the subject of the worst spoiler I’ve ever seen. When the lame Tim Burton Planet of the Apes movie came out, they re-released a new version of the original film on DVD. The cover-art on the DVD case had a big picture of the destroyed statue of liberty. They spoiled the end of the movie _on the DVD case_! They mind as well put the Skywalker family tree on the cover of Episode IV. I had Return of the Jedi spoiled for me as soon it was released to theaters in 1983. I was listening to the news on the radio, and they revealed the whole relationship between Vader and Luke and Leia. It was telegraphed in the Empire Strikes Back, but still…to reveal it before the majority of theater-goers even had a chance to see it has to be the height of ruination. ---
**Author:** ![alfonzos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alfonzos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alfonzos)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/43 "2011-12-11T23:25:13Z")
It wasn’t a movie that was spoiled for me, but a television series. I remember reading in a newspaper, the twist capper to the series “Newhart.” That spoiled the show for me totally. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/44 "2011-12-12T02:58:06Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > **simplicio** , the DVD box for _Hancock_ also spoils the movie. How so? Joe ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/45 "2011-12-12T03:11:51Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > How so? > > Joe [This one, i guess? It may hint that Charlize Theron is super-powered. I don’t think it is that much of a spoiler-hint, though.](http://www.amazon.com/Hancock-Unrated-Special-Blu-ray-Smith/dp/B001F76PDS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1323659465&sr=8-3) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/46 "2011-12-12T04:30:29Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > [This one, i guess? It may hint that Charlize Theron is super-powered. I don’t think it is that much of a spoiler-hint, though.](http://www.amazon.com/Hancock-Unrated-Special-Blu-ray-Smith/dp/B001F76PDS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1323659465&sr=8-3) It wasn’t a spoiler right off the bat, but when she first appeared in the movie, she was the mild-mannered ladylike wife of Jason Bateman or Nathan Fillion or whoever played her husband. That image was too different from the image on the box, so you knew something was up, even though you didn’t know the details. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/47 "2011-12-12T04:34:58Z")
In one of his stories, Spider Robinson asked a question that I haven’t seen an answer to. Perhaps someone in here knows the answer. Kane dies alone. There’s no one near him, right? So how did anyone know his last word was “Rosebud”? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/48 "2011-12-12T04:43:56Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > In one of his stories, Spider Robinson asked a question that I haven’t seen an answer to. Perhaps someone in here knows the answer. > > Kane dies alone. There’s no one near him, right? So how did anyone know his last word was “Rosebud”? A wizard did it. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/49 "2011-12-12T09:41:49Z")
And it doesn’t make much difference if anyone in the story found out what “Rosebud” meant. Nothing hinges on it, like if Kane had an heir who will lose out on an inheritance if s/he doesn’t figure it out. In fact, there’s no indication that it was even a proper name. He could have been saying he wanted rosebuds on his coffin. If anyone had been there to hear him. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/50 "2011-12-12T17:02:28Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > In one of his stories, Spider Robinson asked a question that I haven’t seen an answer to. Perhaps someone in here knows the answer. > > Kane dies alone. There’s no one near him, right? So how did anyone know his last word was “Rosebud”? What I want to know is how it became public knowledge that Rosebud is what Hearst called his sweetie’s hoo-hah. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/51 "2011-12-12T17:21:58Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > In one of his stories, Spider Robinson asked a question that I haven’t seen an answer to. Perhaps someone in here knows the answer. > > Kane dies alone. There’s no one near him, right? So how did anyone know his last word was “Rosebud”? I assumed the camera guy told them. Or they just read the script. 🙂 Although I’ve seen the movie, I can’t remember the details of that scene very clearly–is Kane unquestionably alone, or do we just not see anybody else in them room? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/52 "2011-12-12T18:08:11Z")
The opening scene is on YouTube. There’s a closeup of Kane’s mouth, he says “Rosebud”, the snow globe falls and breaks, and a nurse opens the door to his room. No way to know if she came in because she heard him or because she heard the globe breaking. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/53 "2011-12-12T18:22:35Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > In one of his stories, Spider Robinson asked a question that I haven’t seen an answer to. Perhaps someone in here knows the answer. > > Kane dies alone. There’s no one near him, right? So how did anyone know his last word was “Rosebud”? This is answered (badly, IMHO) in the course of the movie, they mention that the nurse was there and heard it. Which seems contradicted by the montage where she seems to come into the room after he said it. But whatever. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/54 "2011-12-13T07:42:55Z")
In the 1970s I worked as a projectionist. Several-times-daily viewings of the trailer for the movie _The Eyes of Laura Mars_ had inspired me to make a guess as to who the murderer was. I went to see it, and told my date–and when I turned out to be right, she was enormously upset with me! ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/55 "2011-12-13T14:11:25Z")
Not really a deliberate spoiler, but I remember seeing Saving Private Ryan when it first came out. Now to be sure, I wasn’t expecting Abbott and Costello, but when I saw the faces of the audience coming out as I was queueing to go in, it was pretty obvious that things weren’t going to end well for Tom. Still, the first 20 minutes were worth it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/56 "2011-12-13T14:47:18Z")
I always waited for the paperback Harry Potters. I went out of my way to avoid reading anything about the Deathly Hollows to avoid spoilers. Then some jerk posted a viral video revealing the twist at the end. Grrrr :mad::mad: ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/57 "2011-12-13T14:54:31Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > In the 1970s I worked as a projectionist. Several-times-daily viewings of the trailer for the movie _The Eyes of Laura Mars_ had inspired me to make a guess as to who the murderer was. I went to see it, and told my date–and when I turned out to be right, she was enormously upset with me! Clarification requested. You ran the trailer but the movie didn’t play at the theater where you worked running the trailer? ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939/58 "2011-12-13T21:14:08Z")
My cousin was at a theater watching Troy. When they roll the big horse up to the gate, the girl sitting next to him (they weren’t together) leaned over to her friend and whispered, “I bet there’s people inside.” He had to get up and leave the theater because he couldn’t stop laughing. Then, when he was telling us this story, my sister in law didn’t get what was so funny. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rosebud-was-citizen-kanes-arrrggghh-spoilers/65939.md?page=2)