I thought the whole point of Citizen Kane was that the meaning of
"Rosebud" has absolutely nothing to do with the movie. It could have
been anything and the movie would have been exactly the same. But
maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about.
"It seems to me that we can write a perfectly good encyclopedia while
still respecting the both the artist's intent and the experience of
readers." Frankly, I disagree. If you want to experience a movie the
way the author intended it to be experienced for the first time,
*don't read an article on the story beforehand*. To write a
"perfectly good encyclopedia" article about Citizen Kane, or even
about the movie's impact on society, without first making sure the
reader knows the ending, is ridiculous. The only spoiler warning I'd
support when it comes to something like Citizen Kane is one at or near
the top of the article which says something to the effect of "IF YOU
DON'T WANT TO READ SPOILERS ABOUT A MOVIE, DON'T READ WIKIPEDIA
ARTICLES ABOUT THAT MOVIE".
Anthony