A Rosebud by Any Other Name

Between theatrical showings over the past 67 years and personal screenings – through Videotape, DVD, Laserdisc, etc. – over the past 30 or so years, it’s safe to assume that Citizen Kane has been viewed by hundreds of millions of humans and played on more than a million occasions. With that enormous amount of distribution and repetition, it’s no stretch to credit that film with shaping the perceptions held by millions about the life and character of William Randolph Hearst, the obvious – even in 1941 – real-life model for the titular protagonist.

Anyone with even a passing familiarity of the reality-based life and times of Hearst, who some “credit” with starting a war to sell newspapers, will have little sympathy for the distortions Orson Welles’ cinematic depiction visited on Hearst’s legacy. There is, however, a genuine and sympathy-deserving victim connected to Citizen Kane. Each showing of the Hollywood classic and introduction to a new generation of film goers perpetuates a public misperception of Marion Davies, Hearst’s long-time mistress. The film depicts the Davies-based character as a no-talent, vacuous gold digger. In reality, Davies was one of early Hollywood’s more accomplished actresses and by most accounts the opposite in demeanor and personality of the character created by Mr. Welles. For millions of movie goers, however, it is the celluloid version of Davies that endures as her public persona.

Reality, especially in Hollywood, Washington or Madison Avenue, has an almost infinitesimal chance of surviving repetition. If you say something long enough and with any sort of conviction of feigned authority, people will believe it.

Though nowhere near as tragic or longstanding as the distortion of Marion Davies’ reputation, a similar assault is being perpetrated on the reality around the acceptance and adoption of the IMS architecture. Though there are several media outlets and pundits that have properly appraised the actual state of IMS adoption, many others have forwarded the idea that the framework for delivering conversational multimedia services is at risk of failing to attract significant attention or is even on the brink of rejection. The reality is exactly the opposite. IMS adoption is a done deal.