It relates to the theme of the lecture since the protagonist - Charles Foster Kane, is an obsessive collector. The extent of his collecting habits are only made fully apparent at the very end of the film where we see his life time possessions being burned; including his cherished childhood sledge - 'Rosebud'.
The film is in essence, the biography of Charles Foster Kane, told through the perspective of someone else - the reporter - who is trying to get to the bottom of the 'Rosebud' conundrum. What strikes me as significant is the fact that, the poignant moment in Kane's life was that in which he inherited his fortune. One would assume inheriting such a great fortune would bring about assurance and happiness, but on the contrary, the fortune leads to Kane's downfall. All of the possessions Kane has collected over the years are revealed at the end, and they act as materialistic clutter, which block out the one solitary possession of worth - the sledge, 'Rosebud'. It is a symbol of nostalgia, from a time where Kane was actually happy. The fact that at the end of the film 'Rosebud' is burnt, suggests that Kane never managed to regain that feeling of happiness which is both tragic yet cathartic. It destroys the artifact which provides the truth that the priers are trying to discover, thereby keeping Kane's cherished memory pure and honest.
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