rashomon

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Recommended: cultural analysis of film

There is a game played by children throughout America called telephone. The game is simple really, one person says a phrase and repeats it to the person next to me. The phrase passes through the circle through whispers. The goal is the original phrase stands the short length of time to the end of the circle. But there always seems to be a problem which results in the phrase being changed. Once changed that new phrase gets passed on instead of the original. By the end the result is always the same the end phrase is very different. This same idea is seen throughout history. Not that it is whispered by children to one another but throughout time new details replace old ones or variations appear. The classic 1950 film Rashomon is a strong example on how truth is different for each person experiencing an event. Throughout the movie we hear each participants side of the story involved in the murder of a samurai in the woods of Japan. With four different views, no story seems to line up to show what really happened in the woods on that day. Rashomon lets the audience see that historical truth is varying depending on the person and what they wish to get out it.
The film opens on medieval Japan where a woodcutter,commoner and a priest gather during the middle of a torrential rain. Seeking shelter in a a run down temple, the men begin to discuss what is going on in the town specifically the murder of a man which a trial of sorts is happening. They try to figure out which telling is truth and who killed the samurai. The use of the rain symbolizes that the truth is beginning to be looked for and that the pure water will wash away the unwanted detail. A sort of clearing to find the truth. With the actual Rashomon gate in the background it...

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...honorable even in death only forced to that point due to other actions. With a fourth perspective discovered when the woodcutter was a witness to the events in the woods. But now he is seen untrustworthy by the others since he lied in the beginning. He explains that the reason he kept the truth from the others is because he wished to not be involved. Probably worried that if involved it might make things worse for his large family in these otherwise rough conditions. He does make up for it in a way by adopting the baby the men discover in the temple. Restoring hope in mankind, the film does end on a lighter note. The rain clears signifies that maybe truth has been found since the woodcutter takes in the child with no reward in return. Peace and calm come over the land because there are those still out there to help combat those who look to tip fortune in their favor.

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