Through the Lens of Uncertainty: Exploring Rashomon Effect in Cinema
Abstract
The “Rashomon Effect”, named after Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film “Rashomon”, explores the subjectivity of truth and the role of unreliability of memory in storytelling. This assignment examines its use in the movies like “Gone Girl” and “Vantage Point”, highlighting how conflicting perspectives challenge linear narratives, enrich complexity, and provoke reflection on the nature of truth.
Introduction
As we all know, this is the era of OTT platforms. In ancient times, there were play performances, then radio, followed by cinema. Now, we are living in the era of OTT. We have become habituated to watching movies and web series on the smaller screens of mobile devices. Literature is closely connected with such movies and series because many movies today are adaptations of plays or long novels. This has paved the way for the necessity of Film Studies in literature. Currently, we are studying various film theories and techniques used by directors to engage the audience more actively. Filmmakers introduce many new ways to engage the audience.
Rashomon Effect
In simple terms, the Rashomon Effect is a storytelling method where multiple witnesses describe the same event from their own perspectives, resulting in different versions of the story. Directors use this technique in films to show various viewpoints of the same event. This approach makes a movie more intriguing, ambiguous, and complex. A common example of this effect is whether a written number is seen as six or nine. Both perspectives are correct depending on the viewpoint.
The term "Rashomon" originates from the Japanese movie of the same name, "Rashomon," which was released in 1950 and directed by Akira Kurosawa. This movie explores the theme of crime. To understand this effect clearly, one should know about the plot of the movie.
The movie opens with three men, a monk, a woodcutter, and a common man discussing a crime witnessed by the woodcutter in the mountains. The woodcutter found the body of a Samurai deep in the mountains. A bandit was charged with killing the Samurai and assaulting the Samurai’s wife. During the trial, the woodcutter, the priest, the Samurai’s wife, the bandit, and even the ghost of the Samurai gave their testimonies. However, each person told a different and conflicting story. The film ends without clearly revealing what really happened.
“Each account is presented as a truth at a trial...so that the apparent truthfulness of the visual image supports each testimony in turn” (Heider)
The term refers to the presence of contradictory truths arousing from subjective perspectives, as famously depicted in the movie “Rashomon”. The movie presents four conflicting accounts of the same event. A sexual encounter and a death, each narrated by individuals with self-serving motives and perspective. The Rashomon Effect challenges the conventional notion of a single objective truth, and makes emphasis on the role of personal prejudices and perspective in shaping narratives.
Significance of the Rashomon Effect
Rashomon has become more than just a movie. It has influenced how people think about truth and memory. The term "Rashomon Effect" is often used in legal settings when witnesses give conflicting accounts. Kurosawa, who made Rashomon, became a major figure in cinema because of this film and his later works. His films were not just entertaining, they also had deep artistic ideas and careful design.
Rashomon aimed to revive the magic of silent films, with its impressive cinematography and editing. One standout scene features a moving camera tracking a woodcutter in the forest before he discovers evidence of a crime. Kurosawa's meticulous design and moral perspective as an artist make him a remarkable filmmaker. After WWII, he sought to offer hope through his films, portraying a struggle with human nature’s darker aspects. The film presents conflicting accounts of a crime, questioning truth and trust. Despite the darkness, Kurosawa ends with a simple, hopeful note, making Rashomon a classic with its innovative narrative and style. (Kurosawa and Bettman)
Non Linear Structure and Unreliable Narrator
Kurosawa's use of a fragmented, nonlinear structure where the same event is recounted from multiple perspectives confuse viewers and forces them to confront the complexity of subjective truths.
“Kurosawa gives us four versions of the same series of events... each retelling markedly different from the others”(Heider).
This challenges the traditional expectation of a singular, cohesive truth in storytelling, immersing viewers in a realm of conflicting interpretations.
“The ego, duplicity, and vanity of the characters make a hell out of the world and make truth a difficult thing to find”
An unreliable narrator is a storyteller who cannot be trusted to present the complete truth or an accurate account of events. Their credibility might be compromised due to personal bias, a hidden agenda, lack of knowledge, or even psychological instability. This technique is used to create mystery, tension, or ambiguity, leaving the audience to piece together the truth on their own.
Unreliable narrators are those whose accounts are subjective, self motivated and biased. The employment of this technique undermines the audience's trust in the narrators, creating a sense of ambiguity and perplexity. The shifting perspectives in the movie reveal the characters' ego and duplicity, making truth elusive
Visual Techniques
Kurosawa’s visual style enriches the narrative ambiguity. Through the brilliance of cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa, the movie features techniques like shooting directly into the sun, creating lens flares, and using moving camera shots to evoke the chaos and subjectivity of perception. The forest becomes a metaphor for human desire and karma, reflecting the entanglement of truth in subjective experience. These visual elements transport viewers into “a world where the human heart loses its way”
Moreover, each character's testimony is depicted in vivid flashbacks, which are visually and emotionally compelling yet contrasting. This technique manipulates and subverts the time and narrative reliability, challenging the linear progression of the story. As the narrative moves back and forth through these conflicting flashbacks, the audience is left to put together their understanding of the events.
Psychological Effects of the Rashomon Effect
Subjective perception and truth is shaped by individual memory, biases, and interpretations, and this plays a crucial role in human understanding and forming memory. The “Rashomon Effect” offers a critical framework to look at these complexities. The movie demonstrates how different characters provide conflicting yet self motivating accounts of the same event. Heider in his article explains how memory and interpretation are inherently subjective, influenced by individual experiences and self-perception.
Kurosawa's “Rashomon” mirrors the ambiguity by refusing to offer a definitive truth, leaving viewers to grapple with the multiplicity of realities presented. This challenges audiences to question their own interpretive biases and the reliability of memory as a source of truth.
The juncture of memory, bias, and interpretation underpins the psychological dimensions of subjective perception. Cinematic examples demonstrate how individual perspectives, shaped by cultural and temporal contexts, lead to divergent narratives. This thing highlights the necessity of acknowledging subjectivity, whether in anthropological research or artistic representations. By embracing the uncertainty inherent in subjective experiences, both fields open avenues for deeper and nuanced understanding and critical reflection. This approach enriches our grasp of human cognition and the complex interplay of memory, bias, and interpretation in shaping our perception of reality.
“Gone Girl” Movie
The “Rashomon Effect” is the central theme in “Gone Girl”, where multiple narratives and unreliable perspectives create a web of uncertainty around the truth. The film is directed by David Fincher, masterfully uses conflicting accounts, particularly through the character of Amy Dunne, whose fabricated diary entries and manipulative actions cast doubt on the reality of events. This is similar to the “Rashomon Effect”'s hallmark, the subjectivity of truth and the unreliability of memory.
Amy’s version of her marriage paints her husband Nick as neglectful and abusive, framing him as her potential killer. However, as the story unfolds, the audience learns Amy has orchestrated her disappearance and falsified evidence. While Amy’s deceit is revealed, the film does not fully absolve Nick, who is shown to be temperamental and unfaithful. This duality reflects the complexity of human relationships, where no single narrative is wholly reliable or complete.
Similar to Kurosawa’s “Rashomon”, the truth in “Gone Girl” is fragmented and subjective, leaving viewers to contemplate their own understanding of the characters and their motivations. The brilliance of the film lies in its acknowledgment of this ambiguity, illustrating that, in relationships and human interactions, "there is no one truth. There are only stories." This uncertainty keeps the audience engaged, reflecting the deep psychological complexity of memory, perception, and storytelling.
Vantage Point
In “Vantage Point” this effect is used to explore the subjectivity of perception by presenting the same event like the attempted assassination of the U.S. president from multiple viewpoints. Each of theview introduces partial or contradictory details, creating suspense and questioning the reliability of individual accounts. For example, Howard Lewis is initially seen as suspicious, but his innocence is revealed through his own perspective, showing how bias shapes perception.
This fragmented storytelling keeps the audience engaged, as crucial details are withheld and gradually revealed, especially through Agent Taylor's perspective, which adds to the mystery. By the climax, the perspectives converge, offering a fuller understanding of the event, though some questions remain unresolved. The technique emphasizes the relativity of truth, reflecting how personal biases and experiences complicate the search for an objective reality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the “Rashomon Effect” in cinema promotes the subjective nature of truth by presenting conflicting perspectives on the same event. This movie technique challenges the audience to question the reliability of each viewpoint and consider how biases shape reality, adding complexity to storytelling and exploring themes of truth, memory, and identity.
Wordcount: 1598
Images used: 4
Video: 2
References
DeGuzman, Kyle. “What is The Rashomon Effect in Film? Definition & Examples Explained.” StudioBinder, 11 September 2022, https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-the-rashomon-effect-definition/. Accessed 16 November 2024.
Eby, Margaret. “The Affair, Gone Girl, and the Art of Rashomon-ing.” 13 October 2014, https://www.bkmag.com/2014/10/13/the-affair-gone-girl-and-the-art-of-rashomon-ing/. Accessed 16 November 2024.
Heider, Karl G. “The Rashomon Effect: When Ethnographers Disagree.” American Anthropologist, vol. 90, no. 1, 1988, pp. 73–81. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/678455. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Kern, Adam L. The Journal of Japanese Studies, vol. 44, no. 1, 2018, pp. 142–47. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26448254. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Kurosawa, Akira, and Gil Bettman. “What is the Rashomon Effect? – Definition and Examples.” Indie Film Hustle, 16 August 2021, https://indiefilmhustle.com/rashomon-effect/. Accessed 16 November 2024.
Ossman, Chad. “The Rashomon effect in Pete Travis' Vantage Point – Thinking Out Loud.” Chad Ossman, 6 July 2008, https://chadossman.com/blog/vantage-point/. Accessed 16 November 2024.
Prince, Stephen. “The Rashomon Effect.” https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/195-the-rashomon-effect?srsltid=AfmBOoraQU8WBooavgnBOgh-5h3V7QnpDVKuokyNEwJjN07joYUPUv8L. Accessed 16 November 2024.
Here is the complete movie if you'd like to watch it,
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