Topic: The Rashomon Effect impact on the film

industry

TABLE OF CONTENTS
NO. CONTENT
1 Definition
2 History
3 The causes of Rashomon
4 Application in Film Industry
5 Conclusion

1. Definition
The Rashomon effect refers to an instance when a lot of people provide
different perspectives and points of view of the same incident. (Wikipedia)

The Rashomon Effect demonstrates the diversity and relativity of truth.

There is no "absolute truth", only the relative perspectives of the participant
or witness. It is a war of perception because “we all only see what we want
to see”.

2. History
The term, derived from the 1950 Japanese film Rashomon, is used to
describe the phenomenon of the unreliability of eyewitnesses. (Wikipedia)
The film is about the case of a murdered samurai and the testimony of 4
witnesses, who each recounts a different reality. As each person is equally
believable, thus it is undermining the most elemental trust in the truth.

3.Why does this happen?

3.1. The influence of culture and society

Despite the same situation, each person's perspective and way of reacting
to unexpected events is different. The reason is that the way we "see"
problems is influenced by many factors such as personality, living
environment, and socio-cultural conditions. Therefore, we will have a
certain subjective view when evaluating an object or event, while not clearly
understanding its nature.
3.2. Egocentric bias
According to Psychologists Michael Ross and Fiore Sicoly, the tendency for
us to value our own opinions over reality.

It is formed from personal experiences and the need to satisfy our ego,
thus greatly influencing the process of forming memories about a past
event.

In other words, in the process of recalling an event, consciously or

unconsciously, we tend to retell it in a direction that is beneficial to us.
Although the change is small, it has a huge impact on the nature of the
event.
 4. Application in Film Industry
The Rashomon effect is applied by many writers and screenwriters in plot
construction through 3 elements.

4.1. Conflict
Conflict in a story drives a plot forward, reveals character, and attracts
audiences. The Rashomon Effect is based on contradicting reports of the
same event. The search for the truth through these reports can be a driving
force of conflict for a story due to opposing perspectives of different
characters.

This Rashomon style of storytelling for conflict can be found in Reservoir

Dogs, one of Quentin Tarantino’s best films. After a failed robbery, a group
of thieves attack each other, suspecting that a mole in the group has
prevented the operation from going smoothly. But everyone's description of
how the robbery failed is different. This creates a conflict of characters in
the story, which, in Quentin's style, can cause fatal consequences.
4.2. Unreliable narrator
Nowadays, the use of unreliable narrators to tell a story may be common,
but in 1950, films were presented from a more objective point of view,
allowing the audiences to see what the screenwriter intended and see the
characters as they were.

Unreliable narrators in Rashomon do not tell the audiences how to feel or

what to believe. The audience had to decide that for themself. This is what
made Rashomon so engaging.

The Rashomon Effect that utilizes the unreliable narrator can be found in
the 2014 film Gone Girl. The film uses an unreliable narrator to make the
hero become the prime suspect in his wife's disappearance.

As he becomes more unreliable throughout the story, the audiences

become more committed to finding the truth.
4.3. Ambiguous Endings
The open ending for fictional "multi-dimensional" stories requires audiences
to reflect and learn from the film's experience in their own way. This is
different from films that are told from one perspective, giving one main
message throughout.

Movies have successfully applied the Rashomon effect:

Legal Hero (2001)

Elephant (2003)
Gone Girl (2014)
Vantage Point (2008)
The Usual Suspects(1995)

5.How can we “keep a cool head” ?

Simply put, the Rashomon effect gives people a clear and honest view of
the “objective truth”. Actually, individuals always mention real events, but
the surrounding details are distorted in a way that is beneficial to each
person. That is human nature because memories and perspectives are
always influenced by many factors.

In such events, we should take the time to understand it generally and

reflect on our own experiences.

Before reaching an accurate and comprehensive conclusion, we need to

slow down when facing things, taking time to understand the story from
many angles instead of overemphasizing subjective views to avoid being
"led" by any information flow.