Degrees of Truthiness, Essay Example

In the film, how many versions of the story are there? Which character’s version do you believe? Why?

“The stories that the Woodcutter, the Bandit (his story is embedded within the Woodcutter’s first story) the Wife and the Husband tell are mutually exclusive versions of the event. They are not simply versions of the same event told from different points of view–they contradict each other in basic facts. Their stories are not simply four interpretations, but rather more life four lies about what actually happened. Each of the four stories is clearly told to present the teller in the best light” (The Framestory: The Debate at the Gate, n.d.). Thus, there were four versions of the story. The woodcutter’s story is most believable the second time because he already knows what the other characters think and is the only one that has a chance to tell the truth without being judged.

This film made a storytelling technique called the “Rashomon Effect” famous. What is the “Rashomon effect”?

“The term Rashomon effect refers to real-world situations in which multiple eye-witness testimonies of an event contain conflicting information” (Stepper, 2015). The Rashomon effect occurs when people tell stories that contain information that directly contrast the information that other individuals present. It reflects a self-interest in story-telling.

What was the main theme of the film?

“The film addressed themes of loss of humanity, faith, and gender relationships; we began with the basic question of why the characters in Rashomon told the stories and lies that they told, and why people tell stories and lies in general” (Freeman, 2011). Therefore, the theme of the story is that narration is generally unreliable. My opinion is that we cannot trust any of the characters because no one can provide a story that is reliable because they all use opinions in their speaking. We cannot trust whatever we hear.

Name a contemporary film that used a similar storytelling technique

“Cronica de una Muerte Anunciada” (Chronicle of a Death Foretold) is based on the novel of the same name by Gabriel Garcia Marquez… Right away we are told that Santiago Nasar has been murdered and we already know who the killers are. What we are not completely sure is how and why. And what is not understood is how it was possible for this to happen in the center of the plaza, in front of the whole town” (GGA, 2000). Throughout the story, various villagers are interviewed about how Santiago Nasar was murdered, and each individual has a different story to tell. Some of these stories were contradictory.

What the best scene for you – 2-3 sentences.

The best scene was when the woodcutter provided a second explanation of what happened. Since his opinion was contradictory to the first story, it showed that we can’t really trust the opinions of those being interviewed.

References

Freeman, N. (2011). Degrees of Truthiness. Retrieved September 27, from http://yalevisuallawproject.org/2011/01/11/rashomon/

GGA. (2000). Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Retrieved September 27, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092800/reviews

Stepper, J. (2015). The Rashomon Effect and the movie in your head. Retrieved September 27, 2015 from http://johnstepper.com/2015/03/28/the-rashomon-effect-and-the-movie-in-your-head/

The Framestory: The Debate at the Gate. (n.d). Retrieved September 27, 2015 from http://hartzog.org/j/rashomonframestory.html