What is the Rashomon Effect? Akira Kurosawa’s film hit upon a natural neurological phenomenon that goes well beyond cinema into our daily lives, how the effect works, and what storytellers can take away from it.

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Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction to The Rashomon Effect
01:00 - Definition & History
01:58 - Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon
03:28 - How It Works
06:20 - Examples & Takeaways
07:12 - Unreliable Narrator
10:21 - Alternative Plot Structure
11:55 - Fallibility of Memory
12:53 - Wrap Up

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THE RASHOMON EFFECT EXPLAINED

In 1950, legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa released Rashomon, a film that had a massive effect on filmmakers around the world. Beyond the superb acting and direction, it became significant for another reason entirely separate from filmmaking — what would later be known as the Rashomon effect. You may have heard the term before but what is the Rashomon effect? In this video, we’ll explore the origins of the term, how it works, and the various techniques storytellers can use to approximate it in their work.

WHAT IS THE RASHOMON EFFECT

The Rashomon effect is when you have “significantly different perspectives on interpretations of the same dramatic event by different eyewitnesses.” In other words, if a group of people witnesses a car accident, they will have slightly different explanations as to what happened. But how does this occur? There are two main reasons for this neurological phenomenon — our natural, implicit biases, and an imperfect memory system. Everything we experience and learn shapes how we see the world. Since no two people live the same exact life, no two people view the world in the same exact way. On top of that, the way our brain forms and recalls memories is constantly changing. And every time you remember something, you’re not actually accessing the original memory, only the most recent version of the memory.

In Kurosawa’s film, a samurai and his wife are attacked by a bandit while traveling through a forest. During the encounter, the wife is assaulted, and the samurai is dead. But rather than present a single “neutral” account of what happened, we get four different versions, one from each participant and a woodcutter who claims to have seen the whole thing. The film doesn’t reveal which of these versions is correct. And so we are left with versions of the truth but without a definitive answer.

The film so perfectly encapsulates this phenomenon that it became its namesake.

HOW STORYTELLERS CAN MANIPULATE THE TRUTH

The impact that the Rashomon effect has had on storytelling and filmmaking has allowed these narratives to also play with these concepts like subjective truth. Some films have taken direct inspiration from Rashomon, while others have found new ways to approximate the Rashomon effect. One such technique is the unreliable narrator who, whether consciously or unconsciously, feeds the audience false information. The other effective tool is a non-linear plot that allows the story to be presented in a different order that guides, misleads, and subverts our understanding of the truth. The manipulation of memory itself has been a ubiquitous topic in plots across multiple genres.

As we grasp what the Rashomon effect means in our daily lives, storytellers can help us navigate our understanding of the truth.


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♬ SONGS USED:

"Rashomon (Suite)" - Fumio Hayasaka
"Assembly Line Dreams" - Ostin Drais
"No Link (Instrumental)" - Sam Barsh
"Binary Love" - Stanley Gurvich
"A Moon Walk (Instrumental Version)" - Yehezkel Raz
"Clear Escape" - Harbor Fate
"The Duel" - Harry Gregson-Williams
"To Burn" - Man With Roses
"What Have We Done to Each Other" - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
"Technically, Missing" - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
"First Night, First Day" - Mychael Danna
"The Cave" - John Williams
"Who Are You" - John Williams
"Yes I Am (Instrumental Version)" - Zach Sorgen
"Little Green Bag" - George Baker Selection
"Memento (Main Theme)" - David Julyan
"Imagination (Instrumental)" - Falls

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