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Literature & Language
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English (U.S.)
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Reflection of Movie Rashomon. Literature & Language Essay

Essay Instructions:

Rashomon (羅生門 Rashōmon) is a 1950 Japanese period psychological thriller film directed by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. It stars Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura. While the film borrows the title from Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's short story "Rashōmon", it is actually based on Akutagawa's short story "In a Grove", which provides the characters and plot.
Several Themes that you can discuss in your reflective essay
I list some themes here help you to understand this movie. Feel free to add more.
1.Rape and cultural stories.

According to the stories of the rape case in the movie, how did different people (the bandit, the wife, the samurai, and the woodcutter) understand rape? Pay attention to the woman’s (the victim) reaction. Why would they give different interpretations? What different motives did the different story-tellers have? How does this movie challenge your understanding of rape in different cultures (European and American cultures, for instance, Zeus in ancient Greek mythology)?
2.Truth. Is there any “objectivity” in this movie? How do you understand “truth” in history? Compare and contrast the Rashomon movie with the poem “the Blind men and the Elephant” by JG Saxe

https://www(dot)extension(dot)iastate(dot)edu/4h/files/page/files/The%20Blind%20Men%20and%20the%20Elephant.pdf
3.Honor and Pride. Discuss the samurai’s death and his understanding of “Honor.” In what ways do the priest and the bandit represent morally/emotional incomplete personalities?
4.Morality and Ethics. Although the woodcutter is fallible and flawed – just like the other characters – does the woodcutter present a way out of the moral predicament without having solved the problem of truth? Discuss different characters’ social status in Japanese society.
5.Discuss symbols in this movie.

The Gate: Why did the director name this movie “Rashomon”? Why gate?
The Baby, at the end of the movie.
The Rain? The Sun? The Forest?
6.Discuss the historical background when Kurosawa was directing this movie – Japan after the World War 2. You probably want to save this question till our discussion on the post-World War 2.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Reflection of Movie Rashomon
Name
Institution
Reflection of Movie Rashomon
Introduction
In one of the major works of Kurosawa, Rashomon is a Japanese film that involves a story of a couple that allegedly suffered from rape and atrocities from a bandit in the middle of a thicket. Furthermore, the film, through storytellers, elaborates how the events after the alleged rape of Machiko Kyo brought the unprecedented death through the murder of her husband, Masayuki Mori. The film develops through the narration done by a woodcutter who allegedly witnessed the events as they unfolded in the forest.
How Different People Understood and Reacted To Rape
When the rape of Samurai’s wife took place in the forest, various people in the movie who acted as witnesses gave different accounts during court proceedings. The bandit named Tajomaru was in the heart of the case gave his version, which the woodcutter, Takashi Shimura, claims to be false. Narrating what happened earlier in the forest to the police, the bandit asserted that there was no rape. Instead, he seduced the woman until she embraced him in giving assent to the act. The bandit adds that being pleased with the action between him and samurai's wife, she suggested to the bandit to kill the husband so that she remains a woman to only one man. The bandit brands himself as an honorable person who won the battle to remain the only man for samurai’s wife after successfully murdering the samurai.
In reacting to the rape, the wife reiterated that the events happened so fast with shocking revelations to her. She begged to be killed by her husband after being raped because she felt shameful of being a woman belonging to two men. She insisted that the demeanor was unbearable and unforgivable. It is also obvious that the woman feels deeply embarrassed and even collapses with a dagger in her hand at the thought of the demeaning occurrence. The wife’s reactions further come with shock as the wife to the samurai accepts to vanish with the bandit if he successfully murders her husband.
Moreover, the woodcutter also reacted to the rape case. He claims to be the only eyewitness who was present at the scene. Surprisingly, the woodcutter discounts all the versions given by the wife of a samurai and that of the bandit. So ...
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