Rashomon effect
Encyclopedia
The Rashomon effect is the effect of the subjectivity
Subjectivity
Subjectivity refers to the subject and his or her perspective, feelings, beliefs, and desires. In philosophy, the term is usually contrasted with objectivity.-Qualia:...

 of perception
Perception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...

 on recollection
Recall (memory)
Recall in memory refers to the retrieval of events or information from the past. Along with encoding and storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: free recall, cued recall and serial recall...

, by which observers of an event are able to produce substantially different but equally plausible accounts of it. A useful demonstration of this principle in scientific understanding can be found in an article by that name authored by Karl G. Heider
Karl G. Heider
Karl Heider is an American visual anthropologist.-Early life and education:Heider was born in Northampton, Massachusetts. Heider is the son of psychologists Fritz and Grace Heider. He had two brothers; John and Stephan....

.

It is named for Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...

's film Rashomon
Rashomon (film)
The bandit's storyTajōmaru, a notorious brigand , claims that he tricked the samurai to step off the mountain trail with him and look at a cache of ancient swords he discovered. In the grove he tied the samurai to a tree, then brought the woman there. She initially tried to defend herself with a...

, in which a crime witnessed by four individuals is described in four mutually contradictory ways. The film is based on two short stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Ryunosuke Akutagawa
was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story". He committed suicide at age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.-Early life:...

, "Rashōmon
Rashomon (short story)
is a short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa based on tales from the Konjaku Monogatarishū.The story was first published in 1915 in Teikoku Bungaku. Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon , takes only its name and some of the material for the frame scenes, such as the theft of a kimono and the discussion of the...

" (for the setting) and "Yabu no naka", otherwise known as "In a Grove
In a Grove
is a short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, first appearing in the January 1922 edition of the Japanese literature monthly Shinchō. Akira Kurosawa used this story as the basis for his award-winning movie Rashōmon....

" (for the story line).

Use in Movies

Film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

Comments
Andha Naal
Andha Naal
Andha Naal is a 1954 Tamil crime mystery film directed by Veenai S. Balachander. It is arguably the first film-noir in Tamil cinema and is the first Tamil film to be made without songs. The film was inspired by the 1950 Akira Kurosawa film Rashômon...

The Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 film was inspired by the 1950 Akira Kurosawa film Rashômon. However, in contrast to Rashômon, the film's climax provides a solution to the murder using an Indian proverb as a vital clue
Ghost Dog Louie and Ghost Dog have different accounts of the circumstances of their meeting, and the book Rashomon is featured in the film.
The Woman in Question
The Woman in Question
The Woman in Question is 1950 British mystery film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Jean Kent, Dirk Bogarde and John McCallum...

Five people give different accounts of some of the same incidents before a murder. Though a perfect Rashomon Effect is not achieved, the film tries to depict how the narration by one person can entirely window-dress facts, revealed only by another's narration.

Use in popular culture

TV Show
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

Episode Comments
All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...

"Everybody Tells the Truth" Archie Bunker
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...

 and Mike Stivic give conflicting accounts of an incident involving a refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...

 repairman and a black apprentice repairman.
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...

"Every Chipmunk Tells a Story" Alvin, Simon and Theodore each give similar but different accounts as to how David Seville's piano got destroyed and filled with pudding.
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...

"P.O.V." A botched police operation results in the suspension of those involved: Officer Wilkes, Officer Montoya and Detective Harvey Bullock. Confronted by their superiors, each of them is forced to tell their tale of what happened that night.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...

"Rashomama" The episode required the CSIs, deprived of any of the usual forensic evidence, to rely on the eye witness accounts of guests at a wedding to solve the case.
Drake and Josh "Foam Finger" Drake and Josh are in a big fight over a foam finger that they both wanted when they were both 8 years old. Drake thinks that Josh started the fight and vice versa, each of their flashbacks with different circumstances.
Ed, Edd n Eddy
Ed, Edd n Eddy
Ed, Edd n Eddy is an original animated television series created by Danny Antonucci and produced by Canadian-based a.k.a. Cartoon. It premiered on Cartoon Network on January 4, 1999. Ed, Edd n Eddy was one of Cartoon Network's longest running and most successful franchises and the longest-running...

"Once Upon an Ed" Jonny and Plank are ready for bed, but then find out that the Eds are somehow trapped in Jonny's wall. The Eds have three different stories to tell, none of which agree.
Fame
Fame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...

Under a theater marquee, two characters huddle to wait out a rainstorm. Only after the entire story has unfolded in flashback does the camera pan back enough to disclose that the theater marquee announces "A Kurosawa Festival".
Farscape
Farscape
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...

"The Ugly Truth" After Plokavian ship is destroyed by Talyn with Crichton, Aeryn, D'Argo, Zhaan, and Stark on board, they are put on trial by the Placavians. During their testimony, the story of their meeting with Talyn and Crais is told from a number of perspectives.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...

"Will Goes a Courtin" When Will defies his uncle's orders by having his friends over by the pool after he refuses to pay his rent to Philip unless Philip repairs the air conditioner in Will's guest house, Phil sues the two stubborn men plead their cases in court before Judge Reynolds. Uncle Phil, and Will and Carlton respectively, paint very different pictures before the judge.
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...

"I Saw What I Saw" A patient dies because of a mistake and Chief Webber interviews Owen, Cristina, Bailey, Alex, Lexie, Jackson, Reed and April and recounts what transpired that night to determine who made the mistake.
Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....

"Fonzie Gets Shot" Fonzie is shot on a weekend camping lodge trip with Potsie, Chachi, and Roger. At the hospital, they all offer different versions of how he was shot, each of which is changed to make the speaker look better.
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...


Due to the whole sitcom's concept being that Ted Mosby is recounting his own younger life to his children, there are many examples of differing perspectives between characters when Future Ted is narrating what he has since heard other character's perspectives were of an event.
"Oh, Honey" While main character Ted's best friend Marshall is staying with family in Minnesota, the other characters in New York (where the show is set) phone him and recount when they first meet 'Honey', an airhead cousin of recurring character Zoey. In various recountings of the tale, Marshall learns: Honey is into Ted but rejected when he realises he is in love with Zoey, who is married; Honey is into Ted's friend Barney from the get-go yet still rejected by Ted; that the story stretches further when Ted calls off his friendship with Zoe but does not admit to her why; the story stretches even further when it's revealed Ted told her Marshall's wife, Lily, hates her, but that Lily also told her that 'actually', Robin hates her; that Robin told Zoey that Marshall hates her; and finally Ted claims he hates Zoey. After a final call with 'Honey' herself, Marshall pieces the events together to realise that Zoey is going through a divorce because she is in love with Ted and calls the pair to reveal the whole, true, omniscient story, at which they finally kiss.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...

"Who Got Dee Pregnant?" The male members of The Gang try to recall the events of a drunken Halloween party after being told that one of them is the father of Dee's unborn child.
The Jackson 5ive (TV series)
The Jackson 5ive (TV series)
The Jackson 5ive was a Saturday morning cartoon series produced by Rankin/Bass and Motown Productions on ABC from September 11, 1971 until 14 October 1972; a fictionalized portrayal of the careers of Motown recording group The Jackson 5...

"Rasho-Jackson" In an eerie precognition of future events, "Rasho-Jackson" depicts the Jackson brothers becoming alienated after an argument by their stalled car and refusing to perform with each other ever again, all becoming "The Jackson Ones." Intended to be a parody the Japanese artistic film Rashomon
Rashomon
Rashomon may refer to:* Rashōmon, the former main city gate in two Japanese capital cities, Heijokyō and Heiankyō * Rashōmon , a short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa first published in 1915...

, each brother tells his own version of events, all the while trying to depict himself as the self-sacrificing hero who saves the day. Ironically, the episode sort of predicts how the Jackson phenomenon would end in twenty years. Berry Gordy is depicted bringing the brothers back together again.
Songs: "One More Chance", "I Found That Girl"
King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...

"A Firefighting We Will Go
A Firefighting We Will Go
"A Firefighting We Will Go" is the 10th episode in the third season of the Fox animated series King of the Hill, and the 45th episode overall.-Plot:...

"
The main characters recount the events that led to a fire station burning down while acting as volunteer firefighters. Each character's story make themselves out to be heroic while the others are bumbling.
Leverage
Leverage (TV series)
Leverage is an American television drama series on TNT that premiered in December 2008. The series is produced by director/executive producer Dean Devlin's production company Electric Television...

"The Rashomon Job" Team members recount contradictory stories about a night five years earlier, when it turns out they each unwittingly tried to steal the same artifact at the same time.
Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....

"I Witness" During a robbery at the King Kamehameha Club, the three main supporting characters of the series (Higgins, Rick, and T.C.) are victimized and relate widely-varying, self-serving statements to investigator Tanaka.
Mama's Family
Mama's Family
Mama's Family is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 22, 1983. It was cancelled in May 1984, but NBC would continue to air reruns until September 1985. In September 1986, Mama's Family returned in first-run syndication, where it aired for an additional four seasons,...

"Rashomama" Eunice, Ellen, and Naomi tell overly exaggerated versions of how Mama got hit in the head with the pot while making gooseberry jam.
Maude
Maude
- Places :*Maude, New South Wales, a village on the lower Murrumbidgee River in Australia*Maude, Victoria, a town in Australia*Cape Maude, a high ice-covered cape forming the east end of Vaughan promontory in Antarctica...

"The Case of the Broken Punch Bowl" Maude's priceless crystal punch bowl is shattered at a party given by the Harmons, at which Carol and Mrs. Naugatuck were both present - but separating the truth from Arthur's, Vivian's, and Mrs. Naugatuck's perception of the truth proves a challenge.
NewsRadio
NewsRadio
NewsRadio is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from 1995 to 1999. The series was created by executive producer Paul Simms, and was filmed in front of a studio audience at CBS Studio Center and Sunset Gower Studios...

"Catherine Moves On" Catherine announces she is leaving WNYX. The rest of the staff offer Mr. James their versions of how Catherine quit and why, colored by their own perceptions.
The Powerpuff Girls
The Powerpuff Girls
The Powerpuff Girls is an American animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera for Cartoon Network...

"The Bare Facts" After Mojo Jojo kidnaps and blindfolds him, the Mayor has to rely on the Girls' very different individual accounts of the crime to figure out exactly what happened.
Rugrats
Rugrats
Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series premiered on August 11, 1991, and aired its last episode on June 8, 2004....

"The Trial" After someone mysteriously smashes Tommy’s favorite lamp, he demands to know who is responsible. All of the kids tell similar, yet different, stories of what happened.
Skunk Fu!
Skunk Fu!
Skunk Fu! is an Irish animated television series and IFTA award winning children's television series featuring the fables of anthropomorphic animals protecting their valley using martial arts...

"The Art of Storytelling" Skunk, Rabbit and Fox have different stories about how Panda got abducted by Babboon.
Small Wonder "The Rip-Off" A burglar is repelled and Jamie, Harriet, Brandon tell different stories, each claiming to be the hero. Vicki can't talk, but recorded a video of the whole event.
Southpark
SouthPark
SouthPark is a large neighborhood and edge city in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. Its name is derived from the upscale SouthPark Mall, which opened on February 12, 1970...

"Fishstick" Eric Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...

 distorts his recollection of the past to think that he had a part in creating the "fishstick" joke.
SpongeBob SquarePants "Friend or Foe" Mr. Krabs says that he was friends with Plankton and tells the story of their friendship, which is not entirely true. Plankton then tells his side of the story, which is false as well. The formula is seen and revealed in this episode when Karen gives the real story, saying that Plankton accidentally knocked several jars into their burger recipe, and that is the Krabby Patty formula.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...

"A Matter of Perspective" A character is accused of murdering a scientist because of an alleged interest in the scientist's wife. Several similar but contradictory scenarios based on the testimony of the people involved are played out on the holodeck
Holodeck
A holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...

.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

"Thirty Minutes over Tokyo
Thirty Minutes over Tokyo
"Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" is the twenty-third episode and season finale of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 16, 1999. In the episode, after being robbed by Snake Jailbird, the Simpsons visit a money-saving seminar, where they learn ways to...

"
Marge: Come on, Homer. Japan will be fun! You liked Rashomon.
Homer: That's not how I remember it!
The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...

"Jose Chung's From Outer Space
Jose Chung's From Outer Space
"Jose Chung's From Outer Space" is the 20th episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on April 12, 1996, on FOX. It was written by Darin Morgan and directed by Rob Bowman...

"
Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...

 and Scully
Dana Scully
FBI Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series The X-Files , played by Gillian Anderson. She also appeared in two theatrical films based on the series...

 investigate a reported alien abduction in which each witness provides a different version of the story. While they investigate, a thriller novelist, Jose Chung, seeks information for a book he is writing on the incident.
"Bad Blood
Bad Blood (The X-Files)
"Bad Blood" is the twelfth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. Written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Cliff Bole, it aired in the United States on February 22, 1998 on the Fox network...

"
Mulder and Scully report on their most recent case to their superior, with each agent's account of what happened tainted by each's own bias, in the perception of the paranormal, of the secondary characters involved, and of each other.
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