...The film “Rashomon” directed by Akira Kurosawa in nineteen fifty, can give insight into the study of history and how it is written. This Japanese classic takes us through the story of a brutal rape of a woman and the murder of her husband through differing versions of the events by four different witnesses. The film begins on a rainy day in which a priest and a woodcutter sit with frightened looks on their faces without sharing a word. Suddenly, a pessimistic character appears in which he insist that they tell him what they had seen. They both refuse and the priest even states, “I may have finally lost my faith in the human soul.” Regardless of what they say, they finally agree and tell him the testimony of those involved. First they shared the...
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...In a Grove by Ryunosuke Akutagawa Compared to Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa By Emily Bramlett In the short story In a Grove and the 1950’s movie Rashomon, we can see the clear differences between the freedom of being a writer, and the freedom of being a director. In many book to movie adaptations, we can lose many different details and meanings that the author had wanted to display. In this analytical paper I will explore both the similarities and differences in theme and content between In a Grove by Ryunosuke Akutagawa and the movie Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa. Between the short story and the book, we see that most of the story remains unchanged. For example, the testimonies between the Woodcutter, Tajomaru, Takehiro, and Masago are barely changed and use many quotes directly from the story itself. Minor differences that occur between the story and the movie would be any kind of fighting sequence between Takehiro and Tajomaru. Each fight is drawn out to show, and explore, the tension between the two men. The sword fight and deul lasts roughly five minutes to show the dramatization of the fight and feeling compelled by all characters involved. We can see how tired each man gets and how torn Masago is. In a story we do not get to see that type of drama, we can only take another character’s word for what they were feeling and experiencing. The changes between the two adaptation are prevalent as well. In the story we have a testimony by Masago’s mother. In the film...
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...In the beginning of the book Rash, we meet the main character Bo Marsten. Bo lives in the USSA (formerly known as the USA) where safety laws are the number one priority. During Bo’s gym class he is at the track and one of the people that he despises the most is there, Karlohs Mink. Bo runs his race at a very slow time and things get even worse after Karlohs says that he has been hanging out with his former girlfriend Maddy. Bo swears at Karlohs and then runs off to his next class. The very next day in class Karlohs gets a rash on his face and there is panic, soon many other people are breaking out with the rash and Bo gets sent down to the office, they tell him that he is suspended from school for a week so they can get it under control. Bo...
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...The visual images I had selected and analyzed for this unit reflects an understanding of audience, genre, social and cultural contexts, and purposes in several ways. One main thing is that each visual image can incite different reactions from people who come from different backgrounds, experiences, etc. People won’t necessarily carry the same views as you when viewing different visual images (i.e.memes). So in this way, that is is how an understanding of audience and social and cultural contexts is reflected. What I find interesting is how this relates to a concept I’ve learned from the Dorothy Bland article called the Rashomon Effect. This is a concept where people have different interpretations of the same event, but in this case, visual images. So perhaps I could look at something that gives me positive vibes, while another could potentially see it as negative. As for the genres and purposes of these images is that they do their own part of spreading an important message or issue (i.e. Black Lives Matter). But as far as visual images go, they have the freedom to represent themselves in their own unique ways stemming from messages that can be displayed in a positive, clever, or...
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...Movies Instructor Robert Lewis September 22, 2013 Akira Kurosawa: Acclaim, Collaborations, & Criticisms Director Akira Kurosawa is arguably one of the most creative, influential, and innovative filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa’s career spanned nearly sixty years and has received much critical acclaim by many of his peers, filmmakers, and generations of film students. Additionally, he has received an array of international recognition for his successes in and contributions to film. Kurosawa’s career started in the mid-1930s. However, his initial success started with the 1948 film Drunken Angel. This was followed by another successful film named “Rashomon” which Kurosawa directed in 1950 and starred Toshiro Mifune whom he collaborated with on numerous films. The film Rashomon introduced western audiences to Kurosawa’s work. Kurosawa’s acclaim and influence started to fade later in life. However his influence on film, critical acclaim, international recognition, successes, and collaborations are topics which are often discussed and debated. Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa is arguably the most influential and innovate filmmaker in the history of cinema with a career that spanned nearly six decades. His contributions to the Japanese film industry and film in general are more than apparent. Not the only Japanese cinematic giant, but undoubtedly the most famous and revered in the West, Kurosawa has made exemplary films of various genres: historical...
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...Thomas Edison started the Motion pictures patent company, which also called the Edison trust. It was basically a combination of group of film companies which were Lubin, Vitagraph, Edison, etc. Edison trust also included the largest distribution company of that time which was owned by George Kleine and the top film stock supplier, Eastman Kodak. This company was created to monopolise the film industry. To break this monopoly, some filmmakers in 1908 started an independent film movement. These filmmakers believed that the Edison trust were trying to control the art form of filmmaking and wanted to preserve artistic side of filmmaking. It can be said that Edison through his company started the first Oligopoly in the film industry because he owned most of the film equipment’s patents such as projectors, camera and film stock. Filmmakers who used their own cameras and projectors because of budget constraints where prone to lawsuits from Edison. Despite of Edison’s negative attitude towards small filmmakers, an independent cinema movement began to save the artistic element of filmmaking. To stay away from lawsuits, independent filmmakers moved to southern California to continue their work. California in the early 1900’s provided perfect terrain such as the ocean, hills, desert and also great weather to shoot all year round. But the most important factor for Hollywood to lure these independent filmmakers was its district court supported them against Edison trust lawsuits. Many filmmakers...
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...It really struck me how good the story of the Seven Samurai is, and also how universal its appeal is to many cultures. The theme of putting yourself second and helping those that need to be helped transcends into many cultures. So much so that the remake of The Magnificent Seven was revamped towards a Western culture audience. Even Stephen King paid tribute to Akira Kurosawa in a prologue to his up coming book, Part V in the Dark Tower series. In Stephen King's book a small farming community is plagued by a group they call "wolves" that come and steal their children. Like in Seven Samurai one farmer convinces the rest to fight, and they hire a wondering group of Gunslingers to help them. Not only is the plot-line the same, but in Seven Samurai...
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...Seven Samurai For the review I watched one of my already favorite films, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. There are so many fantastic elements of this film. I will break down each element from Camera work, lighting, design, costumes, acting, and story and script. The most important samurai movie is Akira Kurosawa's 1954 feature, Seven Samurai, which not only impacted the way the genre was viewed, but elevated its status. Seven Samurai was influential not only in Japan and for foreign film enthusiasts, but it led to a popular and reasonably faithful remake, The Magnificent Seven. And, although Japanese critics during the '50s were dismissive of the picture, it has since achieved an almost mythical status and was recently selected by a group of '00 critics as the Best Japanese Movie of All-Time. Curiously, for a feature that is often viewed as the standard-bearer of the samurai movie, Seven Samurai is actually an atypical genre entry. An "average" samurai film focuses on a sword-wielding, superhero-type individual who battles his way through the story, often triumphing over a seemingly overwhelming host of foes. Seven Samurai offers us flawed protagonists, some of whom are not skilled fighters, and one of whom is often drunk, belligerent, and decidedly non-heroic in his approach. The odds are impressive, yet, in large part due to the melancholy tone adopted by Kurosawa during the closing scene, the victory is hollow, and almost feels like a defeat. (The lead samurai's final...
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...the war. The author inlcudes at the beginning of the bok that he main motive for writing about uch a gruesome event was the lack of coverage of it. Hardly anyone learns about the mass genocide of the Chineses in the far east. The beggining of the book is filled with statistics to give ample proof of the extent of the massacre of the Chinese. The Japanese soldiers followed a code of conduct while raiding the city that encouraged them to ravage literally everything in their path. Chang very clearly outlines the path the Japanese took to get to Nanking. She uses several personal accounts of Chineses citizens who lived through the ordeal to accurately describe the amount of destruction the Japanese caused. Chang uses a technique called the Rashomon perspective to narrate the events of fall f Nanking and the Chinese massacre. The first point of view she takes is the viewpoint of the Japanese military. The second is perspective is that of the Chinese victims...
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...1946 when, seeing American motion pictures for the first time since 1940, they perceived a strange new mood of cynicism, darkness, and despair in certain crime films and melodramas.” (Cook, 376) The genre possessed the styles such as oblique and vertical lines influenced by German expressionism, rainy scenes influenced by Freud, and harsh contrasts between light and dark areas of the frame with dark dominating to parallel the moral chaos of the world. Several new technologies modernized film after the war. A major director post-WWII, Akira Kurosawa, pioneered film techniques such as using long lenses, color experimentation, and experimentation with sound. His technique of the extensive use of deep focus is apparent throughout his film, Rashomon. Not only did the new technologies help to modernize International films, but also different influences all over the world. His films synthesized Eastern and Western influences. Although World War 2 was a dreadful occurrence, filmmakers were able to develop new themes, styles, influences, and technologies that are the building blocks of the International film industry. The French New Wave movement was a post-WWII era of filmmaking in France from 1958 to the mid-1960s. It was begat by the Cinematheque Francaises, a secret organization that showed films around the world. This led to “cine-clubs”, or cinema clubs, being created by advocates. Alexandre Astruc, a French director and critic, explains the French New Wave with this quote, “the...
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...MLA & APA Write Rules for Assignments in English Courses 1. The Modern Language Association (MLA) format is used for citation and documentation when writing about literature and art. Research in MLA is documented with in-text citations and a Works Cited page. MLA: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ 2. The American Psychological Association (APA), also called the author-date system, is used in psychology and other social sciences. The APA cites sources as References. See APA Style: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/ 3. Essays should be written in blue or black ink if in class, or typed on a Word file if written out of class. Papers are submitted by attaching the Word file to Blackboard Assignments. 4. Use 8 ½ by 11 white paper and a 10 or 12 point font. Avoid fancy typefaces such as script. 5. Double space throughout the paper. 6. Except for page numbers, use one-inch margins at the top, bottom and sides of the paper. 7. Type your name, the course number and date on the first page, top left, first page only. 8. Do NOT use a separate title page for essays shorter than 2500 words, or 20 pages. 9. Use a header (top right) for page numbers; your last name may be used with the page number. 10. Insert a page break before the first letter of the Works Cited or References, to keep that page last. 11. Center the specific title of your essay below the heading. If you are writing about a literary work...
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...Samantha Roberts Student Number: Word count: 1,289 There has been an ongoing paradigm debate between quantitative and qualitative research amongst social scientists for a number of years. Qualitative Research is a particularly new concept developed to obtain and analyse data however many researchers are yet to take a liking to this concept (Bryman, 1984). Qualitative research refers to studies that are conducted in natural settings and include participant observation, focus groups and in-depth interviews. (Whitley & Crawford, 2005). These techniques provide a strong insight into how participants view events and experiences to obtain a deeper meaning into the area being studied (Willig, 2001). Quantitative research focuses on the Scientific Method which is based on a series of steps that are followed systematically to acquire data such as experiments that are then analysed and presented into numerical form. This essay will examine both research paradigms while also determining the epistemological underpinnings that determines the methods used to collect and analyse data. Qualitative researchers are mainly concerned with the social world and the influence of events and experiences that has on an individual’s perspective of the world. These researchers are not concerned with answering a specific question, more so to develop a rich understanding of a certain topic mainly through the methods of in-depth interviews, participant observation and focus groups. In-depth interviews...
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...Compare and contrast the major characteristics of two methods of sociological inquiry. Your answer should clarify how: Each method relates to a distinct tradition of social research (e.g., positivism, interpretivism or the critical tradition); Addresses the issue of objectivity and; Account for the relationship between the natural and the social sciences. Research methods are a crucial part to understanding society. Without research methods, scientists and researchers would not be able to understand the why, the how or the what. There are three main traditions in social research; Positivism, Interpretivism and Critical Tradition. In this essay, the writer will examine two of these traditions; positivism and interpretivism. The writer will talk about each of these traditions, the history and the type of research method each are. The writer will discuss examples of each tradition, a qualitative research method and a quantitative research method. The writer will then go on to discuss the contributions of two major sociologists in each; Emile Durkheim for Positivism and Max Weber for Interpretivism. The writer will then go on to compare and contrast each tradition. Positivism was first established by French philosopher Auguste Comte in the early 19th century. Positivism can be defined as ‘’ the tendency to develop the means of our reason either to predict the phenomena of nature or to modify them through our intervention, which is the characteristic feature...
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...Unit: Point of View Introduction In this unit we will examine point of view. The perspective from which the story is told is a key facet of narrative. “In telling a story, who tells it is of paramount importance” (Bohner and Grant 15). Narrator “Choosing a narrative point of view is perhaps the most important and most difficult decision a writer of a story makes. Point of view—like plot, character, setting, and language—is a creative decision; however, it is also a very much a technical decision” (Bohner and Grant 15). “Someone has to tell the story. That someone is called the narrator. But the question is who will that narrator be and what does the narrator know” (Bohner and Grant 15). Mediation Drama and film unfold directly before our eyes. In narrative fiction there is always something (a viewer, a speaker, both) between the reader and the action: a point of view other than our own has already been imposed. This is mediation. Point of view involves the angle of vision (the point of view from which the people, events, and other details are viewed). This view is called the focus. The words of the story lying between the reader and the story is the voice. Focus Focus acts like a camera. It chooses what we can look at, the angle at which we can view it, and how it is framed. In this case, a tv screen vs. a movie screen. Details and emphasis change depending upon the frame and the focus in both text and film. Angles in film...
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...will be investigating the use of Walter Murch’s Sound design on Apocalypse Now (1979) and The Conversation (1974) whiles exploring the use of different sound aesthetics found in a scene from each film. Examining these different techniques will shed light on just how much it affects the nature of the film itself and it’s audience through an audio-visual perspective. Apocalypse now has a fascinating use of sound that conveys tension, character subjectivity and at times suggests a psychoneurotic mind state in which diegetic/non-diegetic sound and music together alludes. How does Murch use sound and music to push the films narrative? In what way does Murch’s theories on sound help us understand the way in which it helps shape its accompanying visuals on screen or vis-versa. This will form part of a theoretical inquiry into sound in cinema as a whole whiles looking at the possible outcomes of a film without the use of some of these groundbreaking methods. Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola is set during the Vietnam war, Cpt. Willard travels up the Nung River in Cambodia to kill Colonel Kurtz as part of top secret mission that apparently ‘doesn’t exist’. Apocalypse Now is widely regarded as a timeless masterpiece, unsurprisingly gaining Walter Murch an Oscar for his work on the beautifully orchestrated sound mix. Right from the start Murch describes his approach to this film as ‘jumping with both feet into the fire’ (Jarrett & Murch, 2000). This expression sums up...
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