The Significance of Rashomon: "Why Do We Watch Rashomon in a Communications Class ?"

Prior to my pursuing my current major in Corporate Communications, I had intended to get a Bachelor's degree in Cinema. Moreover, I used to have the grandiose dream of becoming a successful film director. After deciding it was an unattainable and expensive aspiration to chase, especially if I intended to stay here in Saint Louis, I changed my career path to something I was just as interested in. The role that communication, marketing, and public relations play in the corporate world is also very fascinating to me. Therefore, I was particularly thrilled to learn that I would be watching and analyzing films relevant to the study of communications in the Foundation Studies cluster. It's like having the best of both worlds in one class.

While attending Southern Illinois University Carbondale, I took several film classes and Rashomon and its director were frequently discussed. Despite all of the acclaim, I had honestly not watched the film before this class. Furthermore, I knew the film has cinematic significance, but did not realize the how much its plot relates to the study of communication. After watching the movie, I can see why it is an excellent film to show in a communications class. According to Media/Impact, "communication is the act of sending messages, ideas and opinions from one person to another" (Biagi 8). However, as illustrated in the film, Rashomon, no one interprets a message or even the truth the exact same way. The film explores how each character recalls the events leading up to the murder differently due to their motives and backgrounds. As a result, the film drives home the point that communication is subjective. Additionally, in any form of communication, the sender must decide on the how to portray the message and how it will be received by the audience. For example, the woodman left out the fact that he stole the dagger because he did not want the other men to get the wrong idea about him. In fact, the movie had such an impact on the study of communication that it has a theory named after it which will be discussed in a later blog.  

Works Cited

Biagi, Shirley. Media/impact: An Introduction to Mass Media. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.