Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines
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| Photo property of the author |
Have you seen the 1950 Akira Kurosawa movie 'Rashomon' based on the 1922 short story, "In A Grove" by Akutagawa? I can hear the gears in your head going, 'What do a Japanese movie and short story have to do with the West? Let me explain.
Both the story and movie are based on the 'stories' told by those involved in a murder of a samurai. As you can expect, each story is a different retelling of what happened. Whether the people involved are lying is up to the viewer/reader. What is most telling is the idea that the various narrators are telling the story they need to tell.
We as storytellers and historians try to tell the best most authentic story possible. Let's face it, names, dates, etc. can be very boring. However, it's in the telling that we can do more damage than good if we are not careful, and those of us who read those stories do well to remember that.
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| Japanese poster for Rashomon from Wikipedia |
I give you an example. In college, we had a troupe of convicts on campus who were traveling the country performing a play. I'd seen the play so knew who they were and what they had been incarcerated for. While walking to class I met and spoke with one. Here are the facts:
1. I was on campus
2. The convict was allowed to walk around
3. We spoke
4. The man was a pimp and had been sentenced on that charge.
Anything beyond those facts would be my interpretation of the event. Is that wrong? No. Would someone who's reading my story of that event realize it was one-sided? Maybe, maybe not.
We tell ourselves what we need to in order to make sense of things. That is normal. When looking at history, keep in mind the storyteller and if you really want to know more, read the stories about the narrator to get a feel for who they were. What in their lives would have them tell the story the way they did?
As for my story, well, here is my interpretation of that event.
Was I scared? No. I found the whole ten minutes fascinating. I was watching his eyes and from my perspective, I could tell he'd probably excelled in his chosen career. I learned he was spending time in prison in Hawaii. My instincts were he'd go right back to pimping when he got out. He struck me as someone who liked the power he could exude over people. Was he really like that? I'll never know but again, the story is from my perspective, his might be completely different.
So, if you watch the movie or read the short story, perhaps you'll look at history, both your own and what you read with a new understanding. It doesn't make the story wrong, just that there is more than one version and it depends on the teller.
As we tell our stories, the more we tell the truth in our story, the more it resonates with the reader. In the film, you believe those telling their story, even while you wonder who's telling the truth.
Here's to our stories.
Doris
This is a fascinating concept, isn't it? One we don't often really sit and think about. It makes me think of when I was in high school and learned what an "unreliable narrator" was. I can't remember the short story that the teacher used for the illustration, but the novel I always think of that illustrates this so well is The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter. I loved that Carter was able to show us what Little Tree saw and believed, but we knew that was NOT what was really happening or the reality of the way things were.
ReplyDeleteYet, each person has a different "take" on reality to some degree, and to how the story actually happens. Now I'll be thinking about this all day! LOL
It is fascinating. I also, at least in the case of the juveniles I worked with, necessary. The stories they told themselves was their way of dealing with what was happening in their lives. The key was getting them past the story to finding their true selves. Doris
DeleteVery interesting, Doris. Bias is not easy to get away from in our thinking.
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by the work that Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman did on heuristics and bias - the way that we come to quick decisions when time is limited. We can make very accurate decisions, but sometimes they can be inaccurate because of the personal bias that we operate unconsciously. It's the sort of sixth sense that you develop in a chosen career. In medicine, for example, it's the snap diagnosis.
As I said, you've made me think about bias in reading and watching, so thank you.
Keith, I am going to check out the work of Tversky and Kahneman. Thanks for the information. I suppose all the years working with troubled youth tends to put my mind on how stories impact us.
DeleteI catch myself trying not to fall into bias, but it does catch up with me. Doris
I believe that is so right, Doris. Look at the storyteller and what that person has to gain or lose by telling the story that way. Thanks for a thought provoking post.
ReplyDeleteVicky, you're welcome. I admit it is a subject I've been thinking about for many years. So many times I catch myself falling into the accepting without thinking. Doris
Delete"We tell ourselves what we need to in order to make sense of things": beautifully expressed, Dori!
DeleteThank you, John. It is something I think about a lot. Doris
DeleteFascinating to ponder. I grew up hearing "there's two sides to every story." I never thought about that old adage from this perspective. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked it, Tracy. It's something I've thought about for a long time, just finally decided to write about it. Doris
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