Rashomon
In the theme of reviewing a Kurosawa film on the weekend comes this weeks chapter, Rashomon. Rashomon is the story of a murder that takes place in a forest glen told from the perspective of four people; a bandit, a dead man, the dead man’s wife, and an outside observer, a man hiding in the trees. The movie explores the themes or justice, morality, good and evil.
Some of you will be happy to know the movie only runs 88 minutes, as opposed to Seven Samurai which actually takes several years to complete.
I found the film very interesting. It’s got the theme that’s done to death in every single police/crime drama on television; that of multiple veiwpoints of the same crime. In those shows, however, there’s a conclusion. A point where the viewer is succored by the director, and everyone can cry “I knew it!” Rashomon offers nothing clean cut. Like the line between Good and Evil, the truth and lies of each story become blurred so that no retelling can be the entire truth, but none are entirely untrue.
CONCEPT: 4/5 – The concept is solid, and allows for a lot of probing of deeply rooted human nature.
INNOVATION: 5/5 – This was pretty original for it’s time, I’m sure. Too bad CSI decided to make an entire show about the concept alone.
SATISFACTION: 3/5 -Leaves the audience with an odd feeling of discontent, because we never find out what really happened. But as a film, it’s very satisfying.
EXECUTION: 4/5 – The DVD transfer I watched had bad sound, which shouldn’t be an issue in a movie with subtitles, right? Well, it would have been nice. The cinematography is top notch, however.
FUN FACTOR: 2/5 – Unless you find debating morals fun
OVERALL: 8/10 – It’s Kurasawa, and I like ‘em.
Being Paralyzed by Choice
Occasionally there’s times in life when there’s so many possible options for action, it’s nearly impossible to decide on one, and instead nothing gets accomplished. There must be a term for this. Have you ever noticed that the more choices there are on a menu the longer it takes to select what food you want? Not including the time it takes to read all the possible selections, of course. This is a toss up, because in theory wouldn’t you be happier with more choice? On a menu there’s a greater chance they would have your favourite dish, for instance. However, this also facilitates for a greater anxiety, the customer is left wondering if they wouldn’t have enjoyed a different dish more.
A good example of this is trying to buy a digital camera. If you’re like me and you like doing as much research as possible into price, quality, review scores, company history, before making a choice, you’ll soon find that the farther you dig the more and more variables there are to consider and weigh in on the selection. I almost envy those able to walk into an electronics store, tell the salesperson “I want a camera that does this this this,” and be sold on something.
CONCEPT: 4/5 – The idea behind having as much choice as possible for everything is well meant. After all, isn’t that what living in a free country is all about?
INNOVATION: 5/5 – Never in history have so many possibilities been offered to the consumer. Not to mention the overwhelming feeling created by the first page of search results from your favourite search engine. 1,900,000 results for Earl Grey?
SATISFACTION: 2/5 – Contrary to the reasoning behind choice, people are often less satisfied with more choice due to the stress and questions that arise.
EXECUTION: 2/5 – It’s never really that paralyzing, but it can be much more complicated than need be.
FUN FACTOR: 2/5 – Not a barrel of laughs.
OVERALL: 5/10 – It’s a debate between too much choice and too little choice. Just take solace that there’s few completely wrong choices.
Kitties
Kitties are cute and fuzzy. Some are sleek, and some are fluffy. They come in all colours and shapes, and are pretty much the best animal. I know some people would argue that cows are the best animal (milk+hamburgers) or some jokester will say that humans are the best animal. Come on, we’re not animals, God made us PEOPLE. Don’t be silly. Kitties are the best animal because you can hug them, and they might make a little noise.
CONCEPT: 4/5 – Warm kitties.
INNOVATION: 4/5 – Because no matter what, I never get tired of looking at pictures of kitties.
SATISFACTION: 4/5 – Nothing like a hot kitty on a cold day.
EXECUTION: 0/5 – Don’t execute kitties.
FUN FACTOR: 4/5 – Fun for years, a kitty is a good investment.
OVERALL: 9/10 – Maowr.
Verdict – Kitties! My only regret is that I may one day be paralyzed between choosing from a bunch of cute kitties.
Have I ever mentioned “The Paradox of Choice” to you? It’s a good book – it talks about exactly what you describe.
It’s possible that we’ve actually talked about this at length before. I think there was even a part of “The Design of Everyday Things” about this. I’ll look into the book, unless you have it and want to lend it to me!
I have it, and would love to lend it to you!
…But I’m not sure I’m going to see you before Christmas (I leave Thursday morning) so it might have to wait.