Bishopston Not A Book Group  : May

The Rashmon Effect 'An Incident of the Fingerpost' by Ian Pears 1997 pp700 (fiction) on 9 May 2024 at 19:30 at Simon's

(1a) Theme: The Rashomon effect The Rashomon effect is a storytelling method in which an event is given contradictory (typically conflicting) interpretations or descriptions by the individuals involved, thereby providing different perspectives and points of view of the same incident. The term, derived from the 1950 Japanese film Rashomon, is used to describe the phenomenon of the unreliability of eyewitnesses. I want to use this as a springboard to discuss the unscientific, malleable nature of human memory, particularly under stress. Are our memories ever truly reliable ? (1b) Anchors: A: Movie - Rashomon ( 1950, Kurosawa ) - unsurprisingly - a groundbreaking tale of deliberately or indeliberately contradictory recollections of an awful incident. B: Book - An Instance of the Fingerpost ( Ian Pears, 1997) A well-received historical mystery novel which i do not believe we have yet covered - i shudder to reveal that it is over 600 pages.. C: Movie: Monster ( Japan 2024) - Does this actually illustrate the Rashomon effect at all ? Are the various retellings of the tale actually contradictory, or merely illustrative of our tendency not to wish to see beneath the surface until we are forced to?