Rashomon and Rear Window were both films about point of view but used point of view in different ways. Point of view allows the viewer to understand the narrative’s perspective through a particular position. Through point of view, viewers guide themselves through the film and notice other elements such as cinematography and editing take part in the film. In both Rashomon and Rear Window, the point of view structures the plot but make different arguments about their particular structures.
The concept of point of view in Rashomon is used to describe each person’s side of the story that is the main plot. In Rashomon, a man dies in the woods after his wife is raped by a bandit, and three men discuss the curious circumstances of the rape/murder.
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We get sides of the story from the Woodcutter, the priest, a policeman, the bandit, the wife, and the dead man through a medium. Through these narrators, each present a version of what happened that cannot be reconciled with the others (Mast 449). In Rear Window, the story follows the perspective of one character, Jeff, who witnesses a mysterious murder in his neighborhood and with the help of his nurse and girlfriend, figure out what to do next. Through Jeff’s point of view, the viewer never exits the set of the neighborhood and one views the world as Jeff sees it, which results in making the same assumptions as him throughout the film. Point of view is constructed in Rashomon and Rear Window through stylistic choices in cinematography and editing.
In Rashomon, the person who is narrating their side of the story would often be shown first. Through showing a shot of the narrator, the viewer can understand that the story will continue as their point of view. After showing a shot of the narrator, the film moves into the story being told. Point of view structures the plot by focusing on the structure of the narrators’ sides of the story. The film is dominated by the states of mind and endings are often left open-ended. It is up to the viewer to decide how one would want the film to end. In Rear Window, the viewer’s only point of view comes from Jeff, who is viewing his neighborhood through his window. The viewer tends to get shots of the neighborhood and within the frame are the people involved in the plot – the murderer, the old woman who almost commits suicide, etc. The only time the viewer gets a different point of view than Jeff is when the dog is killed and the film shows different angles and quick movement of the camera to distinguish that one would be viewing the chaos of the murder in the neighborhood. Point of view is structured by only giving the viewer Jeff’s perspective, which would guide the viewer to make the same assumptions and follow the clues that are thrown at
him. Each film makes different arguments about point of view and its construction of truth and reality. In Rashomon’s final sequence, the cries of an infant are heard and there are mixed reactions to the baby. The Listener’s reaction is to steal the baby’s clothes and blanket because “We can’t live unless we act selfishly these days”. The Woodcutter who turns out to be a liar and a thief, wants to adopt the baby. The Priest, who attempted to stop him at first, is ashamed for judging too harshly. Based on the final sequence, every character has done something wrong, but people can admit to their failures and be unselfish (Mast 450). In Rear Window, Jeff is doing something completely unethical – spying on people and accusing them of crimes. Although it works out for him in the end as the murderer is captured and he is not harmed from falling out of the window, spying on others is not hero-like behavior. Jeff is invading his neighbors’ privacy and continually spies on them until the murderer is captured. All in all, both Rashomon and Rear Window were films about point of view that structured the main plots of the films. Through the use of point of view, the viewer was either allowed to understand different sides of the story, like in Rashomon, or through one main character’s perspective, like in Rear Window. Elements such as cinematography and editing also helped the use of point of view and helped distinguish different arguments about their particular story.
Point of View – 3rd person limited. This is significant since there are many important characters, so first person wouldn’t show enough of the story.
The point of view is considered to be omniscient third person narrative, meaning that the narrator, in this case Preston, knows everything about what will happen at future points in the book, but decides not to let the reader know it all just yet. The novel is told as if a grandfather is sharing his childhood memories to his grandchildren, where he himself knows all how it will end, but his young listeners do not.
...ttis point of view, the first person point view. This gives us the impression that we are watching the mystery unfold at the same time he is. The narrative form is exemplified in the scene where Gettis is on bridge, watching Hollis Mulwray talk to the little boy on the horse in the flood plain. We start with an establishing shot of Hollis's car driving down the riverbed. Then it cuts in tighter on Hollis. The next cut is of Gettis watching the scene through binoculars. In use of the film noir this narrative form we are left with no clue as to why Hollis is in the riverbed, what was said in the discourse with the boy on the horse or what Hollis is looking at on the hood of his car. At the same time neither does Gittes.
Point of view is a literary device that can be often overlooked, and yet, it has a huge impact on the novel Bone Gap, as it changes how the reader imagines the story. This is due to the unique way that each character is seeing and living the moments that are written on the pages. The literary device of point of view is very important, as when it changes, so does perception, giving the reader a fuller or lesser understanding of what is truly going
Point of view is described as the perspective from which a story is told (Literature, G25). In the story "Everyday Use" the point of view is that of first person narrator or major character. The story is told by the mother in the story. The theme of this story is that of a mother who is trying to cope with changing times and two daughters who are completely different. Having the story told from momma's point of view helps to reveal how momma feels about herself and how she defines her daughters Dee and Maggie.
Rowe, Lawrence. "Through the Looking Glass: Reflexivity, Reciprocality, and Defenestration in Hitchcock's"Rear Window"." College Literature 35.1 (2008): 16-37.
Stam, Robert & Pearson, Robertson., ‘Hitchcock’s Rear Window: Refluxivity and the Critique of Voyeurism’ in Deutelbaum, Marshall & Poague, Leland A. ed., A Hitchcock Reader (John Wiley & Sons: 2009).
The point of view for this story is first person which is appropriate for this story because it helps the reader to better feel and understand the husband's feelings and thoughts towards his situation and his wife, which is ironic due to the fact that he couldn't even express himself to his wife which lead to his problems in the first
opposed to a first person point of view, a limited omniscient point of view gives the
The story is told from the third-person limited point of view, which means that the reader sees the story through the eyes and perspective of a “viewpoint character”. In such cases, this character acts as a filter, and while we can see the internal thoughts and motivations of the viewpoint character, we can only see the behaviors of the other characters through his or her eyes.
Point of view is an essential element to a reader's comprehension of a story. The point of view shows how the narrator thinks, speaks, and feels about any particular situation. In Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson," the events are told through the eyes of a young, mischievous girl named Sylvia who lives in a lower class neighborhood. The reader gets a limited point of view of view because the events are told strictly by Sylvia. This fact can influence the reader to see things just as she does. The strong language gives an unfamiliar reader an illustration of how people in the city speak. Bambara does this to show the reader that kids from lower class neighborhoods are affected by their environment due to lack of education and discipline, that how different one part of society is from another, and that kids learn from experience. We also get an insight of Sylvia’s feisty, rebellious nature and her lack of respect towards people with an education.
Point of view is defined as the position of the narrator in relation to the story, as indicated by the narrator's outlook from which the events are depicted and by the attitude toward the characters. The point of view in the story The Yellow Wallpaper is first person with a central narrator. The narrator in the story is a lonely woman in a decent into madness; it makes for a wild ride as the reader follows the narrator into that madness. In the complete opposite of the spectrum the narrator in The Lottery is written in third person objective. The narrator does not go into the thoughts and feelings of the characters. The use of “I” in the story causes the reader to follow along into the lottery drawing and conclusion of the story.
Point of view (P.O.V) is the perspective from which a writer recounts a narrative or presents information. It can be broken up into three categories: first, second and third person P.O.V. The novel, Woman at Point Zero, by Nawal El Saadawi, is about a psychiatrist’s encounter with a female prisoner, Firdaus, as she explains her entire life story before she is sentenced to death. The story highlights the themes of power, attaining respect and independence as they work hand in hand to build and diminish Firdaus’ character, despite being written from a gender bias perspective. P.O.V is used to emphasize the bias within the narrative, which influences the reader to believe that men devalue women.
The films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa have had wide ranging influence over contemporary films, with his ronin films Seven Samurai and Yojimbo influencing countless westerns and mob movies. Arguably, however, Rashomon has been the most instrumental of all Kurosawa’s films because it asks a question that lies near the heart of all cinema: what is reality? Today, any consumer of television or cinema has seen various permutations of the plot of Rashomon numerous times, probably without realizing. In the film, a rape and consequent murder are told five different times, by a woodcutter (Takashi Shimura) who seems to have witnessed the event, a bandit (Toshiro Mifune) who committed the rape, the wife of a samurai (Machiko Kyo) who was raped, and the ghost of the samurai (Masayuki Mori), who is channeled by a medium after his murder. In each telling, the viewer is presented with five realities that, through the use of various frame stories, are totally incompatible with one another. Throughout, Rashomon is a study in simplicity. The beautiful yet frugal cinematography of Kazuo Miyagawa and the minimalist plot, skillfully directed by Kurosawa, force the viewer to contend with two dissonant notions: that everything they have seen is real, but that none of it can be true.
Point of View: The point of view moves drastically between diverse perspectives. In a few parts, the storyteller depicts occasions comprehensively, condensing the encounters of an extensive number of individuals and giving authentic investigation. Regularly, in the same sections, the storyteller expect the voice of a commonplace individual, for example, an uprooted rancher or an abnormal utilized auto businessperson, communicating that 's individual concerns.