Shoplifters

Shoplifters

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Past As Prologue

Rashomon is an example of the jidai-geki genre of Japanese cinema or "period film" that tells a story from a period of Japanese history (and it is part of the subgenre of samurai films, kinda).  Sometimes storytellers set a story in the past as a way to indirectly criticize or even condemn the present.  Given what you know about Japanese history circa. 1950, including Japan's experience in World War 2 and its immediate aftermath, is the film a critique of the politics or culture or morality of that time?  Is the period of the film in any way analogous to the 1950's Japan?

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