If you see the message of the film as “people lie, cheat, and kill, deal with it.” then the baby definitely doesn’t fit in with that message. However, another view is that Kurosawa is trying to show that people can’t help but lie, no matter who they are, and the commoner is the voice of this in the movie.
“It’s human to lie. Most of the time we can’t even be honest with ourselves.”
“Well, men are only men. That’s why they lie. They can’t tell the truth, even to themselves.”
“Women lead you on with their tears. They even fool themselves.”
“We all want to forget something, so we tell stories. It’s easier that way. "
In this light the baby makes a lot of sense. We can’t help but lie, but we also can’t help but take care of something helpless. By showing that our inability to escape our humanity is both our downfall and our strength, Kurosawa makes a much more interesting statement than he would have only showing the negative side.
Rashomon over 3 years ago
If you see the message of the film as “people lie, cheat, and kill, deal with it.” then the baby definitely doesn’t fit in with that message. However, another view is that Kurosawa is trying to show that people can’t help but lie, no matter who they are, and the commoner is the voice of this in the movie.
“It’s human to lie. Most of the time we can’t even be honest with ourselves.”
“Well, men are only men. That’s why they lie. They can’t tell the truth, even to themselves.”
“Women lead you on with their tears. They even fool themselves.”
“We all want to forget something, so we tell stories. It’s easier that way. "
In this light the baby makes a lot of sense. We can’t help but lie, but we also can’t help but take care of something helpless. By showing that our inability to escape our humanity is both our downfall and our strength, Kurosawa makes a much more interesting statement than he would have only showing the negative side.
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