History Main / RashomonStyle

## Of course, we saw the real pool party beforehand, where the party was not debauched (but certainly not innocent), the 15-year-old neighbor wanders in on her own (not crying and not wearing a revealing swimsuit), and Uncle Phil spitefully pokes a pin in Carlton's inner tube (intentionally, but not violently).

## In Uncle Phil's version, Will and Carlton are thuggish, and everyone is wearing revealing swimsuits, including the 15-year-old neighbor girl who wandered over, cheerfully saying "To hell with my parents! ...Will taught me that." Uncle Phil himself is just a meek, quiet man who accidentally steps on Carlton's inner tube. He told his story second and, when stopped, pointed out the others had been allowed to tell their cock-and-bull story.
## Of course, we saw the real pool party beforehand, where the party was not thuggish (but certainly not innocent), the 15-year-old neighbor wanders in on her own (not crying and not wearing a revealing swimsuit), and Uncle Phil spitefully pokes a pin in Carlton's inner tube (intentionally, but not violently).

* On ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' after Trina's harness is cut in "Who Did It To Trina", the cast are questioned about their motives for doing it. Jade claims that she witnessed a furious screaming Tori angrily swear revenge on Trina, Tori claims that she saw a snarling monstrous Jade scream at Trina after Trina spilled her coffee on her, Robbie claims that Cat had sworn revenge after Trina [[BlatantLies pulled him away to make out in the dressing room]], and [[CloudCuckoolander Cat]] [[SerialEscalation describes an episode]] of ''Series/DrakeAndJosh.'' [[note]](for those curious, the episode "I Love Sushi")[[/note]] Andre, who just wants to go to meet up with a girl he'd met, [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the increasing absurdity and pointlessness of the questioning. In the end, [[spoiler: the culprit is revealed to be [[RefugeInAudacity Rex]], who cut the wire as payback for Trina punching him, and Robbie had to cover for him]].

* On ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' after Trina's harness is cut in "Who Did It To Trina", the cast are questioned about their motives for doing it. Jade claims that she witnessed a furious screaming Tori angrily swear revenge on Trina, Tori claims that she saw a snarling monstrous Jade scream at Trina after Trina spilled her coffee on her, Robbie claims that Cat had sworn revenge after Trina [[BlatantLies pulled him away to make out in the dressing room]], and [[CloudCuckoolander Cat]] [[SerialEscalation describes an episode]] of ''Series/DrakeAndJosh.'' [[note]](for those curious, the episode "I Love Sushi")[[/note]] Andre, who just wants to go to meet up with a girl he'd met, [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the increasing absurdity and pointlessness of the questioning. In the end, [[spoiler: the culprit is revealed to be [[RefugeInAudacity Rex]], who cut the wire as payback for Trina punching him, and Robbie had to cover for him]].

** The Gospel of Luke's main audience is to the Greek gentile (he himself a gentile believer), thus he begins his genealogy at Adam the common ancestor of all humanity. He tells the story of Jesus as the Son of Man (Seed of the Woman; the Kinsman Redeemer) and is therefore representative of Ruben's standard, a man. His Gospel tells us what Jesus felt, which was of great importance to the stoic and epicurean Greek philosophers.

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', the details of the [[GreatOffscreenWar Battle of Red Mountain]] and it's [[WhenItAllBegan aftermath]] (the [[RiddleForTheAges disappearance]] of the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwemer]], the [[PlotTriggeringDeath death of Lord Nerevar]], the [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascension]] of the [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Tribunal and Dagoth Ur]] as {{Physical God}}s, and the [[MarkedChange transformation]] of the Chimer people into the modern Dunmer) are recounted differently by each of the surviving parties -- [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]], [[TheChessmaster Azura]], [[CorruptChurch the Tribunal Temple]] (which worships Vivec), [[PhysicalGod Vivec]] (offering a different account than the Temple's version), [[NobleSavage the Ashlanders]] and the [[DefectorFromDecadence Dissident Priests]]. The Dissident Priests alone have ''several'' differing accounts -- that is, one of the things they criticize the Temple for is being so sensitive about different accounts of the events at Red Mountain, so they've taken it upon themselves to gather as many different accounts as they can. They don't make any claim to know which account is ''true'', though they phrase things in a way that make clear that they find something off about the Temple's story. Ultimately, even upon completing the main quest, you are never told what ''actually'' happened at that time. However, by speaking to all of those involved and doing your own research with [[FictionalDocument in-game documents and books]], you can at least rule a few of the options out.

* The kids' series ''Wimzie's House'' uses this to teach kids that no one can remember something exactly as it was, as people tend to have bias or remember facts wrong, especially if it's over something like "whose fault it is".

* ''Literature/TheGreatBrain'' entry ''The Great Brain at the Academy'' is this for narrator JD. As he explains, his sources for what's happening at the academy are letters from brother Tom (both to the family and private ones for JD), letters from older brother Sweyn and reports from the Academy teachers. While Tom's letters are fank and detailed, JD knows better than to trust Tom not to embellish things to put himself in a more positive light. Likewise, Sweyn has his own biases and not know the details on Tom's actions. While the academy teachers are blunter on Tom's failings, they too don't know the truth of what he's up to. Thus, JD "had to be something of a detective" to piece together the varying accounts and fill in the blanks on what happened and even then acknowledges there are probably some details he got wrong.

* The ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "Once Upon An Ed" featured each of the Eds giving his skewed explanation of how the three of them wound up in Johnny and Plank's bedroom wall. Eddy's is basically a MartyStu fanfic where everyone worships and grovels at his feet, Edd's is so precise you can still see the angles and guide lines for the art and not only has Ed and Eddy dumber than usual, but they actually ''listen to his scoldings'', and Ed's is a surreal affair where the Kankers turn into a [[{{Kaiju}} giant monster]] by eating radioactive mashed potatoes and Ed fights them off with superpowers.

** Ironically enough, [[CloudCuckooLander Ed's]] story was not only the most accurate to the character's personalities, but the only one to actually answer Johnny's question. [[note]] The Eds got in there to hide from the Kankers...[[HereWeGoAgain who followed them into the wall.]] [[/note]]
** The other interesting thing about this is that when you take pieces of the Eds' ramblings, you can piece together what happened prior to the episode. [[note]] The Eds started a jawbreaker bank, Ed and Eddy screwed it up, and eventually, the Kankers showed up and chased the Eds until they went into Johnny's house to escape. [[/note]]

* Roughly the first half of ''Film/KnivesOut'' plays out in this manner. Different members of the Thrombey family are tasked with telling the story of the night of the family patriarch Harlan's 85th birthday (after which he died), and all do so in rather different ways. A notable example is the visual of different family members standing next to Harlan as he's presented with the birthday cake, depending on the story.

* ''Film/TheLastDuel'' shows the lead-up to the titular duel from the perspective of all three parties: accused rapist Jacques Le Gris, his accuser Marguerite de Carrouges (nee Thibouville), and his opponent, her husband Jean de Carrouges. Events that two or more of them were present for are presented slightly differently via SelfServingMemory. However, the film strongly implies that Marguerite's version is the correct one; Jean's and Jacques's segments are titled "The Truth According to..." while Marguerite's is simply titled "The Truth".

Inspired by the famous Creator/AkiraKurosawa film ''Film/{{Rashomon}}'', in itself inspired by the short story ''In a Grove'' by Ryuunosuke Akutagawa. This influential early example is a sophisticated use of this and, [[UnbuiltTrope unlike many later examples]], provides [[RiddleForTheAges no definitive answers as to what the truth is]]. Nowadays, the "Rashomon Episode" is a staple of {{sitcom}}s since it lends itself well to comedy.

* This happens in ''Film/{{Narc}}'' where the protagonist first hears one version of how an undercover cop died from his partner, who is also investigating it and the protagonist was brought in to help wrap up the case. Along the way, things are not as they seem and when they supposedly catch the real killers, they tell a different version of what happened. In the final confrontation, [[spoiler:the surviving partner is shot and gives what appears to be a deathbed confession of what really happened]].

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': In ''ComicBook/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' #121, Mary Jane, Peter, and J. Jonah Jameson tell the story of a bank robbery where they were present. Mary Jane describes the robber as a menacing thug, Jameson acting bravely, and Spider-Man as a hero. Jameson describes the robber similarly, himself as the hero, and Spider-Man as a coward and a criminal. Peter tells the truth (apart from him being Spider-Man); the robber was an amateur with a BB gun, Jameson acted cowardly, and he (as Spider-Man) didn't have to do much.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'': Over the course of the episode "Victor. Echo. November.", three different characters recount the tale of how Phantom Limb made his arms and legs invisible. It is completely different every time, though each also involves Billy "Quizboy" Whelan and how he himself ended up with a cybernetic arm. At the end of the episode, Dr. Venture even asks Billy directly about his arm; he replies, "That's an excellent question. I have no idea." The following season, the true story is told in flashback. It turns out everyone was wrong, though each story had a grain of truth (except Hank's, which was completely off the wall). Oddly enough, Billy's claim not to know his own story was also true.

Inspired by the famous Creator/AkiraKurosawa film ''Film/{{Rashomon}}'', in itself inspired by the short story ''In a Grove'' by Ryuunosuke Akutagawa. This influential early example is a sophisticated use of this and, [[UnbuiltTrope unlike many later examples]], provides no definitive answers as to what the truth is. Nowadays, the "Rashomon Episode" is a staple of {{sitcom}}s since it lends itself well to comedy.