Why do we watch RASHOMON in a communication class?

I think that we watched the movie RASHOMON in our communications class because the movie places significant relevance on the communication of it's characters and it's story line.  Communication is key in any circumstance, but in the movie, the lead characters convey the same story in 5 different ways, from the thief who rapes, to the Samurai whose greed takes over his common sense,  to the woodcarver who ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time, to the married woman who surrenders to her attacker, to the medium who conveys the story of a "dead man".


Each character in the film communicates "their story" of what happened, but as we soon find out, each character has a different TRUTH.  Each character is telling their TRUTH of the story, but what is the real TRUTHFUL depiction of the circumstances happening in the story.  You never really find out what was "THE REAL" story, which once again takes you to a circumstance where the communicator relays what they feel is a factual depiction of a story, but the fact is it all depends on how the listener interprets it within their understanding of the story in reference to their own life experiences and circumstances.


This film brings to light the significance of communication and how for each of us the way we receive messages or information can be translated in numerous different ways.  What we    feel is our truth and reality, may not be how another feels.  This is the key communication component, learning how to convey a message and have it interpreted by the masses as we have intended.