Searching for the "repeat a story from different perspective" meme
November 27, 2014 5:47 AM Subscribe
There's a particular meme that I remember seeing a while back, probably on Reddit, and I'm wondering if (a) it has a name and (b) if anyone has curated examples of it.
The meme goes like this: one person will relate, in the first person, a story that happened to them. Then in the replies, other users will relate the same story from the perspectives of the other people involved. I can only remember one concrete example, which I think occurred in a "what's a spooky thing that happened to you?" thread:
User A writes a story about how he was sitting round a campfire at night when a guy wanders out of the woods playing a guitar.
User B replies with a story about how he was wandering through the woods at night playing his guitar and came across a group of campers.
User C replies with a story (written from the point of view of the guitar) about how he was being played by his owner as he wandered through the woods etc. etc.
Often the replies closely mimic the structure of the original story (same sentence structure etc.)
Has anyone ever seen a name for this particular meme? Or a list of examples?
The meme goes like this: one person will relate, in the first person, a story that happened to them. Then in the replies, other users will relate the same story from the perspectives of the other people involved. I can only remember one concrete example, which I think occurred in a "what's a spooky thing that happened to you?" thread:
User A writes a story about how he was sitting round a campfire at night when a guy wanders out of the woods playing a guitar.
User B replies with a story about how he was wandering through the woods at night playing his guitar and came across a group of campers.
User C replies with a story (written from the point of view of the guitar) about how he was being played by his owner as he wandered through the woods etc. etc.
Often the replies closely mimic the structure of the original story (same sentence structure etc.)
Has anyone ever seen a name for this particular meme? Or a list of examples?
Scroobius Pip's "Angles", and there's an Oasis video that I can't find right now, where a bunch of bad actions turn out to be good actions once you have some perspective. And isn't there a TNG episode where Riker gets accused of a scientist's murder, and everyone's flashbacks are different?
posted by Leon at 6:27 AM on November 27, 2014
posted by Leon at 6:27 AM on November 27, 2014
There's a popular subreddit called Life as an NPC where users submit stories from the viewpoint of incidental characters in videogames. Threads often go in a round like you suggest, where one person will submit a story from the perspective of a Jarl in Skyrim, then someone else will respond with the story from the perspective of the town guard, and then someone else from the perspective of the dragon.
If you peruse Reddit, this might have been where you first came across it.
posted by 256 at 6:33 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
If you peruse Reddit, this might have been where you first came across it.
posted by 256 at 6:33 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
Another thing that will happen on reddit a lot is that there'll be some story about, oh, let's say a guy breaking his leg falling off a chair and no one believes him. So then the guy's wife will post and say something like, "I can confirm the story, I'm the OP's wife" and include a picture of them. And then some joker will comment "can confirm, am chair" and link to a pic like this for lulz.
posted by phunniemee at 6:47 AM on November 27, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 6:47 AM on November 27, 2014 [5 favorites]
There was the Danquan/toaster thread on Imgur. I couldn't begin to piece it all together right now (this might help?) but basically there was a long thread by someone whose sister (Emily) wanted to move in with her boyfriend (Dan/Danquan). Shit hits the fan, their (divorced) father is brought over to the housem, then Dan's parents (Emily might be pregnant) and all of this is being reported live by the older brother.
At one stage the OP writes:
- Some of it is very funny, most of it is rude and misogynistic.
- I can't believe I've just written this. Have I turned into an acne-ridden fourteen year old boy living in his mom's basement?
posted by humph at 7:21 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
At one stage the OP writes:
Update4: My sister just broke up with Dan, mom is again crying, and my Dad just kicked Dan's dad out of the house for picking up a toaster.For months that toaster has been hijacked in any number of unrelated threads, has become very much an "in" joke and (finally to return to your question!) other imgurians have assumed the role of Dan, Emily, the father, the mother, Dan's parents and, of course, the toaster.
- Some of it is very funny, most of it is rude and misogynistic.
- I can't believe I've just written this. Have I turned into an acne-ridden fourteen year old boy living in his mom's basement?
posted by humph at 7:21 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
I hope not to be "that guy." But if you want the written version of Rashomon you could look up the original (in translation) by Akutagawa, entitled "In A Grove."
Rashomon is another story written by Akutagawa. It's a gruesome tale with enough Japanese metaphors to last you through all those long winter nights. It's set at the ruins of the southern gate of Kyoto. The style is what's been called ero-guro (erotic-grotesque). Kurosawa evidently thought a gate was better than a grove for the title of his movie. Rashomon and In A Grove are not anywhere near alike.
The American film, The Outrage used the plot of In A Grove, with William Shatner in one of the leading roles. Instead of strangers at a gate, this film was strangers at a train depot, waiting for a train, each giving their unique version of a rape/murder.
posted by mule98J at 12:07 PM on November 27, 2014
Rashomon is another story written by Akutagawa. It's a gruesome tale with enough Japanese metaphors to last you through all those long winter nights. It's set at the ruins of the southern gate of Kyoto. The style is what's been called ero-guro (erotic-grotesque). Kurosawa evidently thought a gate was better than a grove for the title of his movie. Rashomon and In A Grove are not anywhere near alike.
The American film, The Outrage used the plot of In A Grove, with William Shatner in one of the leading roles. Instead of strangers at a gate, this film was strangers at a train depot, waiting for a train, each giving their unique version of a rape/murder.
posted by mule98J at 12:07 PM on November 27, 2014
I think Raymond Queneau, a French writer, has a book in which he tells the same incident (something about a man getting jostled on a bus in Paris, IIRC) from something like fifty perspectives (or maybe it's in a lot of different styles?).
posted by jayder at 2:25 PM on November 27, 2014
posted by jayder at 2:25 PM on November 27, 2014
The English translation of the Raymond Queneau book is Exercises in Style. It's text.
There's also a book called 99 Ways to Tell a Story by Matt Madden that sort of a visual/textual re-imagining of it.
Not that I think those are really what the OP was looking for... but in case anyone wanted more info on them, since they *are* sort of relevant to the topic. (They were a pain to try to search for initially when I'd heard about them but didn't know what to call them, so if it saves even one person from that...)
posted by stormyteal at 2:53 PM on November 27, 2014
There's also a book called 99 Ways to Tell a Story by Matt Madden that sort of a visual/textual re-imagining of it.
Not that I think those are really what the OP was looking for... but in case anyone wanted more info on them, since they *are* sort of relevant to the topic. (They were a pain to try to search for initially when I'd heard about them but didn't know what to call them, so if it saves even one person from that...)
posted by stormyteal at 2:53 PM on November 27, 2014
Have a look at Blood Simple, the first feature film directed by the Coen Brothers. Without giving too much away, several people arrive independently at a crime scene and draw different (wrong) conclusions based on the incomplete evidence that they find.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:09 PM on November 27, 2014
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:09 PM on November 27, 2014
The TV show Leverage did an episode called The Rashomon Job. It was fun.
posted by Weeping_angel at 11:57 AM on November 28, 2014
posted by Weeping_angel at 11:57 AM on November 28, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by phunniemee at 5:53 AM on November 27, 2014 [12 favorites]