rear window Flashcards
curtain rise
The way the curtain rises at the beginning of the film positions Jeff’s neighbor’s windows as small stages immediately displaying his point of view as others lives being there for his entertainment to distract from his immobile state.
staging
The various stages of marriage portrayed throughout the film, allow Jefferies to materialize his own fear of entrapment as opposed to gaining further insight into his neighbors. He deems the couple on the fire escape, above his eye line, unattainable happiness in commitment, rarely paying attention to their daily activities, while he predominantly focuses on the Thorwalds on his eyeline, whom he regards as the reality of marriage. He looks down on Miss Lonelyhearts as another reality of being single, however, is not affected by this as he is a male who can focus on his career without harsh judgment from society, compared to females. Jefferies never sees past the scenes of entrapment as he does not want to acknowledge his fear of commitment to Lisa. He is encouraged by the steel bars encasing the couple on the fire escape, which he views as a cage, and the “drastic” murder of Mrs. Thorwald at the hands of Lars Thorwlad as it was his only escape from his “nagging wife”.
mockery of ms lonelyheart
Hitchcock’s utilisation of the Kuleshov effect highlight Jefferies indifference to Miss Lonelyheart’s desperation and as the camera switches from the point of view of Jefferies to a close up shot of him, it is further revealed that as he lifts his glass up in sync with Miss Lonelyheart, highlighting the amusement and pleasure he gets from watching others, simply reacting to her profound unhappiness with “Poor Miss Lonelyheart.”
Dress evolutions of Lisa
Lisa’s initial wardrobe of elegant, feminine dresses represents her upper-class refinery whilst also highlighting her possible incompatibility with Jeff. However, as she changes and compromises throughout the film until she is finally seen in loafers, jeans a blouse signifying the change in her character as she conforms more to the ‘adventurous’ lifestyle of Jeff.
Phallic imagery of the camera lens: ‘portable keyhole”
Jeff uses his vantage point to exert control over those around him as his voyeurism becomes an escape from his emasculated state. This is seen in how he often objectifies the women, this vulnerable state is further reinforced by the phallic imagery of the camera and the binoculars as we see he reclaims his masculine-driven need for control through his unethical observations.
Incapacitated wheelchair vibes
The diminution of Jeff’s masculinity as a result of his incapacitation is represented through phallic symbols, his inability to uncork a wine bottle at dinner, and the long lens camera that rests on his lap as he observes his neighbors.
Gory excitement of Stella: “cut up”, “splattered”
Stella despite originally resisting and disapproving of Jeff’s voyeuristic behaviors eventually joins in with the voyeurism becoming increasingly interested and then actively involved. Through this Stella represents the audience as the use of her gory language of “cut up” and “splattered” showcases that it is human nature to be excited by the dramatic as she moves from being a morally grounding character to an excited voyuer.
Hunger sculpture
The sculpture symbolically named ‘hunger’ depicts the isolated New York’s community and is representative of the general desire for more human connections.
Set being closed off McCarthyism
Only one narrow road - close-minded and narrow community 50s McCarythyism - civil war, very suspicious
Screen-like, panopticon staging
The panopticon staging of the Rear Window set positions Jeff’s neighbor’s windows as small stages, setting up his view of others to be purely for his entertainment. Each neighbour’s window is isolated from one another and displayed similarly to individual television screens, for Jeff and viewers alike to watch in a panoptican-like fashion emphasising the entertainment value that can be drawn from observing others’ activities without their knowledge.
- Lisa was only interested when entering the view
Only when Lisa enters the frame of the scene does she showcase to jeff she is exciting & adventurous transition in the way he sees her, reflecting outwards and doesn’t look at people around him, using distraction, only when enters is he forced to address that is a good option for him
Ending matching Lipset, vogue vs the adventure book
Whilst Lisa pretended to read an adventure book before replacing it with a fashion magazine represented her ability to deceive Jeff into believing she is the adventurous “Girl Friday” he is looking for. This signifies that although Lisa hasn’t really changed her outward appearance changing allowed Jeff to appreciate her.
- Rear Window ethics: “Peeping Tom”
Jeff’s neighbors in Rear Window are powerless and vulnerable as they don’t know they are being observed, imposing upon this vulnerability gives a sense of dominance or authority for Jeff. Viewers also become voyeurs through their
intimate connection with Jeff’s perspective, becoming just as fascinated with the Thorwald mystery as Jeff. To emphasize that Jeff and simultaneously the audience is doing something unethical Stella acts as a moral compass and likens watching the neighbors to an offense that could end up in a “six-month sentence”.
Camera angle his perspective implicates viewers
The dominant shots of the film are point-of-view shots in order to evoke the audience’s interest and implicate them in the morally questionable voyeurism. The camera angles also give a limited perspective, as the audience looks from Jeff’s point of view they are limited by factors such as walls and blinds meaning the audience doesn’t have a complete view of what is happening and can only view things as Jeff continuously watches his neighbors, forcing them to become voyeurs alongside him.
Wider commentary on the film industry, escapism
Hitchcock positions the camera so that we follow Jeff’s perspective in order to implicate the audience as voyeurs themselves making a wider comment on how film is also a matter of voyeuristic escapism where individuals seek to distract themselves from their own lives by watching others.
