REAR Window Theme Analysis PDF

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An analysis based on the very famous film of Alfred Hitchcock the rear window. It is very detailed explained, all the materials you'll need....

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REAR WINDOW THEME ANALYSIS: -------------------------------V 󳞥提倡或反对）（他的心理暗示） J: Jefferey, an action photographer, who has broken his leg and had to rest in his apartment for two months. His occupational background foreshadows his voyeurism later in the film, and gives an appropriate precondition for his new hobby. The film setting also gives indication for the protagonists voyeurism, since throughout the whole movie, Jeff doesnt move out of his apartment. This suggests that his observation is limited, objective and lack of consideration. When Lisa and Jeff witnessed Miss.Lonelyhearts date sexually assaults her, he suddenly realies what his doing might not be morally upright and questions himself I wonder if its ethical to watch a man with binoculars and a long focus lens, Lisa then comments their action were two of the most frightening ghoul Ive ever known. This points out one of the major ideas that Hitchcock has embedded in RearWindow, that apart from the fact that Jeffs observation pushes the detection of a potential crime, his secret observation to his neighbours and voyeurism should not be seen as appropriate. Moreover, Hitchcock points out that if something is morally incorrect, it doesnt make it right because it helped to push out another crime. *The ethics of looking and being looked at: that is what Jeffries ponders at eighty minutes into the movie. And what are the implications for us, the moviegoers? If, as viewers, we are hyper aware of our own watching because it is raised to the second degree (Watching Jeffries watching across the way), are we implicated or somehow absolved of any guilt? Does looking at looks cancel itself out? We are, after all, watching Jeff like a bug under a glass. What are the ethics of looking if it is looking at what others see? Is it still voyeurism if we are watching a voyeur do the watching? Me chaace  ie: - Lisa: Lisa began with a disagreeing attitude towards Jeffs secret observation and thought his action was diseased, however she was convinced when she noticed that Thorwalds wife left the apartment without bringing her jewelleries. Unlike Jeff, who strongly believed in his observation, Lisa was brave enough to break into Thorwalds apartment and looked for evidence. Although her action of sneaking into others apartment is also morally incorrect, she is unlike Jeff, and didnt make any conclusion before she got the final evidence. - Stella: She said she could smell trouble - Doyle: The only character throughout the film who presents reluctant to Jeffs action and the way he was trying to detect. - You didnt see the body how do you know it was a murder? - Now did anyone, including you, actually see her muder?  Showing suspicious to Jeffs observation, indicating that what he saw was very objective and lack of evidence. - Id like to remind you of the constitution and the phrase, search warrant issued by a judge who knows his bill of rights verbatim. Doyle, is a character designed to lead the audiences to come out of the movie, and come to realie how much their thoughts had been blindly led by Jeffries. Hitchcock aims to point out the commonly seen biased emotion towards the main character, and thus some of the viewers lose the judgement of right and wrong.

T c  d: Jeffs voyeurism, in another way, highlights the indifferent circumstances within the community. When the couple who live on the fire escape finds their murdered dog, no one in the neighbourhood stands out and says a thing. Their accusation to the neighbourhood that none of them know the meaning of the word neighbour is exactly opposite to the rear window ethics that Lisa and Jeff has been discussing. This suggests that although Jeff is desperate to know the stories happened behind the windows of his neighbours, he never really was looking out for them. His voyeurism is completely for his own amusement󳞥娱乐）. Although objectively, he embellishes󳞥󱧟化󳞦 his own action by telling himself and Lisa that theres something terribly wrong, nevertheless, Jeff chooses to keep detecting in a way that can keep amusing himself and satisfies his own desire. His voyeurism is sometimes portrayed as a coward action and completely selfish. -------------------------------C/c a 󳞥给󳚌居乱󳍈名字） H ad F: In Rea Wid, director Hitchcock creates a community outside Jeffs apartment window that actually ends up being a microcosmic representation of the world. Everyone is constrained in their little space, it is rarely seen that the neighbors interact with each other. Visually, Hitchcock emphasies this isolation by placing the characters in their own windows, with the walls as the barriers that obstruct them to have communication. This is also a reflection to the history in the 1950s, under the cold war, Americans live under the suspicion brought by McCarthyism. Friends sacrifice friends to save themselves, neighbours turn on neighbours and there is a lack of trust between people. Thus, distances are increased within a community, as well as isolation is exaggerated. This isolation is especially highlighted when the couple who lives on the fire escape finds their murdered dog, and accuses the neighbours that none of them understands the meaning of the word neighbour. J : Jeffs constant observation to his neighbours is an example of one neighbour speculating the others, peeping at their life and gives assumptions that aren't necessarily true is very reminiscent of the attitude of many Americans during the early 1950s. - In the film, Hitchcock indicates that Jeffs observation of Thorwald's couple has very little to do with his concern for Mrs.Thorwald, instead, it is similar to his job, indicated from the beginning of the film. He has simply documented something horrible but not taking any actions solving it. No matter how much Jeff has been concerned about his observation, he never really does anything to help his neighbours. This again reconfirms the couple with the dog's accusation that their community is cold and indifferent, people turn to be selfish and only focus on their own lives. - Moreover, the isolation within the community can also be shown with Jeffs nickname to the neighbours. For example, the meaning of the word Torso means body, indicating that when Jefferies observes Miss.Torso, he notices her body and appearance. Similarly, Jeff names Mrs.Lonelyhearts by her emotional statement since she is a single female. However, these names represent a rather stereotypical and narrow minded point of view, that Jeff either judge somebody by their appearance or their emotional statement, and turn out, some of his assumptions are wrong. Miss.Torso isnt the Queen Bee as he thought, she actually does have a husband and is very loyal to him. This further suggests that although Jeffs observes his neighbours, it is purely for his own entertainment. He never really tries to get to know...