RW voy good and bad - rear window notes!!! film by alfred hitchcock essay topic: is voyeurism good PDF

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rear window notes!!!
film by alfred hitchcock
essay topic: is voyeurism good or bad...

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CONTENTION: Hitchcock displays voyeurism as engrossing and treacherous simultaneously. INTRODUCTION Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller, Rear Window, depicts a photojournalist restricted to his Greenwich Village apartment after a dangerous stunt during a job. Much of the cinematography through the film is presented as the protagonist, L.B. ‘Jeff’ Jefferies’, perspective out of his apartments rear window. [ARGUMENTS HERE ONCE CREATED]. Hitchcock displays the act of voyeurism as truly engrossing and treacherous simultaneously. Yes, voyeurism is quite bad Topic Sentence: Voyeuristic actions are noted to result in risky and dangersome consequences. Evidence: 1. Mise-en-scene: Smashed camera in the background of Jeff’s apartment 2. “I can smell trouble right here… first you smash your leg, then you get to looking out the window, seeing things you shouldn’t see- trouble”- Stella 3. “I’m not much on rear window ethics”- Lisa Explanation: 1. The smashed camera represents his past punishment for voyeurism, Hitchcock has purposely placed it there to remind audience that Jeff does this for a living and that he feels it isn’t really a dangerous thing to do because he does it all the time. 2. Hitchcock makes sure that Stella is foreshadowing the danger that Jeff submits himself too. She is predicting the trouble’s he’s going to get into and she’s right, he ends up with two broken legs as punishment for his voyeurism. He makes sure this happens to place a sense of wariness and caution amongst the audience, make them feel suspense and tension. 3. It illustrates the first time that both Lisa and Jeff see that they’ve seen something personal and bursts their Thorwald, fun exciting bubble, that their actions come with a price and that price is seeing a woman get assaulted in their own home. Link: Throughout the film, danger lurks around every corner due to the voyeuristic actions occurring in Jeff’s apartment. Voyeurism is entertaining Topic Sentence: Rear Window circles its characters in the protection of the apartment, making the lives of the apartments across seem less real and more of an entertaining film. Evidence: 1. “Okay chief, what’s my next assignment?” -Lisa 2. “Now where do you suppose he cut her up?” -Stella 3. Jeff and Doyle watching Miss Torso dance Explanation: 1. Those words have connotations with a spy movie, something exciting with action. This illustrates that Lisa isn’t really taking the threat very seriously as she too doesn’t realise that it’s a man only a courtyard away. She’s making a joke of the situation. The line is used by Hitchcock to make sure the audience doesn’t see it as shocking. 2. Stella’s actions here demonstrate a few things. She’s gripping onto his wheelchair eating toast, bringing theories into this like what? Oh yeah, A THRILLER. Her eating and looking over at him is very symbolic of actions in a movie theatre. She views it as exciting. Hitchcock uses her to convey what the audience is thinking.

3. Whilst he’s talking to Gunnison, a smile perks Jeff’s face, illustrating his ‘peeping tom’ actions are enjoyable. Same happens to Doyle, he smirks watching her and Jeff has to remind him to keep his thoughts at bay as he has a wife. Hitchcock uses Miss Torso to provide a lighter, male-orientation view of looking out the window. Link: Lisa and Stella, at the start, both see the murder as not exactly real, both having a little bit of fun with the death of Mrs Thorwald. Jeff and Doyle, on the other hand, both take something exciting and interesting in Miss Torsos frolicking in her apartment. Hitchcock’s cinematography style that emphasises the entertaining and dangerous thing that’s cinema Topic sentence: Hitchcock uses multiple cinematography and editing elements to draw the audience in and make them a voyeur, like Jeff, into the lives of the residents. Evidence: 1.

Alfred Hitchcock uses the Kuleshov Effect. The Kuleshov effect is an editing montage technique demonstrated by Lev Kuleshov in 1910-20’s. Mental phenomenon where viewers have more meaning in the interaction of two sequential shots than one single shot in isolation. 2. Fenestration of apartments!

Explanation: 1. Hitchcock uses these multiple times throughout Rear Window such as: Miss Torso dancing then a cut to Jeff smiling or when the Dog Couple is trying to rush out of the rain and it cuts to Jeff smiling at their misfortune. It allows Hitchcock to put any shot before another creating an entirely different emotion in the audience. He uses it instead of a POV shot so we can see what Jeff is seeing, making the audience more voyeuristic than they already are. (this is a voyeuristic act that Hitchcock makes the audience perform and they are further compelled and interested in the story) 2. The arrangement of windows results in somethings being blocked from the audiences and Jeff’s view. This fenestration and only seeing what Jeff can see and not the whole story created a more compelling urge for the audience. They want to see more but they can’t, they can only view what the voyeur is viewing. Link: Through editing and cinematography, Hitchcock makes the audience a voyeur just like Jeff, drawing the audience in to see if that they’re doing it and they’re entertained then its not so bad....