Hitchcock Themes

Rating: Null/10 (29 April 2003)

Rear Window (1954), directed by Alfred Hitchcock is a magnificent film that in many ways conceptualizes and scrutinizes obsessive human curiosity spawned by voyeurism. While completing this seemingly rugged task by illustrating this apparent unconscious human behavior, Hitchcock manages to examine and illustrate many other motifs and themes. The two themes that will remain my major focus will be voyeurism and marriage. However, before exploring Hitchcock's techniques to illustrate these themes, it is important to define the concepts of theme and motif. Theme and motif are two terms that run parallel by definition. Their definitions are so closely related that it is possible that both theme and motif are one in the same. As defined by The American Heritage Dictionary, theme, in reference to a subject of artistic representation, is a topic of discourse or discussion. Motif, closely related refers to a recurrent thematic element in artistic representation One of the most fascinating aspects of Rear Window is the construction of the set. All of the events that happen are presented from one fixed location. The location is the rear window of L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart). The rest of the set is a reconstruction of block apartments at 125 West 9th Street, Greenwich Village. This aspect of the film is arguably the most important component of Hitchcock's portrayal of voyeurism when intertwined with idea of an immobile protagonist. With these elements intact, the film is seen from the perspective of a stationary L.B Jeffries, with everything happening from one location. Hitchcock captures his thematic interpretation of voyeurism through the construction of the set, in which he presents the apartments across the courtyard in a manner that provides full visual accessibility to the activities that are taking place inside each individual apartment in visual range. This effect, in turn, creates separate pseudo-films inside the major film. By combining the construction of the set with POV shots of an immobile L.B. Jeffries, who by trade is a photographer (profession voyeur), Hitchcock is able to conceptualize the positive and negative aspects of voyeurism. Marriage is another key theme presented throughout the film. Once more, the construction of the set juxtaposed with POV shots illustrate Jeffries' lack of enthusiasm concerning the idea of marriage. As he talks on the phone with the Editor with whom he works, he justifies he's rationale of anti-marriage (boredom, nagging and oppressiveness) by the voyeuristic observations he has made through the lives of Miss Torso, Miss Lonelyhearts, the Thorwalds, and the Newlyweds. Hitchcock acquires the audience's empathy for Jeffries on this matter by the POV shots of Jeffries as he gazes into each window. Marriage is a recurring theme throughout the film; he is confronted with the pressured to get married by Grace Kelly (his girlfriend), Stella (his masseuse), and the editor. It appears that his only nemesis to marriage is what he observes when he penetrates the private relationships of others. There are many elements and examples that further illustrate the themes of voyeurism and marriage, just as there are many other themes present in the film. Beyond his renowned title as the `Master of Suspense,' Hitchcock undoubtedly created a masterpiece that challenges both human behavior and the thinking process. He challenges the audience using many cinematic techniques but perhaps the most important technique used is the POV shot juxtaposed with pure cinema (no dialogue). When we look into the lives of others with L.B. Jeffries, we observe what he observes and we analyze each event simultaneously with him, therefore becoming the voyeur and detective also. The phenomenon of the POV shot interwoven into pure cinema also illustrates the power of suspense, for example, when the antagonist/murderer Thorwald looks into L.B. Jeffries window, he's also looking at us as we all invade his privacy while searching for the truth. What separates Hitchcock from the thousands of directors in the business is his mastering of film techniques such as angles, lighting, color and music (or the lack there of) used in a manner to formulate ideas and stimulate the perceptions of the audience. Rear Window unconsciously draws the audience in, to vicariously live through eyes of the different characters in the film as Hitchcock tactfully uses film techniques to reveal feelings and mood through gestures, rhythm, camera angles and shot composition. The beauty of Rear Window is the fact that every dialogue rendered, every camera angle presented, every color illustrated and every musical piece heard played some role in the film. This is what makes Hitchcock's films such a delight to dissect, everything visual and audible that he implements into his work has some significance to the overarching concept of the film.