“The ethics of a rear-window view” by Dr Jennifer Minter, English Works
Hitchcock stated that “of all the films I have made, this is to me the most cinematic”. He also stated that “my love of film is far more important to me than any considerations of morality”.
Rear Window (1954) is typical of his films that depict townscapes and cityscapes “still culture-bound to the nineteenth century. The film provides an intriguingly detailed portrait of American life.
Support Resources: Rear Window Membership
- Rear Window: main themes: the metaphoric window
- Rear Window: main themes: gender and subversion
- Rear Window: the murder narrative and ironies
- Rear Window: summary of favourite film techniques and contextualised key quotes and key symbols
- Rear Window: Hitchcock’s views and values: see gender and see voyeurism points
- Rear Window: film metalanguage (by “typical” paragraph)
- See an overview of the main symbols and views/values
- Rear Window: Some background: (McCarthyism and Townscapes)
- How to write an A + essay on films; film metalanguage and model sentences based on single film techniques, a cluster of techniques within a frame and a montage (match-cuts/storyboarding sequence)
- In order to write essays, be clear about the key concepts, main themes, and the problems relating to gender: see gender and see voyeurism points
- Rear Window: sample essay plans ( Jeff and Lisa and gender)
- Rear Window: sample essay plans (voyeurism theme)
- Rear Window: sample essay plans (urban-style living and relationships)
Rear Window: sample essay plans on film watching (as a metaphor) - Rear Window: 3 sample essays (text response).
- See our notes on text response from our lessons