The Ingenious in Hitchcock's Framing

Alfred Hitchcock's movie Rear Window is a movie that transcends time. It can be related to society decades after it was released. I think great works can be labeled "great" because of the interpretations that come from it. Many works of art are still being discussed and argued over today. Whether it be with literature, paintings, cinema, or drama, the most monumental ones are the ones that can also be related to. When you look at Hitchcock's movie, Rear Window, you are able to see very many elements that make Hitchcocks such a great director. You can also find evidence that he thinks he's the best in the world. Like John Bolton says in his essay titled Space of Rear Window, "...the film is engaged in a playful acknowledgement of its own constructed ness an acknowledgement which it shares with its audience." Hitchcock uses his actors to make his audience react certain ways to what's going on.

Hitchcock films the movie mostly from the point of view of Jeffries. There are some times that we can see Jeffries, but he stays within his apartment to demonstrate his mindset. With his inability to walk he in confined to a wheelchair, therefore he in confined to his apartment, and his mind is stuck with nothing to do other than observe people through the courtyard. Each of his neighbor's windows gives him an inside look in their lives. It's almost as if he has a remote and can click through channels. He can watch Miss Lonelyhearts, Miss Torso, the newly weds, or the arguing couple. Their window frames allow them to be sectioned off from each other even though they live next door. It's almost as if we can only see glimpses of their real lives, but not everything. It reminds me of cell phones in modern times. We view people from a very small frame on our phone, and even though we think we see a lot of their lives on social media, we are still only seeing a small part of what's really going on. In 2021, people are reluctant to visit someone and see them face-to-face because of the ease that comes with cell phones. Even in Rear Window, the courtyard is a sort of community; however, not many people know what is happening with their neighbors. 

His framing adds an extra element to Rear Window. When Jeffries and Lisa are talking in the beginning they are sitting with Jeffries window behind them. The panels of the window indirectly separate the two of them showing a separation between the characters themselves. It's very subtle, yet it adds another level to the meaning of the characters relationship with the space around them.