Voyeurism in Rear Window and the

Voyeurism in Rear Window and the “Post-War Crisis of Masculinity” Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 production Rear Window is undoubtedly a film that is concerned with voyeurism. It has been argued that it thematises cinematic spectatorship in the sense that it is a movie about watching movies. This is because the central character Jeff is confined to his wheelchair watching the people in the windows across the courtyard similar to the cinemagoer that is confined to their …

…Rear Window, in particular to the central character Jeff as he typifies a victim suffering from a masculinity crisis. Hitchcock is able to provide an insight to relevant issues of fifties American society through his theme of voyeurism. This hegemonic theme also allows Hitchcock to fulfil the criteria of fifties Hollywood cinema by combining the love story with that of a murder mystery in order to achieve the commercial success the production company Paramount demanded.