Alfred Hitchcock is considered the godfather of thriller films. Rear Window is one of his most famous works. The film tells the story of Jeff, a photographer who breaks his leg and spies on his neighbors from his apartment window. He becomes convinced one neighbor, Lars Thorwald, has murdered his wife after witnessing suspicious events. The film uses point-of-view shots to put the audience in Jeff's perspective as he voyeuristically observes his neighbors, objectifying them without their knowledge or consent. A major theme is sexual objectification, particularly of the female ballet dancer neighbor Jeff watches undress.

1. Rear Window
ALFRED HITCHCOCK

2. Alfred Hitchcock
 For many people, Alfred Hitchcock is seen
as the godfather of thriller, developing proto
horror films, which is still used as a base in
most . Hitchcock developed many motifs
used in thriller films and created the
narrative for thrillers.
 Examples of Hitchcock’s work ;
• Psycho
• North by North West
• Rear Window

3. Rear Window
The film is about man ‘Jeff’, a photojournalist, who
recently broke his leg whilst shooting for a news
article. Due to his accident Jeff has no choice but to
stay in his room until his leg is healed.
Whilst sitting in his room, Jeff decides to observe his
neighbours through his ‘rear window’. One night he
hears a loud scream and a glass breaking. He then
sees Lars Thowald leaving the apartment.
This is where the mystery begins, as Jeff starts a race
to find out if Thorwald had in fact killed his neighbour.
Rear window uses a lot of POV and shows the
audience voyeurism and scopophilia as Jeff uses his
camera to spy on his neighbour.

4. POV
Rear window uses the POV shot excessively. This
shot allows the audience to see what is
happening through the eyes of the character.
The POV shot was developed by Alfred
Hitchcock, which he used to convey mystery
and build an atmosphere of unknown, which
makes thriller movies very suspenseful. The POV
shot also make the audience feel as if they are
in power.
In regards to Rear Window, the POV shot
objectifies the neighbours and makes the
audience think that the power lies in Jeff.
However, as Jeff is temporally disable, we know
that in reality Jeff has a very limited power.
The use of the POV shot in rear window is an
example of both scopophilia and voyeurism, as
the audience is able to gain a sense of please
by looking at the neighbours when the
neighbours don’t know, which makes the
audience feel empowered.

5. Sexual Objectification
A major theme in the film Rear Window is
sexual objectification. Sexual
objectification is when someone is
objectified by another person through
many different means.
In the Rear Window, the main source of
objectivities is from the main character,
Jeff. In a sense he is objectifying all of his
neighbours, as he is spying on them.
However, he is especially sexually
objectifying the ballet dancer, as on many
occasions he sees her getting changed
and was possibly gaining pleasure from
this.