"Being The Gazer"

"Rear Window" is one of those films that just goes to prove that suspense and story can be created by simple techniques of the camera and amazing acting selections. This film is one that I have always wished to watch, but never took the time rent it or watch it when it is on tv. Being forced to watch it in class, I was a little nervous as to how it would come across. It's as if I have had this image of what the movie must be, in my head for so long, that to finally get the chance to watch it, it may result in disappointment.

Then the movie started and the unique Hitchcock style proved otherwise. I wanted to begin my viewing experience by asking myself, if during the film you become disenchanted or you feel the limitations set by this film are too predictable, then call it as a failure. However, if you get lost in the theme and the choices made deliver to that them, call it what it is, a success. I was so engulfed in this film, it was almost hard to put my finger on why. The films theme of viewership, presented by the gaze, is a strange enigma that I wouldn't expect to be so hypnotized by. I in fact, act similarly to the main character. He sits in the solitude of his apartment engulfed in what is bound to be a mysterious and unescapable image. As an audience member, I am forced to do the same from my sit among dozens of others.

One implementation that Hitchcock used, that helped gize the gaze a universal feel, was the cameras point of view. At many times throughout, our 2d screen becomes a telescope, binoculars, or a camera held by the main character, the gazer, and it thusly transfers ownership of the gaze to us, the audience. This became one of the most powerful instance of a limitation Hitchcock utilized. This is why the subject of the gaze was so easily accesible by the audience. Ultimately this is why it was a successful film. It set out to cover a theme that was promised to the audience, and it delivers it.