Film Lit Log #1: Bigger Connections - Rear Window

The film “Rear Window” was released on August 4, 1964, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It’s a story about an injured leg photographer who had to sit in a wheelchair while healing and believes that he witnessed a murder crime from his apartment. Throughout the storylines in the movie there are a couple of interesting points that I think can be connected to the real world. This includes the actions that Jeff, the main character, takes. The way he approaches watching his suspicious neighbor is questionably legal. Even though Jeff’s behavior paid off and the neighbor was arrested, the steps he made to get to that point may not have been morally correct.

First off, Jeff was bored of having to stay in the apartment until he recovers. One day he found that he could see the apartments across from him and he started to watch and look across the apartment every day as his daily routine during his recovery. There’s Miss Lonelyheart, Miss Totes, the newly married couple, songwriter, and Lars Thorwald and his wife. Everyone seems to have some things to do in the apartment that kind of connect with their jobs and seems like they have some troubles in the beginning. Lars Thorwald is a salesman, he lives with his wife across from Jeff. His wife usually just stays in bed and eats in bed. One day Jeff suddenly realizes that he hasn’t seen Mrs. Thorwald for a long time and starts to look deeper at Lars Thorwald’s apartment. Jeff had kept watching Lars Thorwald’s actions and even want to go in and search for evidence to support his thought. The actions Jeff takes leads me to think that in the real world is it legal to watch people from your house all day every day? In my opinion, if you watch or see something of other people on the street from your house then, of course, it’s legal. As well as if you watch it or accidentally see it then it’s also legal. In Jeff’s case the actions he takes, it goes a bit too far, from watching it a couple of times a day to all day even at night time. Then, I think it’s illegal in real society because it eroded the privacy of others. In the movie, it’s legal that he even get his neighbor arrested and had evidence and everything right for it which is questionable and makes this connection interesting.

Continuing on it also makes me wonder, where does it stop being just watching and becomes stalking? In Jeff’s case what he does, I think the change started once he knowest the dog was died and reminded him of the little flower garden that Mr. Thorwald was working on earlier. Jeff started looking at Lars Thorwald’s apartment and knowing his wife wasn’t in there as well as the blind was closed for a few days and there were no shadows of a person. He starts to use the camera for looking into the apartment and even took pictures of it. The moment he starts taking pictures and watching his actions 24/7 it turns to stalk instead of just watching for fun. In real society, the action of stalking is illegal, and taking pictures of it will get worst in the real world which will turn into a crime and go to jail. If they result in that situation then they might end up with a penalty of up to 5 years in jail.

More on to the legal and illegal issue another idea that I have is that was what Jeff did morally right? In the movie, Jeff’s behavior paid off and the neighbor Lar Thorwald had arrested and confirmed the crime of murder. In my opinion that helping to find the murderer and being brave enough to stand out as being a witness with evidence is really morally right. At the same time, the way he gets the evidence could be not morally right because you shouldn’t be looking and watching others on what they doing in their house and taking pictures of them. Opinion wise I think that the definition of morality and if what Jeff was right or wrong cloud be different depending on the person’s view of seeing it and thinking about it. It’s also really interesting that when we watch the movie we are also watching others’ daily life from the same point as Jeff’s views and we even view Jeff’s daily. In conclusion, Jeff’s actions of legal and illegal, as well as morally right or wrong, and the possible result difference between the movie and real society is an interesting point to think of.