Elements Of Feminism In Rear Window By Alfred Hitchcock

Within the action and suspense of Rear Window, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the theme of feminism is uncovered. Throughout Rear Window, Lisa Fremont, the female protagonist, is a symbol of feminism due to her character transformation.

From the moment that the apple touched Eve’s lips, women have been seen as an embodiment of all that is evil. This reflects misogynistic societal beliefs that women are below men. While many of the prejudices towards women are hidden in modern American society, some misogynistic stereotypes are still present. In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, one can see many misogynistic and sexist undertones. Big Nurse Ratched is in a position of authority over a large group of men and is seen as a tyrannical and unjust ruler. Although most of her methods would have been seen as awful when used by any person, the saturation of bad women in the novel creates an unfavorable picture of women in general. The balance of power in the ward is

Major Actors: James Stewart (L.B. Jefferies), Grace Kelly (Lisa Fremont), Wendell Corey (Thomas Doyle), Thelma Ritter (Stella), Raymond Burr (Lars Thorwald), Judith Evelyn (Miss Lonelyhearts), Ross Bagdasarian (Songwriter), Georgine Darcy (Miss Torso), Sara Berner (Woman on Fire Escape), Frank Cady (Man on Fire Escape), Jesslyn Fax (Miss Hearing Aid), Rand Harper (Newlywed), Irene Winston (Mrs. Emma Thorwald), Havis Davenport (Newlywed)

Feminist ideas are used throughout this story in both explicit and implicit ways to help describe the gender roles placed upon females in the 1950s. “That figure was a garish blond showgirl, a Hollywood ‘sexpot’ of no interest to intellectuals”. (Page 79) The author explicitly includes the

His wife seems to whine and constantly want him to be with her in bed. Upon this observation, Jeffries gains the perception of marriage as a physically and emotionally exhausting life.

Alfred Hitchcock uses many techniques throughout the film “Rear Window” to convey suspense. The major theme of the film regards L. B. “Jeff” Jefferies voyeurism. His intrigue in the everyday lives of his neighbours is viewed as intrusive and morally wrong on principle. However, without this voyeuristic tendency the crime committed by Thornwald would never have been solved. Thus, the audience is lead through emotional turmoil in questioning whether it is wrong to invade someone’s privacy, or just and heroic to solve a crime. We see the climax of the film when Lisa and Stella venture out of Jefferies apartment to investigate the murder of Mrs Thornwald. This leads to a confrontation between Thornwald and Jefferies. These scenes build suspense through the use of detachment, the use of ‘split-screen’, ‘red-herring’ plot devices, lighting, music and diegetic sound.

Even though Hitchcock presents women as heroes and has taken them outside the so-called “norms,” women still tend to fall in line with gender-role stereotypes at one point or another. For instance, in Rear Window, Lisa is introduced as this beautiful, a high-society fashion consultant in New York City. She is in love with Jeffries, but Jeffries insists that they cannot marry because she cannot live his lifestyle, which involves traveling around the world and living

Rear Window and The Birds were both filmed around the 1960’s a time in which the film industry was experiencing a great downfall. Because there were so many movements going on around the world such as, feminist movements, racial movements, post war movements, political movements etc. many films were not successful and there were many different genres that were being used in films. There were also many different independent films that were produced; this had an influence on American film as well. It is surprising how successful Hitchcock was during this time period where film production was looking grim. In order to be successful in America during this period of struggle Hitchcock had to shy away from the usual style and production of film.

Post World War II America was a society full of anxiety. In the late 1950s Americans were deeply troubled by so many social shifts. Major changes were occurring both internally and externally. They were in the midst of the Cold War, and were vastly approaching the atomic age. There was a communist scare and fear of Russian expansion. Joseph McCarthy was hunting down major celebrities for their communist involvement and the 'Red Influence' seemed to be everywhere. The move toward suburbia and the growth of multinational corporations were flourishing. People seemed to be pulled in every direction. Another change that would have a major impact on society for years to come was the

Many different depictions of gender roles exist in all times throughout the history of American culture and society. Some are well received and some are not. When pitted against each other for all intents and purposes of opposition, the portrayal of the aspects and common traits of masculinity and femininity are separated in a normal manner. However, when one gender expects the other to do its part and they are not satisfied with the results and demand more, things can shift from normal to extreme fairly quickly. This demand is more commonly attributed by the men within literary works. Examples of this can be seen in Tennessee Williams' “A Streetcar Named Desire”, where Stella is constantly being pushed around and being abused by her

On the surface, women occupy a dominant role in the domestic politics of the novel. Robbie testifies to several ways in which this is true. First,

Charlotte Perkins Gilman does a remarkable job letting us get inside the head of her unnamed main character in “The Yellow Wallpaper” giving us a taste of the female psyche, in particular showing how historically some women subject themselves to the control of men. Alternatively, Nick Hornby does something altogether similar with “High Fidelity”, introducing us to Rob Fleming, whose male psyche reveals, among other things, how men focus and base their success one expectations influenced by gender roles. In the paragraphs that follow, I will attempt to compare and contrast Gilman’s and Hornby’s findings regarding the male and female psyche. In particular, I hope to explore how gender divisions have vastly influenced society.

In this essay, I will be exploring the similarities and differences of female characters in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams; and ‘The World’s Wife’ by Carol Ann Duffy. Both texts denote women as somewhat weak and incompetent and as having a predatory attitude towards the mainly dominant male characters. A Streetcar Named Desire was written in 1945 and it initially connected with America’s new found taste for realism following the Great Depression and World War II. William’s based the character of Blanche on his sister who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Williams himself was homosexual, and

From the feminist criticism, everything seems somehow related to everything else. Feminism is involved in any given field cannot be cordoned off. Marxism, however, ignored the position of women which is strange as its key concepts are the “struggle between social classes and the blinding effects of ideology”, it might have been employed to analyze the social situation of women. Feminism saw clearly that the widespread of negative stereotyping of women in literature and film constituted a formidable obstacle on the road of true equality causing the men to act exploitative, denigrating and repressive in their relations with women. The Feminist criticism displays that independent women are either a “seductress or dissatisfied shrew”. They either use their sexuality or they are bad tempered and aggressively assertive which doesn’t give a very positive view. Dependent women are viewed as the “cute but helpless or self-sacrificing”. They lose something in order to help someone else which received appraisal. The “Great Gatsby” is an example of negative stereotyping, what the Feminism fights against. The “Great Gatsby” is about the adventures of Nick Carraway in East/West Egg and his perceptions about the people there, especially the women (Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle). The women represent the negative stereotyping of women; Daisy the “cute but helpless” and Myrtle the “Unworldly, self-sacrificing angel” representing the typical stereotyped woman and Jordan the “Dissatisfied shrew”

All characters in the novel are living in a man’s world; nevertheless, the author has tried to change this world by the help of her characters. She shows a myriad of opportunities and different paths of life that woman can take, and more importantly she does not show a perfect world, where women get everything they want, she shows a world where woman do make mistakes, but at the same time they are the ones that pay for these mistakes and correct them.