Rear Window: A Glimpse Into the Gender Roles and Expectations of America's Past

I never thought that I could be infuriated at a director, production team, or writers. Or camera angles. Or a movie in general. 

    But within the first half of the film Rear Window, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the script and camera angles became nagging and irksome, just as infuriating as the distinctly gendered characters written in and performed to the societal expectations of the 1950s (and perhaps before, too). 

    It's important to note that this film is based on a novel written in 1942 by Cornell Woolrich, which is a book I have never read, and that I cannot expect the movie to fulfill the entire plot or character development as the author intended. This critique is based solely on the interpretation of the plot through camera angles and character archetypes consistent with historical expectations. 

    Men and women, within the script's character archetypes, are severely divided by power and pettiness. For example, the main character Jeff is a travel photographer. His esteem comes from traveling the world and upholds the 1950s values of masculinity: that men must be rough, and tough, and should generally take women less seriously because they have less power. One of his lines is written along the lines of "trying to keep warm in a C-54 in weather below 20 degrees" when he explains to his lover Lisa that she doesn't fit into his life, so he can't make a decision. Interestingly, Jeff scoffs at the alternative of fitting into Lisa's life instead and becoming a fashion photographer, as this idea goes against the masculinity standard set here. His career is mentioned multiple times by props (the camera he uses to spy, the photos in the room, and his eye for success being a factor that helps him suspect a murder coverup) and is the reason he has any hope as he continues to recover, highlighting a standard that a career is a thing for a man to live for in this period. 

    Women's standards of feminity are commented on, as Stella the nurse, and Lisa generally stay in the kitchen, and the flipped relationship between the suspected murderer and his wife cause Jeff to question if something has gone awry. Stella and Lisa are both seen serving food to Jeff multiple times and talk about being more than they are already. Stella, in her debut scene, ponders if she should have been more than an insurance nurse, and Jeff comments on how good at her job she is. Lisa is employed somehow in the fashion industry and seems to be successful, but is willing to leave her job to be Jeff's lover (something that I suspect will never actually happen due to the standards set in the film). Women's jobs are shown as nurses, hosts (the woman in the lower right apartment), and dancers and are limited to this, while men's jobs are detectives, photographers, policemen, and confidantes (so far). These facts fuel the expectations of femininity as imposed by camera angles. 

    When Jeff and Lisa talk, Jeff is mainly shot at a higher angle when he is alone in the shot. Lisa is sitting at a lower angle, sometimes kneeling down to make her height lower so long as the lights are on. This detail feeds their relationship dynamic, as Jeff disregards and undercuts a lot of what Lisa has to say. The bones of their relationship are those from the 1950 gender expectations, where women were considered as the weaker sex, even if they achieved success. 

Gender expectations are not only shown, but promoted throughout the film. 

    As an outsider looking into a window at a snapshot of past expectations and the resulting objectification, I sincerely hope that the promotions about gender roles within Rear Window will be seen only in history as cinematography advances.