The Power of Observation Explored Through Hitchcockâs Rear Window
Alfred Hitchcockâs cinematic masterpiece Rear Window explores the pleasure of watching something unfold upon others without someone having an awareness of our presence. This is something scholars refer to as Voyeurism. The protagonist Jeffreyâs spying on his neighbourhood is initially portrayed as his private hobby. However, later on, it becomes a shared experience with his fiance Lisa and nurse Stella. Though Stella and Lisa are concerned about the ethical issue of peeping at first, eventually they turn enthusiastic about Mr Thorwaldâs murder case.
One night, the scream of a woman reaches Jeffâs ears. Thereafter, he notices Mr Thorwald taking repeated trips out in the middle of the night. Other objects like ropes and saw make him even more suspicious. Even though Lt. Doyle, his policeman friend doesnât pay much heed to his amateur sleuthing, he persistently kept looking for pieces of evidence. In the end, we find Jeffreyâs suspicion comes out as truth, Thorwald indeed murdered his wife.Â
In the field of research, observation is one of the main bases for formulating hypotheses. In the film, we notice Jeffrey initially suspects that Thorwald was the man behind his wife's murder. With passing time, he collects shreds of evidence and gets even more confirmed about his suspicion. By observing Mr Thorwaldâs activities over a period of time, Jeff gets well acquainted with his habits, problems, likes and dislikes. All of these help him to form the hypothesis that Mr Thorwald had murdered his wife. A researcher needs an eye for details; in other words, he needs to be a good observer.
Observation is different from other methods of research like interviews and questionnaires. While the researcher needs to depend on the information provided by the interviewees and respondents in the case of interviews and questionnaires, in observation, the researcher gets to directly check the accuracy from the observed. Furthermore, observation does not need the willingness of the people to provide information about themselves. Many respondents do not feel comfortable speaking about themselves to an outsider, in such a situation, observation can be considered an effective method of research. As we watch in Rear Window, the researcher i.e. Jeffrey conducts his research without the knowledge of Mr Thorwald. It was towards the end of the film that Mr Thorwald catches him. However, things turn in Jeffreyâs favour in the end.
My personal experience
I am quite observant in nature. Although I never solved a murder mystery like Jefferey, there are instances when I closely observed certain matters. So, my dad a few years back was fascinated by a tiny birdâs nest, which was built in one of the trees on our lawn. Being obsessed with it, he asked me to have a look at it whenever I took an evening stroll on the lawn. He often talked about it at our dinner table. He so fondly spoke about the birdâs eggs which were greyish with red spots on them. Eventually, when I finally remembered to check out the nest, the birds were gone! A mild disappointment took over me. Dad asked me to keep an eye on the tree, at the same point of time next year.
Twelve months passed by; It was spring again! Dad again informed me about the nest. This time, I made up my mind to have a look at the nest at the earliest hour. I wanted to know when does the bird comes back to its nest, how does it look like, when does it lay eggs and when do the eggs get hatched? I have heard much about it from dad but this time I wanted to see it all. So I kept an eye on the nest, I kept coming back to it after every 2-3 hours. It was small, roughly the same size as my palm. The bird usually came back to its nest in the afternoon hours, sometime around 3-4 pm. It disappeared again for some time in the evening. However, after sunset, you would always find it there. The bird had a unique colour; it was mostly black with a splash of red on its wings. I never found it chirping though. After a week or so, I noticed eggs inside the nest! As previously explained by dad, the eggs were tiny and grey in colour and they had red spots on them. There were three eggs in total. Every day I came back to the tree to watch the bird and its eggs, it somewhat relieved my stress. It was my newfound hobby! After 10-15 days, finally, the eggs hatched. Oh, the inexplicable joy it brought! The birds were so tiny with a very little fur on their bodies. However, after staying there for around a week, the birds were gone once again.