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Women’s images faced many alterations during the different cinematographic periods. The presence of women on the screen is commonly accomplished by the sexualization and objectivization of female characters. Mulvey, in her paper, indicates gender figures according to their roles and positions (750). According to her view, female characters do not play a significant role in the development of the storyline. Their function is mainly revealed in two levels: an erotic object for the protagonist and an erotic object for the auditorium. Mulvey exemplifies Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window to represent the picture of voyeurism and sexual division in cinema (754). Rear Window depicts a standard template in cinematography with the dominant male hero and stereotypical women blamed for all faults. The picture gives a template proving the vision that the man is always on the right side and the woman on the wrong (Mulvey, 755). Mulvey’s analysis of gender roles in Rear Window determines the Hollywood movie industry as a whole. It would be argued that Mulvey’s inquiry is both problematic and persuasive due to well-defined patterns of women in cinematography and parody of women’s image.
Hitchcock’s representation of women is mainly based on the investigative side of voyeurism. Mulvey claims that in Rear Window, women are the main object of observation and visualization (754). This assertion is also supported by Mondal, who states that Hitchcock utilizes women’s image as the source of surveillance and active watching in other pictures as well (85). Women are presented as a visual distraction from the narrative, while male characters’ image is combined with the whole story (Mulvey, 751). Heterosexual divisions according to active and passive positions makes male unpreferable to carry the burden of sexual object. Therefore, as stated by Mulvey, films with male-dominant characters illustrate women as a part of decorations (752).
In Rear Window, Hitchcock describes Lisa, the protagonist’s girlfriend, as a cliched glamourous woman who functions as the only sexual interest of the hero (Mulvey, 755). Moreover, visual voyeurism is actively observed through inactive phantasy positions and passive sexual attraction. Mondal supports this view as Hitchcock’s other films, including The Silence of the Lambs and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, symbolize women’s bodies as a clue and temptation for murders (90). Another example given by Mulvey is the movies Only Angels Have Wings and To Have or Have Not. In these pictures’ women are isolated, sexualized, and obsessed with the male protagonist. As their love line starts, women lose signs of their personality and become the property of the male hero, acting like an accessory (Mulvey, 754). Along with that, sadism and fetishism toward the physical beauty of the object and the representation of women as a tool for the hero’s satisfaction show voyeurism in Hitchcock’s films.
Another issue related to the female image in Rear Window is specified by the perception of males as the only reliable source. Mulvey points out that patriarchal ideological correctness in the film presents the male character as the only source of decent and trustworthy information (755). On the other hand, the Female is depicted as the figure on the wrong side, who is always blamed for the protagonist’s faults and weaknesses. According to Mulvey, Hitchcock’s heroes are symbolic orders for the law who possess power and money (755). The power obtained by male characters gives them a right to legally blame women for all evils (Mulvey, 755). Moreover, emotional bonds and the total dissolution of women’s figures add not only dramatic effect but also an erotic context to the story. Mondal draws another analogy by establishing Hitchcock’s female figures as dehumanized victims guilty for their physical attractiveness (91). The subjective use of the camera and unique identification style in Rear Window precisely show that women in the narrative object to the main character’s development.
Despite voyeuristic views and defined roles in Rear Window, it is vital to remember that the film is a parody of cliched female characters. The image of the Female is mainly raw and activated only to fulfill the male protagonist’s portraits. As mentioned by Mulvey, women’s images is exploited to induce voyeuristic or fetishistic mechanisms (756). This differs films from other types of art such as theatre and shows. Moreover, the production of images, namely camera work, aims to produce an illusion of Renaissance space by objectivization and sexualization of the female body (757). The film perfectly shows complex interaction and voyeuristic positions according to patriarchal norms. Mulvey’s argumentation presents the complete objectivization of women figures in Rear Window. The problem emphasized here is the absence of women’s psychological characteristics.
To conclude, Mulvey’s perspective regarding the issue is both persuasive and problematic. Her vision of female objectivization and sexualization is the primary concern of her paper. Rear Window gives a stereotyped glamourous image of women characters. The Female’s function in the film is to support visual satisfaction and facilitate the protagonists’ development. Moreover, the female character appears as the object to blame for her physical attractiveness. The main characters’ weaknesses and obsessions are usually justified by their inability to confront women’s seduction power. Power and money possessed by male protagonists give them the legal right to make females guilty for any reason.
Works Cited
Mondal, Subarna. “Dead but Not Gone: Female Body, Surveillance and Serial-killing in Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy.” Northern Lights: Film & Media Studies Yearbook 17.1 (2019): 85-100. Print.
Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Film Psychology, Society, and Ideology (1992): 746-57. Print.
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