Voyeuristic Behaviors in Today's World
By honestly portraying voyeurism and even inviting the viewers to identify with the peeping activities of the main character, Hitchcock poses a critical question on human voyeuristic tendencies. The question still applies to the present; perhaps, it may be more relevant to today's world than ever before. As we have entered a digital era and accordingly adapted to so much change, our peeping behaviors have become in more various forms than before.
Social Media
Many people in the contemporary world engage in documenting their lives and looking at others' lives on social media. According to DataReportal, there are 4.20 billion social media users, "equating to more than 53 percent of the total global population." Indeed, the present world is really about exhibitionism and voyeurism in a digital form in that the number of social media users has surged in the past few years around the world, meaning that more people take part in showing their personal lives and viewing others' lives on a number of social media platforms.
Then, how is using social media related to the voyeurism presented in Rear Window? In the film, Jeff peeps into the neighborhood's lives through the window and reacts to those in certain ways. He chooses to either just pass it over or pry into what is going on to them, and this parallels the way people engage in social media. There are a number of "private" or "public" stories of their lives shared by numerous users, in which people decide whether they engage (likes, comments, shares, etc.) or not. There are users who choose to set their accounts public and open to strangers, just like the neighbors whose windows are wide open in the film; meanwhile, some users set their account private and open only to their acquaintance, like the newlywed couple who pulls down shades of their window.
Celebrities' Personal Lives
Not everyone is interested in celebrities' personal lives, but it has been one of the main interests of people nowadays, especially as media technology has considerably developed. Many people have sought after celebrities related news or gossips, and some of them even madly pry into their marriage life or family stuff. Although the awareness of the privacy rights of individuals has been raised more than in the past, ones for celebrities often have been violated or invaded. Some people's tendencies to be excessively curious about others' personal affairs and invade their personal space could be explained by human voyeuristic tendencies. Of course, not everyone is prying into others like that, and we cannot generalize the whole from some people's unethical actions; however, this certainly gives everyone an opportunity to critically ponder on the issue, questioning why it happens and what attitudes we should take regarding the situation. Going back to the film, what does Jeff's action of peeping into others tell us about? Was it ethical to do so?
Reality Shows
A wide range of viewers have been fascinated with the reality TV shows such as American Idol and The Real World. Reality shows that depict ordinary people's trivial moments in their daily lives have been pretty much in high demand, and this may be because it is another way of humans fulfilling the instinctive voyeuristic desires. This has not much difference from Jeff sneaking a peek into the neighborhood's apartment through the window, as what he was seeing is also "real" daily lives of ordinary people.
Why Is This Significant?
So now, the question is: why do we have to draw a connection from Rear Window to the contemporary daily lives? I believe it is more than necessary to reflect on our seemingly benign or insignificant activities through the main theme of the film. It is not easy to realize what meanings our daily actions hold and how significant they can actually be in our lives, since we all are living in this hectic world, and it is of course almost impossible to keep up with every action we carry out. However, it is crucial to sometimes just put things aside and reflect on our lives, and certainly, Hitchcock encourages us to really "think" deeply about philosophical and social aspects of voyeurism—specifically, human voyeuristic tendencies.
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