Surveillance In Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window

Imagine a tower filled with prisons, each cell containing a window facing the outdoors. Now picture another building circling the tower similar to a ring. Observers in the annular building keep a constant surveillance on a large group of individuals contained within the cells of the tower in order to catch and discipline any misconduct—a concept known as Panopticism. In the movie Rear Window, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the main character Jeff lives in a neighborhood with a set up startlingly similar to the Panoptic system, as his neighborhood is also annularly shaped. Therefore, people can observe all their neighbors through their open windows. In the film, Jeff has nothing to do but devote his days to constantly studying his neighbors,

In a Panopticon, inspecting each individual’s movements at a single given moment is impossible owing to the tower containing far more inmates than observers. In Foucault’s words, “visibility is a trap.” If a viewer is engrossed in watching one inmate, another may be up to no good. In Rear Window, the most crucial moments Jeff needs to observe occurs when he is focusing his attention elsewhere. When Jeff is unable to view Mr. Thornwald, Thornwald murders his wife. While Jeff centers his notice on his girlfriend Lisa, Thornwald strangles a dog close to unearthing his plot. As Lisa attempts to gather evidence against Thornwald while he is absent from his apartment, Jeff’s one job was to signal Lisa with a flashbulb upon Thornwald’s return. Unfortunately, Jeff becomes distracted by Miss. Lonelyhearts preparing to commit suicide and misses his opportunity to warn Lisa of Thornwald’s approach. No matter how studiously someone scrutinizes a group of people, in the Panoptic system, with all the inmates so spread out, a person cannot keep his or her eyes on