How does Alfred Hitchcock Shape Audience Expectations in the Opening Scenes of Rear Window?

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How does Alfred Hitchcock Shape Audience Expectations in the Opening Scenes of Rear Window?

Prior to watching Rear Window, the expectations the audience would have would be that the film was going to be a combination of romance, comedy and thriller. This is because all of his Hitchcock’s films have been in that style.

The opening credits shape the audience’s expectations in the following ways; as the credits are rolling, the blinds are going up on the window. This gives a kind of theatrical impression. The music is light and cheerful, reminding the audience that there is going to be romance and comedy in the film, but then ‘Alfred Hitchcock’ flashes up on the screen, reminding the audience of his style, therefore suggesting the film is also going to be a thriller. Out of the window, you can see the scene for the film. It is set in the city, and it is realistic, so it is going to be set at the present time (when the film was made).

The opening scene gives the audience a sense of location by looking out the window around at the other windows. The camera keeps zooming in at certain places, suggesting thriller as it is like spying. Also, the title of the film flashes up quickly, suggesting thriller. The film introduces the central character of Jeffries by showing a close-up of him. He is in a full-leg cast, showing that he is immobile. He is sweating, showing the heat and that he is uncomfortable. Hitchcock introduces the plot strands of mystery and romance through various visual and verbal clues. Around the room, there are pictures of high action scenes, showing that he is used to action and danger. This suggests that there is going to be some action and danger later on in the film. The clue that there is going to be a romantic side to the story is when the camera zooms in on a picture of Lisa, showing that Jeffries has some feelings for her.

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As the story continues Hitchcock continues to shape the audience’s expectations in the following ways. We learn a lot about Jeffries through the phone conversation. He describes his cast as a ‘cocoon’. This suggests to the audience that he is going to transform in someway, like a caterpillar into a butterfly, and now he is the caterpillar in the cocoon, so by the end of the film he will have become the butterfly. In the conversation he mentions Lisa. He says that she’s nice “but she expects me to marry her”. This shows that he does not want to ...

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