“In other words, the cinema as window and frame – the first of our seven modes of being (in the cinema/world) – is ocular – specular (i.e. conditioned by optical access), transitive (one looks at something) and disembodied (the spectator remains a safe distance).” (Elsaesser & Hagener, 2009).
Windows and frames are common themes throughout most films. Windows are the obvious ones, used to see through to the outside or through to the inside of a scene. Framing is used in each shot in films in order to to set up a character or scene in a particular way, as well as to include important aspects that may be in the background.
An example of windows used in film is Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954), which follows a photographer who is wheelchair bound as he spies on his neighbors through his apartment window.
The window is a key theme throughout the film as the main character uses binoculars in order to spy on his neighbours and witnesses things, that lead him to uncover that one of them have committed a murder.
The window positions Jeffries in a position of power in the sense that he is able to sit above and look down upon his neighbours. He does not hold all the power though as he is bound to his wheelchair with his heavy cast.
It also creates a safe distance for him from the action that was occurring whilst still being able to observe. Essentially the window allows audiences to see the ‘action’ of the film from a new perspective and like the main character – at a safe distance.
Windows are also an immense theme used throughout the film Girl on the Train (2016),which follows a divorcee who becomes entangled with a missing persons investigation.
The protagonist Rachel takes the same train every single day and she is continuously shown to be looking through the train window, watching as houses go by.
The window in this situation symbolizes her isolation as it separates her from a specific home, which she watches everyday. She begins to observe the family that lives there and becoming obsessed with imagining what goes on behind the windows in the home.
Windows can be more than just something that a character looks out of, they can symbolize many different types of things, as seen through these two examples.
Reference:
Elsaesser, T, Hagener, M, 2009, “Cinema as Window and Frame”, ‘Film Theory: An Introduction through the Senses’, p. 14
Screen & Sound 