[The Lie - Breakfast after Murder]

My capstone is centered on ensuring that the Student Action Board at Science Leadership Academy @ Center City, a part of the Philadelphia school district, is beneficial to the SLA community. Student Action Board is a student-made and led club whose purpose is to bridge the gap between students and staff. I was able to achieve this goal through various projects. One was creating a template to improve the organization of the advisory memo. Another was helping a Digvid group make a flyer to recruit background actors for their film. The last one I’d like to share is how I worked to get menstrual buckets in various bathrooms around the school. The process was difficult, there were multiple hurdles to jump through inside and out of school. By clicking on my artifact link you’ll find my Capstone Folder. This holds my portfolio of resources that helped in getting student needs met. I collaborated with Ms. Ryans to get the buckets, as well as another student, Paula Vekker. I collaborated with S.A.B participants to come up with ideas and pursue them. I also learned that I have a few more projects I am bringing to fruition, so my process will continue. One will be an end-of-the-year fundraiser, another will be an E-book for the next S.A.B leaders, and my last one will be a pitch to the staff to help them make decisions about the 2022-2023 senior year.

Artifact

Annotated Bibliography

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Spoilers ahead

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is an interesting film, filled to the brim with suspense. In addition to that key theme, there are many other elements that help this film “work”. These elements can be organized into theatrical and cinematic elements.

First up is theatrical elements. This film needed its sets without them, the story wouldn’t stay true. I specifically mean the Bates motel. It’s in the perfect spot, in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a good amount of vegetation. In addition to having a bog behind it. This motel and its placement alone raise some suspicion and curiosity. It’s extremely secluded and allows for the perfect murder cover-up. It has the perfect proximity to Norman’s house which has its own treasures. Norman and “Mother’s” home included 2 important bedrooms and a cellar. One bedroom being Norman’s, gave insight to him that wasn’t revealed to the audience. While Mother’s bedroom included jumpscares, a used bed, and all her personal belongings. Lastly a creepy cellar, without the creepy cellar where else would we have had such a wonderful reveal. A debatable setting would include the city where beloved Marion was introduced. It provided a sense of relatability and establishment. Without this installment in the being, we wouldn’t be able to compare the settings and develop the conclusion that something was sketchy.

Next, we have the costumes. The play on colors helped deliver to the audience where the character stood mentally. Which could be level-headed or rebellious. The Mother’s dress and wig were also important factors. Without Mother’s clothes Norman could not bring her to life. Then you have Norman’s outfits which consisted of plain button-up shirts and straight pants. Norman and Mother’s costumes help the audience establish them as two separate characters before they are revealed to be one.

Then we have props. I specifically wanted to highlight the knife and chocolate. Not many things were consistent in this film but Mother always killed someone with a knife. The chocolate added a realistic look and amazing contrast of blood on different backgrounds.

Following, we have acting choices. I think it was a specific choice that Marian’s sister was so calm and intrigued upon finding out Norman’s “condition”. It was a choice to widen Norman’s eyes and give a full smile at the sight of his next victim, in Mother’s clothes. Last it was a choice to deliver Norman’s creepy aura subtly. This aura was conveyed subtly with posture, tone, word choice, and interests.

Now I want to dive into the cinematic choices. The black and white color of the film’s finish gave the film a vintage look. It also delivers contrasting colors or surfaces really well. The lowkey, bottom, and side lighting especially with Norman was another key factor in delivering Norman’s creepy Aura. This film uses crispy and clear cuts, it gives the film a serious and professional polish. A great addition to this film’s cinema was the long under the chin shot where Norman was being followed when he was glancing at the check-in book. Higher angle shots delivered Marian’s fear and realization of the situation well. Low angled shots on Norman, specifically the ones including his taxidermy birds in his conversation with Marion. These visual elements help deliver Alfred’s theory of suspense. One last notable feature in Psycho’s cinematic element toolbox was the non-diegetic sound and overall soundtrack. The soundtrack proved to be iconic, notably because much of the sound was then used in many films after the birth of this one. The non-diegetic music provoked auditory feelings in the audience, it intensified the emotions that we as viewers were already feeling witnessing these storylines and characters. Without the sound and just the images, Hitchcock’s emotional and suspenseful rollercoaster would still be in tack because all these elements did was heighten his initial visual.

The strength of the tools in this film’s “toolbox” is what makes it so significant. It has been argued that this film is more of a genre film than a storyline film. I agree. The suspenseful rollercoaster of Hitchocks’s choice paired with the different elements of the film created a masterpiece. A masterpiece that I enjoy for what it possesses.

Overall the tools that Alfred Hitchcock used, theatrical and cinematic helped to deliver his directorial view to the audience, in a way that would resonate with many. While being an inspiration to others.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is centered around voyeurism. The characters living in this tight nit and closely built community allows for the easy invasion of privacy, even on accident. Each character can easily look into another’s home or space and come up with a conclusion about the events taking place. This is an invasion of privacy for the person being observed and creates tension, especially if they know they are being watched. By watching and concluding, people can assume, make false notions, and even feel entitled to more information or others’ decisions. In a bigger context, it creates a safety issue for both parties. The person being observed has to take liberties to hide what they don’t want to be shown. The voyeur puts themselves in danger by involving themselves in commodities they shouldn’t.

Everyone has become an L.B. Jefferies, an invasive observer at one point or another. The general curiosity we all have can lead to an obsession with someone or something. In turn, we sneakily watch, look or take a peep, and from our perspective, we develop conclusions. They can be outlandish or sound-minded but they were developed from an invasion of privacy.

Close nit housing and row homes in modern-day society create voyeurs because of proximity. Curiosity in addition to access creates temptation. The temptation is then acted on, leading to “peeping toms”. Which in turn prohibits others from their private isolation. Social media creates people who pry. People post intimate things about themselves or their lives. Others observe those posts. Without knowing a person closely or having met them in reality, they can learn or retain multiple facts about their lives and what they do daily. This is especially true with social media influencers. People with a platform or large following that have established credibility with a particular industry can then persuade people to buy things based on their recommendations. Social media influencers, people of high social status, and celebrities are subjected to extreme invasive voyeurism. Their voyeurs develop obsessions. From this obsession, entitlement is produced. Entitlement to more information, judgment on their mistakes or decisions, and entitlement to make choices for them.

Companies have become spies as well. Different “free” apps that use advertisements may be tracking your data and selling it to give you more personalized advertising. The only way they can obtain this information is by watching the different hyperlinks you follow, the ads you don’t skip through, the things you purchase, and how you got to purchasing. By observing your choices, and trying to follow a brain pattern, companies are then able to persuade you. Companies and apps invade your privacy to freely choose. Every choice means something and is closer to putting you in a targetted audience.

Surveillance is also a form of voyeurism because of the observation they provide from cameras in video or photo form as well as audio recordings. Places with surveillance cameras invade people’s privacy to protect others. The cameras themselves or the recordings they create allow others to view you and anything you’ve done or engaged in for that whole recording. Photography and cameras on their own accord not connected to surveillance can be considered voyeurism as well. Cameras and photography can amplify the curiosity and psychological tendency to pry. An example of this could be a picture with background noise, catching people off guard. Regardless of the actions the people committed, they have now been captured without their knowledge.

Voyeurism isn’t always a bad thing, as seen in Rear Window. If the main character had not spied on his neighbor. A murder would go unsolved or noticed. This is true in our modern reality as well. Witnesses can be essential in solving a case and making sure the perpetrator gets the punishment they deserve. Many witnesses obtained their information by watching and observing. These observations are more often than not a product of invading privacy. But without that action and without the testimonies that come from making the observations many people would not receive justice.

Rear Window uses voyeurism to bring awareness not only to the way we watch movies but the way we watch eachother. Watching and observing isn’t always a bad thing but to watch and observe could be invading someone’s privacy. It has thus become a cultural artifact because of this trope.