John Belton

John Belton is currently a Professor of English at Rutgers University. He earned his PhD from Harvard University and specializes in film history and cultural studies. ["Faculty Profiles." Rutgers English Department. 2008. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. ] Belton has served on the National Film Preservation Board, as Chair for the Archival Papers and Historical Committee of the Society of Motion Pictures Engineers, and is the author of numerous books. This year, Belton was granted the Guggenheim Fellowship to pursue his study of the use of digital technology in the film industry. ["Awards and Recognitions." Rutgers English Department. 2008. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. ]

Work

Belton's publications include:

*"Film Sound" - April 15, 1985
*"Widescreen Cinemas (Harvard Film Studies)" - November 1992
*"Attack of the Leading Ladies" - April 15, 1995
*"Cinema Stylists (Filmmakers, No. 2)" - May 30, 1995
*"Movies and Mass Culture" - February 1999
*"Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window" - September 2002
*"American Cinema/American Culture" - August 10, 2004
*"Can Hitchcock be Saved from Hitchcock Studies?: An Article from Cineaste" - July 31, 2005 [Amazon.com ]

Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window

Rear Window is a 1954 released film by Alfred Hitchcock. The thriller stars James Stewart as an action-seeking photographer who is chair-ridden due to his fast-paced career and Grace Kelly, playing Lisa Carol Fremont, as Jeffries' ritzy, high-fashion love interest. Jeffries' boredom forces him to spy on his neighbors all day and night, which leaves him and Lisa to find themselves in the middle of a shifty scandal suspecting their neighbor to be a murderer.

In his book, "Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window", Belton addresses the underlying issues of voyeurism, scopophilia, patriarchy and feminism that are evident in the film. He quotes "Rear Window's" story is "about" spectacle; it explores the fascination with looking and the attraction of that which is being looked at." [Belton, John. "Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window." Cambridge University Press, 2002. 1.] Generally, Belton's book proves that there is more to Hitchcock's thriller than what initially meets the eye. These issues that society faces today are all more than just present in the film, they are emphasized and strengthened.

References