I Like to Watch

I could probably make a case for myself as a non-sexual voyeur.

The fact is, I like to watch people...at restaurants, at shows, at museums, at the beach, almost anywhere really.

It can be fascinating to try to figure out something about the people and interactions I witness, especially when I'm with a like-minded person.

Which means I couldn't pass up one of the best voyeur films of all times, Hitchcock's "Rear Window" showing at the Bowtie's Movies and Mimosas this morning.

Rallying a couple of Hitchcock lovers to go with me, we settled in the raised front row to enjoy a film that continues to be suspenseful despite multiple viewings over the years. Hats off to the master.

But aside from Grace Kelly's beauty (and wardrobe) and Jimmy Stewart's classic low-key delivery and perennial bachelor charm, it's all about sharing the Peeping Tom experience with the characters in the movie.

I've never lived in a building that afforded me the kind of multiple views that Stewart had from his apartment but I feel quite certain that I'd be as sucked in by the tableaux as he was.

Of course, part of the premise of the film was that it took place during a summer heat wave, so everyone had their windows open.

Heat wave or not, I have my windows open from April through October, so, like in the movie, it's often voices, someone's music or an unidentifiable sound that pulls me to my front windows to see what's happening on the sidewalk or street.

My rear windows provide a view of the alley overlooking my backyard, which is rarely as interesting or as busy as the street view.

But I have seen a couple torridly kissing and a party attendee relieving himself back there. The best time for good alley viewing seems to be during neighborhood parties when I get home late.

Of course, the real takeaway from "Rear Window" was simply that the convalescing Stewart had to turn to his  neighbor's windows for entertainment while his broken leg healed. It was 1954 after all.

Now a person would simply turn to his computer, TV or video games to be entertained instead. Or even sit there looking at their phone as a diversion; I see that all the time, although, Luddite that I am, I don't quite get it.

"We've become a race of Peeping Toms.What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change. Yes, sir. How's that for a bit of homespun philosophy?"


So with all our modern distractions, we may not be the voyeurs we were in 1954, but the advice is probably just as relevant.

Resolved: I'm on my way out in order to look in.

I just can't imagine I'll be anywhere near as interesting as some of the other people I watch.

What I can be is as hot as the people in a 1954 heat wave, but I'm okay with that.

"You'd think the rain would have cooled things down. All it did was make the heat wet."


All the more reason to leave my windows open. Front and rear.