SPATIAL VISUAL CODES AND CHARACTER CONSTRUCTION IN ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S REAR WINDOW AND PSYCHO
Öz
This study comparatively examines the role of spatial visual codes in character construction in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) and Psycho (1960). It approaches cinematic space not merely as a physical setting but as an active field of meaning production that shapes character psychology, narrative information, and spectator positioning. Adopting a qualitative research design and interpretive film analysis, the study evaluates spatial elements including the window, courtyard, opposite apartments, observation points, house, motel, staircase, upper floor, basement, doors, corridors, and enclosed rooms. The findings show that Rear Window predominantly constructs character through outward-oriented spatial visual codes associated with observation, surveillance, visual access, and knowledge production. Psycho, by contrast, employs inward-oriented spatial visual codes associated with concealment, psychological repression, restriction, and revelation. The comparative analysis therefore identifies two distinct spatial orientations in the selected films. These orientations are treated as an interpretive classification specific to Rear Window and Psycho and are not intended to represent the full range of spatial strategies in Hitchcock’s cinema. The study concludes that spatial organization actively contributes to character construction, narrative tension, and spectator positioning in both films.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Alfred Hitchcock, spatial visual codes, character construction, Rear Window, Psycho
Kaynakça
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