"Rear Window": Polio as a Cultural Ambience

Taylor Tucker

doi:10.24968/2693-244x.1.2.5

Abstract

Note: In lieu of an abstract, this is the article's first paragraph. "In the 1950’s, the question of polio as a disease that could be eradicated was still unanswered and the struggle to develop a vaccine was the frenetic backdrop for the biomedical field. Culture and daily life was infused with narratives and metaphors that attempted to control and understand the illness. “Rear Window” directed by Alfred Hitchcock was an example of a product of this ambience and though it never explicitly names polio it is infused with concepts and elements of the disease. The themes that course throughout the film reinforces and reflects certain archetypes developed to solidify the flexible and mutable nature of this feared health problem."

Highlights

Follow this and additional works at: https://works.swarthmore.edu/suhj Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons, and the History Commons
“Rear Window” directed by Alfred Hitchcock was an example of a product of this ambience and though it never explicitly names polio it is infused with concepts and elements of the disease
Atmosphere and setting indicate references to polio in the film, in the opening scene it is a balmy summer which is witnessed by the thermometer, couples sleeping outside, close ups of sweating foreheads, and children playing in the spray of fire hydrants

Summary

Introduction

Follow this and additional works at: https://works.swarthmore.edu/suhj Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons, and the History Commons. Recommended Citation Tucker, Taylor (2020) ""Rear Window": Polio as a Cultural Ambience," Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal: Vol 1 : Iss. 2 , Article 6. Tucker: "Rear Window": Polio as a Cultural Ambience Rear Window: Polio as a Cultural Ambience Taylor Tucker

Results

Conclusion