Liebert Lecture: Rear Window and Sexual Voyeurism

May 6, 2014
Lecturer: Peter Dunn, MD

Using clips from the film, Dr. Dunn approaches Rear Window as if it were the psychological autobiography of a sexual voyeur. Seen that way, the 1954 film conveys the fundamental problem in voyeurism: the person feels dead when engaging in life as a participant. The voyeurism is an adaptation to this problem because the person is capable of deep emotions when identified with their observing self. Case material involving internet pornography addiction illustrates the applicability of Hitchcock’s portrait of a voyeur to clinical practice.