Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Why don't Americans pull their curtains at night?

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Posted by Howard Johnson (Member # 62) on 10-23-2008, 11:09 AM:

I was watching "Rear Window" the other day and starting wondering why the curtains in US homes are never pulled at night. This also occurs in slasher films and in TV programmes such as CSI. I know these examples are for dramatic reasons but does this happen in reality? Do you pull your curtains?

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-23-2008, 11:25 AM:

I promise, I am NOT going to make any jokes about pulling things other than curtains before I go to bed at night.....it's not easy (and that means it's....you know), but I won't. [Big Grin]

Howard -- it's the movies; they are made by people of a different species than us. I am sure we Americans pull our curtains at night with about the same frequency as you guys across the pond do. After all, we are your offspring.

Posted by Howard Johnson (Member # 62) on 10-23-2008, 12:18 PM:

Thanks Frank, I'm glad to hear that. My wife was really worried about all of you over there.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-23-2008, 03:59 PM:

I have noticed that when people get a new huge screen TV, they tend to leave the curtains open to impress the neighbors, I guess.

At my house we pull our curtains. In the living room we have louver drapes (or whatever they're called) so you can still see inside, but only from one angle.

My parents, however, don't pull their drapes at all. They remodeled their ancient house back in the '80s and it had never had a picture window before. My mom said, "I waited all this time to have a picture window and by golly, I'm going to see through it." So they are open, days nights and holidays.

Posted by Dick Vaughan (Member # 540) on 10-23-2008, 06:10 PM:

The first time I visited a small town in Holland back in the early 80's I remarked to my host that all the curtains were open on the ground floor at 10pm.

He told me that it was indeed because the Dutch were so proud of their homes they wanted everyone to see inside.

Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 10-23-2008, 07:18 PM:

My wife and I have two different ideas about the drapes. I like them closed at night (I love my privacy) but I can't seem to make her understand that people can see in at night a whole lot better than we can see out. Anyone remember the open curtain scene in "In The Heat Of The Night"?

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-23-2008, 07:44 PM:

Robert's got it. It is EFFORTLESS to see into a house at night due to it being dark outside and light inside. These people need to actually walk out into the street or the neighbor's yard and actually look at their own house.

Then again people like Phil like to have an audience. [Moon]

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-24-2008, 02:01 AM:

The opposite is also true during the day. You can stand by the window in your undies and clearly see all of the questionable activities going on outside, but even if the people outside look directly at you, they can't see you unless you pretty much press yourself up against the glass or have very bright lights inside.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-24-2008, 04:46 AM:

We put crumbs on our air-conditioner that is in the bedroom window. Doves and pidgons come and flock all over the top of the unit and then sit and sun themselves, in between some viscous fighting. JoAnne gets upset when she sees the big ones lording it over the smaller, less agressive ones. Thing is, in the bright sunlight we can stand right at the window, just inches from the birds and watch them without them knowing. They can't see in, but it's perfect to see out -- the brightness differential makes the glass almost into a mirror on the outside. I make believe I am in a Law and Order episode.

So she stands there & when one of the "bullies" as she calls them starts pecking at the others she'll whack the window with her knuckles trying to dispence some sort of justice, but it just scares the crap out of all of them....actually quite literally, and they all fly away. I get the job of cleaning the crud off the top of the A/C. What the hell do birds eat....cement?

My dad used to say, if you want to know what kind of people your neighbors are, just look at what they hang on their windows.

Posted by Rick Raskin (Member # 1561) on 10-24-2008, 08:17 AM:

I once worked at a building that is next to an apartment house. A woman who lived there would walk around naked at night with the drapes open. This was an almost nightly show for the entire time I worked there.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-24-2008, 10:02 AM:

Noooo Frank, don't feed them! That's just makes them hang around and reproduce exponentially. It makes the ground worse for everyone everywhere, and makes cars harder to keep clean as well. Instead, please shoot them. Far more fun.

Posted by Jennifer Pan (Member # 2035) on 10-24-2008, 01:50 PM:

Because I don't own them! [sex]

Posted by Rachel Craven (Member # 1016) on 10-25-2008, 08:12 AM:

My curtains are pulled 'usually' all day and night. I live is a busy area on the first floor, and me and my husband both work 6 days a week. We have white curtains in the living room so the light comes threw anyway, although.. at the same time at night our shadows also go threw so people know we're home but they can't see our butt nakedness walking around the apartment. =P