Silence of the Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs, a psychological thriller directed by Jonathan Demme, is a movie that has a lot to do with change. Each of the main characters in this film, in their own ways, has a desire for change. For example, Clarice Starling wants change because she wants her nightmares of the lambs to go away, Dr. Hannibal Lecter wants to be moved to a new asylum with a view, and Jame Gumb, aka Buffalo Bill, wants to be a woman. Also, this movie pays a lot of attention to being a female and still being strong. Just because Clarice is a woman does not mean she can’t do the same job as a male, matter of fact, it seems as if she does it better than a male has. The film is about the treatment of women as objects because it was clearly obvious Hannibal Lecter had some sort of attraction to Clarice, as in when she was grabbing her case file on Buffalo Bill back, and Dr. Lecter rubbed his finger on hers. Also, Buffalo Bill looks at women as objects and that is how it is so easy for him to kill and skin them. That is the reason when Catherine’s mother made a plea on television she kept repeating her name. They figured that if she kept repeating her name he would look at her as a human being and not an object, so therefore it would be harder for him to kill her. Clarice Starling represents an emerging model of a new female heroine. She embarks on a journey of confrontation with this hidden and widespread overwhelming force against the feminine in American society. Instead of following the pattern of most action/ adventure films starring women, The Silence of the Lambs does not focus on the way in which women have to function from the masculine in order to get the job done. In Clarice, we see an action/adventure character that is full of feelings from beginning to end, one who never doubts that feelings are an asset, a source of power. We watch her balance her intuitive clarity with a skillful maneuvering of honest and intimate conversation. She has a strange ease with