Psychology in Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs
1991
Director – Jonathan Demme
Writer – Thomas Harris
Cinematographer – Tak Fujimoto
Jodie Foster – Clarice Starling
Anthony Hopkins – Dr. Hannibal Lecter AKA Hannibal the Cannibal
Scott Glenn – Jack Crawford
Ted Levine – Jame Gumb AKA Buffalo Bill
Theme can be defined as “a central insight.” According to the authors of The Art of Watching Films, a theme in a literary work or film should be universal and should be one that challenges people (Boggs & Petric, 2008). The Silence of the Lambs shows that peoples’ search for peace is universal. We see characters from all walks of life searching for peace. There is Clarice Starling, an FBI agent in training, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist incarcerated for murder and cannibalism, and Jame Gumb, AKA Buffalo Bill, a man driven to murder by his sexual identity crises. Each of these characters, in their own ways, search for peace throughout the film. (Demme, 1991)
Clarice Starling, portrayed by Jodie Foster, is seen as the main character. She begins a sort of friendship with Dr. Hannibal Lecter, portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, when she is assigned to question him on the Buffalo Bill murder case. The two have much in common because they are both ostracized by society and both are searching for peace. Dr. Lecter is imprisoned and shunned by society for committing acts of cannibalism. Clarice is shunned in her own society because she is a woman in the FBI. We see her strive for peace and acceptance in this predominantly male society. We also see her struggle to find peace with her past. There are two scenes in the film that best depict Clarice’s search for peace. (Ebert, 2001)
The first scene where we see Clarice struggle to find peace in the world she wishes to inhabit is the one where she and her male boss, Crawford, go to examine the body of one of Buffalo Bill’s victims. Crawford suggests to a male officer that they shouldn’t discuss the crime in front
1991
Director – Jonathan Demme
Writer – Thomas Harris
Cinematographer – Tak Fujimoto
Jodie Foster – Clarice Starling
Anthony Hopkins – Dr. Hannibal Lecter AKA Hannibal the Cannibal
Scott Glenn – Jack Crawford
Ted Levine – Jame Gumb AKA Buffalo Bill
Theme can be defined as “a central insight.” According to the authors of The Art of Watching Films, a theme in a literary work or film should be universal and should be one that challenges people (Boggs & Petric, 2008). The Silence of the Lambs shows that peoples’ search for peace is universal. We see characters from all walks of life searching for peace. There is Clarice Starling, an FBI agent in training, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist incarcerated for murder and cannibalism, and Jame Gumb, AKA Buffalo Bill, a man driven to murder by his sexual identity crises. Each of these characters, in their own ways, search for peace throughout the film. (Demme, 1991)
Clarice Starling, portrayed by Jodie Foster, is seen as the main character. She begins a sort of friendship with Dr. Hannibal Lecter, portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, when she is assigned to question him on the Buffalo Bill murder case. The two have much in common because they are both ostracized by society and both are searching for peace. Dr. Lecter is imprisoned and shunned by society for committing acts of cannibalism. Clarice is shunned in her own society because she is a woman in the FBI. We see her strive for peace and acceptance in this predominantly male society. We also see her struggle to find peace with her past. There are two scenes in the film that best depict Clarice’s search for peace. (Ebert, 2001)
The first scene where we see Clarice struggle to find peace in the world she wishes to inhabit is the one where she and her male boss, Crawford, go to examine the body of one of Buffalo Bill’s victims. Crawford suggests to a male officer that they shouldn’t discuss the crime in front
References: (2013). What is Suture? University of Wisconsin. Retrieved November 25, 2013 from http://www.uwec.edu/ranowlan/suture.html Boggs, J.M. & Petricm D.W. (2008). The Art of Watching Films. (7th ed). New York: McGraw-Hill. Demme, J. (1991). The Silence of the Lambs. United States: Orion Pictures. Ebert, R. (2001). The Silence of the Lambs. Retrieved November 25, 2013 from http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-silence-of-the-lambs-1991 Kim, B. (2010). Horror Film Analysis – The Silence of the Lmabs (Demme 1991). Visual Sociology. Retrieved November 25, 2013 from http://www.visualsoc.net/archives/1935