[Anonymous]

Jonathan Demme’s adaption of Thomas Harris’s best-selling novel <i>The Silence of the Lambs</i> is an eerie, suspenseful, and emotionally tolling film that deliberately places the viewer in the eyes of a young female FBI trainee.  Clarice Starling, the female lead played by Jodie Foster does an excellent job gaining sympathy from the viewers as we ceaselessly watch her struggle to track down a psychotic serial killer, ultimately overshadowed by her field of work that is dominated by objectifying men.  The film is centered around the FBI’s search for a serial killer on the loose named Buffalo Bill, as trainee Agent Starling is chosen out of her class to interview Hannibal Lecter in an attempt to obtain his psychological profile of the rogue killer.  Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant yet mentally ill psychiatrist imprisoned in a maximum-security facility played by Anthony Hopkins, forms a unique and complex relationship with Clarice throughout their chain of prison interviews, eventually allotting her the clues to track down the mad killer before he is able to strike again.

Demme craftily begins the film focusing on Clarice Starling, the opening shot depicting Clarice running through the woods on her own immediately clueing the viewer into the fact that her character will be in danger, the suspenseful music and fog-stricken forest purposefully adding to the scene.  Soon after this Starling is summoned by her superior, entering into an elevator where she is surrounded by men who all appear to be significantly taller than her, promptly defining this world as dominated by men.  Throughout the entire movie we are able to see life through Starling’s eyes, more significantly the way men are able to view and judge her.  This quickly becomes a theme throughout the film, many scenes portraying tall men who look down upon trainee Clarice, sexualizing her while reiterating the notion that females are always in danger.

A number of scenes emphasize this reoccurring conflict of women in power contrasted amongst ignorant men, one of which takes places in the maximum-security prison where Hannibal Lecter is kept.  Clarice is greeted by the psychiatrist in charge of Hannibal who openly hits on her in a crude and objectifying way, as she consciously uses her femininity towards her advantage to get what she wants once she is able to pull herself together and focus on her assignment.  The psychiatrist quickly takes her to where she will first meet Hannibal, the camera focusing on the face of a large man who is in charge of letting people through the prison, in essence making eye contact with the audience warning them as if they were Clarice herself.  The filming of this scene works extremely well, undeniably spooking the audience and building suspense as they await Clarice and Hannibal’s first encounter with one another.  Furthermore, it is solely due to Hannibal’s odd liking and respect for Clarice that she is able to track down Buffalo Bill, perhaps stressing the fact that it is due to her femininity that he is able to trust her.

Working parallel to Clarice’s battle to be taken seriously by men, is Buffalo Bill’s mission to murder and skin size 14 females, further emphasizing the danger men pose to women.  Buffalo Bill is shown wearing night vision goggles and kidnapping women, highlighting the fact that these women are helpless due to his attempts to be one step ahead of them.  As the viewer it becomes evident how Demme consciously wants us to try and understand who Buffalo Bill is as a human, including a scene where we are creepily forced to watch the murderer undress and dance around as he films himself.  It quickly becomes clear how mentally unstable, ill, and psychotic his character truly is, most notably in the final scenes of the film.  Buffalo Bill essentially attempts to shoot Agent Sterling, as the scene is filmed through Buffalo Bill’s own eyes that are masked by night vision goggles.  He hauntingly follows her around watching her every move, even reaching out to touch her as she finally is one step ahead of him and kills him before he kills her.  The conclusion of the movie simply proves how women are truly able to succeed and conquer this world dominated by men, through her ability to find and kill Buffalo Bill, save the female prisoner, earn the respect of her FBI colleagues, and most importantly gain the respect and trust of Hannibal Lecter.

[Emma Wang]

Your post makes me think of the Bechdel test, which evaluates films based on three rules:

1. if it has at least two women in it,

2. if they talk to each other,

3. and whether or not they talk about a man.

The rules were written by feminist Alison Bechdel, who points out just how significant our culture affects our media. I think we’ve grown up in a society where movies that don’t pass the test have become the norm and we’ve come to accept the distinct difference in male and female protagonists. Women who will go all out for the man they love are admired and the type of character typically used in movies where the woman is the protagonist. Silence of the Lambs, however, passes the Bechdel test because Clarice Starling, though she is literally surrounded by men, as you’ve mentioned, is able to focus on her job and find Buffalo Bill when the rest of the FBI couldn’t. The portrayal of her character as a woman who isn’t motivated by love put her on an even playing field for us as viewers to compare her to the male heroes of the past movies we’ve watched.

[Jo-Ann Wong]

While watching “Silence of the Lambs,” I also noticed how the majority of the movie was taken from Clarice’s point of view, which was accomplished by placing the camera at lower angles so it would have to look up in order to look at the other male characters. This is apparent in scenes such as when she is left in the room with multiple policemen at the funeral home. This specific choice is interesting as it turns the presence of the male gaze in film onto itself by taking it from the perspective of the female character. While watching movies, the male gaze is largely unnoticed as it is a part of our culture. However, when turned on itself, the male gaze is revealed as being creepy and invasive by the woman being desired, which is Clarice in this case.

Also, there has been discussion about revising the Bechdel test because movies like “Silence of the Lambs,” while having a strong female lead, technically fail this test since the only female communication in the movie is when Clarice and her roommate are talking about Hannibal and I don’t think we ever find out the roommate’s name. However, Clarice is one of the strongest female leads in film, so is it fair to label it as a failure of the Bechdel test?

[Megan Meadows]

I really like the angle that has been taken, looking at Starling as a hero not only because of her brave actions, but because she had to overcome being belittled by men throughout the entire film.  While some may argue this belittlement is not totally outright, there are so many moments of sexuality throughout the film that depict Starling not as a hero helping females around the country, but rather a sexual being for men to gaze at.  The first instance that stood out to me was the man who controlled Hannibal’s original cell hit on Starling.  He didn’t take her seriously and would rather spend time with her than let her do her job.  Another instance is when we see Starling and Hannibal’s fingers touch.  This may not be outwardly sexual, but I felt that after the two had spent so much time together and definitely developed some sort of connection, the only thing missing was the human touch, which was explicitly shown.  After everything that happened, he still got to her and got in her head.  He was behind bars, but who knows what would have happened if he could have really touched her (aside from his cannibalism).  These examples of sexuality throughout the novel make Starling even more of a hero because of what she had to overcome.  Not only did she catch a demented serial killer, but also overcame small battles with every step she took, small battles that put her up against her male peer. Overall, while Starling would definitely still be a hero if she was male, her female struggles prove her determination and persistence to do what she thinks is right.

[Quinn Wright]

I agree with a lot of what is being said here. At its core, this is a film about predators and their targets, and the acts of victimization are not limited exclusively to physical violence. The decisive way in which the film is shot makes the audience feel the weight of every stare on Clarice’s body, which is unnerving in and of itself. What is powerful about this in terms of plot is the strength of Clarice’s resolve, to use whatever power she has at her disposal to catch Buffalo Bill before he kills again, despite her own victimization under the male gaze. The men of this film are of the lowest human caliber, with the exception of Hannibal, which I will get to momentarily. What I mean here is that the male officers and particularly the warden character behave like overtly sexualized animals, sparing no opportunity to stare at the female body. This writes them off as incompetent, or so completely distracted or incapable of controlling themselves or behave professionally. Now Hannibal is a thinking, analytic character, plotting his way out of confinement and toying with the minds of whoever gives him heed. He makes references to sex acts, but only inquisitively, to further delve into the others head. I do not believe him to be a sexual character. The moment of contact between him and Clarice, though suggestive, I feel was really only another attempt by him to get into her head, to make her uncomfortable. Personally, I do not believe this act to have had any genuine sexual cannotations, as he’s too smart for that, and as his dialogue reveals prior, he is only one to reference sex as a means of probing another character.

[Author]

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