On "The Silent Lamb" from the Perspective of Psychoanalysis

Fred 2021-10-13 13:05:40

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"The Silent Lambs" was released in 1991 and won the best film, best actor and actress, best director and best screenplay adaptation in the 64th Academy Awards. Jackpot. It is a classic in psychological horror films for so many years.
"The Silent Lambs" is a psychoanalytic film, deeply influenced by Freudism, which is confirmed by the three main characters in the play.

The heroine Kris has sad childhood memories. When she was a child, Chrissy's father was beaten to death by criminals while hunting down thieves, which caused great psychological trauma to the young Chrissy. The lack of fatherly love and family warmth made the little girl lonely and helpless.
In the middle of the night, Kris heard the lamb's cry for help, which coincided with Kris's lonely heart. She was like those fragile lambs. However, she failed to rescue a lamb. From then on, in the subconscious, Chris was compared to the lamb in the dark, no one could help her, she could only save herself.
When she grew up and became a student of the FBI, choosing such a career was related to the inner trauma that she could not let go of. Once you become a police officer, you can inherit his father's will and treat more weak people. Chris is trying to save herself by saving others.
In the process of contact with Hannibal, Kris did not fear Hannibal, the cannibal "demon", but developed a subtle affection. This is due to the "Electra" of Kris who lost her father early Complex".
Although Chrissy is a professional "savior", the shadow of her childhood made her the lonely and helpless "lamb" deep in her heart, and Hannibal was born with the nature of helping women, so, In the contact again and again, the two experienced subtle emotions. In the film, there is a close-up shot when Chrissy of the District Court is forced to break up with Hannibal. Hannibal strokes Chrissy's palm with his finger. This subtle movement conveys the subtle affection between the two.
The director of the film once mentioned that Chrissy has three fathers, one is her deceased biological father; the other is the good father Crawford; and the other is the evil father Hannibal. Chris must surpass these three fathers to truly grow. Chrissy lost her father at the age of ten, suggesting that Crawford partially replaced her father's identity in Chrissy's subconscious. However, Crawford can't help Chris in most of the time, and Chris must face it alone. It was Hannibal, the father of sin, who really helped Chrissy. Hannibal guided her to solve the case and taught her how to work. More importantly, Hannibal revealed Chrissy's inner secrets.
Through this incident, Kris inherited her father's career, gained inner peace and strength, and got rid of the insecurities of self-sorrow and narcissism in her subconscious mind, and transcended the shadow of her father's death.

On the one hand, Hannibal is a cannibalistic demon, and on the other hand, he is a psychologist with superb wisdom who loves Kris to help her solve the case. He combines the brutality of psychopaths with the high rationality of psychologists. Irrational and rational are combined into one in this character, and Kriss sincerely admires him and fears him deeply. This kind of madness under a high degree of rationality is even more frightening.
There are also reasons for Hannibal's character. It is explained in the novel that Hannibal came from an aristocratic family and his psychological abnormality originated from the Second World War. In the book, Hannibal's father ate the hunted elk first, and then chose a younger sister between Hannibal and his younger sister. Hannibal was then attacked by remnants of World War II. Under the double stimulation, Hannibal became mentally ill. On the one hand, he had compassion for weak women (sister) in his heart, and on the other hand he had a bloodthirsty cannibal habit (from his father).

There is also a character in the film, the criminal "Bison Bill". Bill suffered a lot of domestic violence in his childhood. After he grew up, he asked for transgender twice and was rejected. That's why he collected women's skin in an attempt to make himself a piece of skin. In a sense, Bison Bill’s crime was also contributed by family and society.


Story introduction: Clarice, a trainee agent assigned to the FBI just after his training, has accepted a difficult task to find and arrest a perverted murderer nicknamed "Bison Bill". Many young women have died on his hands, and some of their skin has been stripped. In order to understand the criminal's special psychology and find the hidden and ingenious murderer, Clarice had to visit a well-known psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal, in a heavily guarded prison.
Hannibal is a middle-aged man with a very high IQ, quick thinking and a little psychopath. He has a horrible hobby of cannibalism. He is composed, calm, knowledgeable and resourceful. Clarice's thinking ability is not the opponent of the doctor at all. Hannibuck asked Clarice to share his personal experience in exchange for his assistance. Clarice was impressed by the doctor's wisdom, and could not help but develop a wonderful feeling of sympathy and hatred for him. Her sincerity and innocence impressed the doctor. In many contacts, he intermittently provided Clarice with some clues. Under his guidance, Clarice began to gain something.
Another woman was kidnapped. This time the missing person was the senator's daughter. Hannibal provided clues to another member of the Bureau of Investigation on the condition of being transferred to a prison with natural scenery, but was deceived.
An angry Hannibal managed to get a chance to be transferred out of the prison and escaped from the extremely tightly guarded iron cage. At this time, Clarice, under the guidance of Hannibal, began to get closer and closer to the murderer. After a thrilling contact, Clarice finally killed "Bison Bill" and rescued the Senator's daughter.
"Bison Bill" was shot dead. At the celebration party, Clarice received a call from Hannibal. Hannibal was free again.

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Extended Reading
  • Tate 2021-10-20 18:58:09

    Looking back twenty years later, the attention is no longer on Hannibal and Foster. The relationship between Foster and her mentor attracted me. The Silent Lamb is actually the heroine herself, and the mentor happens to be the person who suppressed her (there are of course several psychological implications of male power in the film). His hypocrisy is manifested in three places. One is at the funeral. He avoided telling the case to the hostess, and later hypocritically explained to her to wash him off; second, when the hostess was looking for clues, he called his tutor and heard that he had already used special forces to arrest people. He didn't mention the progress of the case he knew to her, and he didn't trust her opinion at all; third, at the celebration party, the tutor was not proud of her at all, but rather disappointed and left the scene early. These details strengthen the identity of the silent lamb of the heroine. Without Hannibal's appearance, who would care about such "her" feelings, this is also the basis for the establishment of the entire film. When visiting the prison for the first time, the "prisoner" next to her molested her with semen, but who had thought that Hannibal would kill him the next day, fulfilling their spiritual refuge.

  • Kasey 2021-10-20 18:58:10

    Before T-BAG appeared, Uncle Anthony had always been my absolute idol.

The Silence of the Lambs quotes

  • Pilcher: What do you do when you're not detecting, Agent Starling?

    Clarice Starling: I try to be a student, Dr. Pilcher.

    Pilcher: Ever go out for cheeseburgers and beer? The amusing house wine?

    Clarice Starling: Are you hitting on me, doctor?

    Pilcher: Yes.

  • Clarice Starling: Catherine Martin?

    Catherine Martin: Yes?

    Clarice Starling: FBI! You're safe!

    Catherine Martin: Safe? Shit! Get me outta here!

    Clarice Starling: You're all right, Catherine. Now, where is he?

    Catherine Martin: How the fuck should I know? Just get me outta here!

    Clarice Starling: Catherine, you've gotta be quiet! Now, shut that dog up!

    Catherine Martin: Just get me outta here!

    Clarice Starling: Catherine, I'm gonna get you outta there, but right now you listen to me. I've gotta leave this room, I'll be right back.

    Catherine Martin: NO! DON'T YOU LEAVE ME HERE YOU FUCKIN' BITCH, NO! Don't you leave me here, this guy is fucking crazy!