Silence of the lambs

Silence of the lambs
Throughout this blog I will be discussing semiotics that have been used in Silence of the lambs, how genre and narrative has been communicated through the semiotics and how feminist film theory and queer theory has been used in this film.

To start off with the opening scene it communicating the genre of this film instantly as a horror. As the film begins the main character of Clarice Starling running through a wooded area. The atmosphere around her is foggy and secluded , this makes the audience think that this is a horror as most horror films have a chase scene through a secluded area mostly in the dark or where it is hard to see and easy to be captured. Clarice is not being chased however she is running on a training course, as it is made clear almost straight away as she used a rope to climb up a small hill, up to that point everything was leading up to the idea that something bad was going to happen to her. But the camera angles and the music during the opening scene allow the audience to know the genre of the film. The camera angles that are used follow Clarice around the course from behind her and in front but when the camera is behind her it is almost as if we as the audience are following her. The music that is playing in the background as she run is eerily creepy and it picks up pace when she runs faster as if it is a chase scene, as in horror's the music can pick up when a character is being chased to give suspense and tension to the audience. Also the font that is used is also an indicator of the genre of the film as a horror, the colours are black and white they are not bright and happy colours as would be seen in other genre's.

The semiotics in this film are not only just used in the opening scene to communicate the genre they are used throughout the film. There are a lot of gory images and blood that show this film as a horror, the images are of the girls that 'Buffalo Bill' has killed, as the pictures show the aftermath of him skinning them, it is a shocking sight that is usually seen in a horror. The scene that communicate the genre of this film, if it hadn't already, was the scene when Hannibal Lecter escapes the audience see a lot of action and gore that people associate with a horror or a thriller film. Hannibal breaks out of the holding cell he is in by handcuffing one prison guard to a pole and beating him to death, with the other prison guard he bit him and hung him up. The position in which he was hung up in is signifying  crucifixion on the cross. One thing that can be mentioned from this scene is the colour of the costumes of Hannibal and the prison guards. Hannibal is wearing white which usually signifies purity and innocence, whereas the prison guards are in dark clothing giving off the idea that they are the bad guys when it is the other way around, it is contrasting to their characters with the colours they are wearing. There is an iconic scene in this film that people always remember and that is the scene with Hannibal wearing the muzzle mask and the noise he makes when he talks about eating people. It could be argues that they are iconic as they are shocking in some ways, as the muzzle that Hannibal wears makes him look creepy and when he makes that noise at Clarice it makes him look disturbing especially with the noise used with his intense stare.

Feminism film theory can be looked at in this film as the women in this film are portrayed as objects, even the main protagonist in this film, Clarice Starling a young rookie cop looking to become a member of the F.B.I. Throughout the film Clarice is treated mainly as a pretty face, with the exception of Hannibal Lecter as he treats her with respect , as even Jack Crawford her boss uses her as that in order for him to get Hannibal Lecter to talk to her. The male characters see Clarice as a sexual object, Frederick Chilton a man from the mental hospital Lecter is in, he asks her out on a date, as well as a man who is a bug expert does the same and men at the training academy she is in continually look at her. For example, while she is our jogging with a fellow cadet she passes a group of men and they look back once she passes and stare at her, this is known as voyeurism. As Clarice is a woman in a male dominated world she has to be strong to succeed, she is not a typical female stereotype as she is strong. For example, when she investigates an a lockup. When she cannot get the door open instead of waiting for a male to help her, she gets her car jack to open the door for herself, this show how she is a strong character as she take it upon herself to do the jobs men would usually do. Another example of this would be when she finds a decapitated head in a jar, instead of screaming as would be stereotypical of women she is calm.

The serial killer 'Buffalo Bill' uses his female victims as objects as he only needs them to skin them. There is a scene between him and his latest victim Catherine, he wants her to put the lotion in the basket, he says 'it puts the lotion in the basket' the fact that he uses the word it making her an object to him as he doesn't use her a name. By not using her name he is emotionally detached himself from her to allow him to get what he wants from her. 

Queer theory can be looked at in this film, the stereotypes of the drag queen and the butch lesbian. The stereotype of the drag queen is in the character of 'Buffalo Bill' as he is dressing up as a woman, there is a scene where he puts on a wig and wears dressing gown as well as make up and dances and pretends to be a woman. This is the reason why he kidnaps women as he wants to use their skin and make himself a woman. Homosexuality in this film is seen as dysfunctional and very negative, as the character of 'Buffalo Bill' is gay and killed his lover which makes the relationship dysfunctional and makes homosexuality seen in negative light, as he murders and is the bad guy. There is no other homosexual to compare this negative view to as he is the only homosexual in the film.

The stereotype of the butch lesbian/ lipstick lesbian could be Clarice as she is not a stereotypical woman she wears baggy trousers and has her hair messy most of the time. The only time she wears skirts. make up and makes her hair nice is when she has to when she meets with Hannibal, or when she is Jack Crawford investigating the murders, it could be argued that at these times she is accepting a stereotypical role for herself when she has to to further her career and experience.