Silence of the Lambs

Discuss three points within the film that semiotics were being used. How did these relate to the genre and narrative?

1.    One of the first use of semiotics I noticed in the ‘silence of the lambs’ is the FBI agent, the FBI logo stitched into his clothing is something that is recognisable to everyone, therefore the FBI is an icon and its iconic because, people associate the FBI to protect and serve the people, taking down criminals.  This is why when you first see the agent call for the women running in the woods, you immediately feel safe and not so worried for the women alone.

2.    The second semiotic in the film i noticed is when agent Starling goes to visit Dr Hannibal Lector in the mental institute, you notice that the mental patience are all behind bars, whereas Dr Lector is behind a glass screen with only the odd breathing holes the size of the width of a pencil. The glass screen would be an index because of simply what it is, however what it suggests is Dr Lector is far more dangerous than the other patience therefore them only giving him eneough space to breath through the pee sized holes, making sure there is no possible way of him getting out.

3.    The third semiotic I noticed in the film is the scene when Dr Lector escapes and positions one of the guards in the shape of a cross, the cross is a symbol, representing Christianity.  Religion is one of the most powerful things known to man, perhaps Hannibal positioned him that way to show how powerful he is.

How was the genre communicated in the opening scene using genre analysis?

The genre ‘Horror’ is shown in the opening scene by firstly the song played in the background; the song is called ‘main title’ by Howard Shore. The song is quite daunting and unsettling, beginning to already set the mood for the film. One of the key sound effects that I heard above all others was the cricket; a cricket sound effect is often used to symbolize silence and being alone.

The shots being used in the opening scene such as the point of view shot makes it seem its from another’s perspective, making you think that someone is following her through the woods. The women running alone, already you ask questions; where is she running? Why is she running? Is she running away from someone?

The women running in a forest, you can hear her deep breathing as if you are beside her, this could show how hard she is working, first impressions in the opening scene already building this character up to be a strong hard working women. Another point showing that she is a strong women is when a man appears and calls her name, he has the letters FBI stitched on his cap, the FBI is a well known organisation for fighting crime and when you realise she is part of that organisation, suddenly she isn’t a defenceless woman anymore, she is the complete opposite.

The opening scene is tinted with the colour blue, which is commonly found in horror films because it represents cold and gloomy. Also a blue tint is a dull misty colour, having no warmth feeling, this could show that there is no warm light source therefore it shows nothing good is about to happen.

How is the main female character portrayed in this film? How does it relate to feminist theory?

Normally in a horror film women are portrayed to be the damsel in distress, someone who is weak, someone who is not able to defend them selves, usually film makers use women in films as a way to lure men in, e.g. use there body to trap them and put them in bad situations. Men usually take advantage of the female role in horror films, however in ‘silence of the lambs’ that isn’t the case for agent Sterling. At first in the opening scene you immediately assume she will be a victim, due to her being alone and defenceless. Until the man reveals her to be part of an organisation that is known to protect others, then suddenly she is stereotyped to be the butch, masculine character.  Throughout the film she slowly develops into her character, it takes a while to recognise who she really is. During the first 40 minutes, she is looked at as a young women who is week and powerless, however the longer you watch the film the more you think agent Sterling as being an intelligent, brave character, an example is when she geos into Hannibal’s lock up, based on a psycho killers word, she goes alone not knowing what to expect, that can be thought of as stupid or brave. Also towards the end she figures out riddles which no other FBI agent managed to do, and captures and kills Buffalo Bill on her own, so now she is the hero of the film.

How is the queer theory relatable to some of the characters in this film?

Queer theory is shown in this film by the murderer ‘Buffalo Bill’. In the film Buffalo Bill is stereotyped as a drag queen, someone who dresses up as a woman but is still a man. Buffalo Bill was once a lover with one of Dr Hannibal Lector’s patience’s; this is how Hannibal Lector knows of him. The FBI are on the chase for Buffalo Bill for the kidnapping and killing of several women, however the FBI mentioned he had not sexually abused any of the women that were found, this could be because maybe he has no sexual desires for the female gender, this could show that he is a homosexual and likes men. Plus Buffalo Bill skinned his victims after he killed them, he used there skin for wigs and dressing up clothing, he possibly has the desire to change gender.

What was the most memorable scene for you and why?

The most memorable scene for me was when agent Sterling first goes to visit Dr Hannibal Lector in the mental institution. Firstly when the director of the mental hospital leaves her at the gate on her own, leaving her with the scary stories of what Hannibal had done, and then having to get through all of the security to get to the part where Hannibal is kept makes you think how dangerous he really is. Immediately you start to feel emotions for the women character. The scene where agent Sterling is left to walk down the pathway to Dr Lector with cells on both sides containing the most dangerous mental patience is the most memorable scene for me, it gave me goose bumps and made me feel scared and worried for agent Sterling because of the psychologically disturbing men shouting discussing abuse. I think that the walkway to Dr Lector got worse as she got further to the end, slowly building the audience up for a major bang. Also the dialog between Dr Lector and agent Starling was emotionally unnerving, because of how intelligent he was, he could simply get into anyone’s head and make them doubt themselves, after the conversation you would leave thinking you wouldn’t live to see the next day.