The Silence of The Lambs (1991)
“He covets”
This is one of the most awarded horror movies of all time, earning 5 big Oscars: best actor (Anthony Hopkins), actress (Jodie Foster), adapted screenplay, director & picture. DIrector Jonathan Demme’s big win that night was overshadowed the next day by the vocal GLAAD protests who criticized the film for its queer-coded villain, Buffalo Bill. Though the movie insists he isn’t ‘actually’ gay, and Demme did regret not making that more clear in his film, the story’s central theme makes this movie a problematic fav.
Demme set out to tell a feminist story, which is why the male gaze is highlighted in so many shots. Foster, as Clarice, is not only surrounded by men in every scene, she is often in competition with men, confronted by them. Clarice continuously leverages this dynamic, especially when she entices the iconic Hannibal Lecter into cooperating with her. Both Foster and Hopkins’ eyes pierce through the screen, and tension builds as their eyes fill the frame. It’s a masterfully crafted film that inspires dread and revulsion, but therein lies its fatal flaw.
Buffalo Bill’s pathology is about (mild spoiler) the coveting & consumption of female bodies as a replacement for his own lack of identity, an idea that is sadly echoed throughout the anti-trans TERF movement. THE most memorable scene in the film involves the gory revelation of ‘surprise’ genitals, linking gender queer bodies with violence & horror. Despite Demme’s best intentions, that link existed then and persists today.
Bill’s bloody attempts at metamorphosis are presented as an aberration in the face of Clarice’s ‘natural’ femininity. Her identity is her super power, giving her a unique perspective in a room full of men, while Bill’s feminine traits are monstrous. The film thinks this is just a metaphor, but these assumptions drive bigotry in the real world. The Silence of the Lambs is creepy, melodramatic, and iconic, and also its a great example of how talented people and ‘good’ art can still perpetuate harm.
