Why do we identify with a serial killer? In a society with so much hate and injustice in the world, why would we choose to align with one of the people who causes crisis in society? Modern society teaches people to speak their minds and not listen to what we disagree with because that leads to divisions between people among the community. We are accustomed to liking the characters that provide substantial help towards the truth, which is this case in Hannibal Lector, as he guides a FBI agent to success. Jonathan Demme’s Silence of the Lambs (1991) recalls the story of a FBI agent in training as she tackles the mysterious case of the serial killer ‘Buffalo Bill’. Dr. Hannibal Lector, the cannibalistic psychiatrist, is Agent Clarice Starling’s best source of information involving the secret to her case. Murray Smith’s notions of “identification” and his “Structure of Sympathy” give us an explanation as to why we agree with the characters we do and why; the three-step process of recognition, alignment and allegiance creates a bond between the audience and the characters. Recognition refers to us identifying initial core traits, alignment (or attachment) refers to our ability to identify the characters goals, and allegiance is our moral evaluation of the characters. The film’s ability to align us with the central characters by using film techniques such as range and depth of information, plot order, and mise-en-scène to connect us with the characters’ goals and morals.
The range of information of the film allows us to see the world as Agent Clarice Starling on her journey to solving the Buffalo Bill Case. The range is very restricted throughout the film, having almost every scene contain input from Clarice in furthering the case. This allows the audience to immediately recognize and analyze the core traits of Starling along with causing an alignment with the audience. We are introduced to her goals early in the film, that being solving the Buffalo Bill case, when her superior, Jack Crawford, appoints her to the case. The film also restricts us to Dr. Hannibal Lector, allowing us to identify with him throughout the film. We are able to see through his eyes during his interviews with Clarice along with his thoughts and goals to escape from his cell. As he gives more and more clues to Clarice in her search for justice, the audience is able to see trustworthiness in Lector, creating a stronger alliance with the character.
The depth of information in the film is more subjective but contain scenes using objective depth as well. The film opens with a scene running through the woods training at the FBI academy through the eyes of Clarice. We are seeing the woods the way that the character would as if we were running through the woods. We are able to hear the leaves crush under her feet and hear the heavy panting of the exhausted FBI trainee. Other times in the film, we are able to see through the eyes of Hannibal Lector as he works to escape from his high security cell, and at the end of the film, we see through Buffalo Bill’s eyes as he corrals scared Clarice in his home when she discovers his true identity. By allowing the audience to see the film through the characters’ eyes, the director is granting access to the depths of the characters’ minds, gaining more information about their goals and traits, helping us building connections and establishing allegiance with central characters.
Plot refers to all aspects of the film, visually and audibly presented to us, in its order of presentation. This includes all diegetic and nondiegetic material including the titles, credits, and off-screen music. Diegetic material refers to all things in the fictional time and space of the presented world, and nondiegetic material are the materials inserted in the film that are not part of the story world. The plot of Silence of the Lambs begins with an establishing shot of the woods, containing introductory titles and then leads to our first time meeting the female protagonist, Clarice Starling. This film is ordered in a way to allow the audience to build relationships with many of the key characters, thus establishing alignment with characters including Starling and Dr. Lector. As we are learning more and more about the case being solved, Lector and Clarice are the two main characters responsible in driving the plot forward. Other characters serve as more passive than the two active main leads. The meetings between Clarice and Lector always bring up a new important discovery, bringing Starling closer and closer to solving to the case.
Mise-en-scène is the staging and directing of the visual style of a film and it can broken down into 4 main categories: setting, costume, lighting, and acting or performance. The visual style of any film creates meaning for the audience to understand. The visual style of Silence of the Lambs establishes a constant feeling of suspense for the audience, thus making this film a classic crime and thriller movie. The visual style also facilitates the creation of a relationship between the characters in the film and the audience. By learning about the key aspects about mise-en-scène, we are able identify with the characters by discovering more about their traits and goals.
Setting refers to all spatial objects and props, like barriers, depth of field, and location. Most of the film was recorded in the northeast United States around Pennsylvania and West Virginia. However, many of the key scenes take place at Lector’s cell and Buffalo Bill’s house. During the scenes at Hannibal Lector’s cell, the bars and glass wall that separated him from the outside world was used as a barrier to help us identify with Lector. Throughout the film, we consistently see him as one who is trapped and we want him to see him experience his wants: to have a cell with windows so that he can see the world the best he can. The pictures he had around his cell were props used to further explain his thirst for the outside world. Buffalo Bill’s house is lined with the moths that were implanted of each victim, leading a trail of breadcrumbs for the FBI to follow. Other props found around the house, like the various mannequins and articles of clothing, allowing us to see the insanity of the serial killer and identify with Clarice, wishing for her success in the solving of the case.
Costume and makeup are the clothes and hair that can establish character traits; it begs the question: “What does the costume say about this character?”. For example, the costume for Clarice is very professional, she is either seen wearing a business suit, or FBI training gear, showing that the character is a respected individual in society. In contrast, Dr. Lector is always seen in a prison uniform, allowing to audience to identify that his character is dangerous and is not safe to be out of his cell. Clarice’s costume throughout the film allows the audience to see her maturity as a member of the FBI academy; we want her to succeed. Her morals and goals are to bring justice to society and stop the sociopath before he can commit any more crimes. We see Clarice as the classic ‘good guy’ character and it is a consistent motif that the audience wants the film to end with the ‘good guy’ on top. The constricting body suit that Hannibal Lector leads us to believe that he will work against Clarice in her journey to success, when in fact he pushes the plot and helps her solve the case. Initially, his costume turns our allegiance away from him, due to his past of evil activities, but once we got past his outer appearance, the audience is able to see some good in him, although he knew that helping Clarice would in turn, help him escape.
Lighting is important in guiding our attention and also suggesting meaning and mood. Aspects of this category include the quality of lighting, the direction of lighting, and the sources of lighting. Quality of lighting is distinguished between hard (really bright) and soft (dim) lighting, direction means deciding if it should be frontal (flat lighting), sidelight (from the side), top lighting (from above), backlighting (from behind) or underlighting (from below). The sources of lighting come from the 3-point lighting technique using a fill light (flood light to soften shadows), key light (spotlight – main source) and backlight. Lighting in this film is key to establishing the eerie and dark feeling throughout many of the scenes. For example, when Clarice would visit Hannibal Lector, the lighting is bright to show the urgency and alertness of the characters during the scene. Clarice is nervous about meeting this infamous sociopath and the lighting reinforces that feeling. The bright lighting centered on Hannibal Lector draws our attention to him, foreshadowing that he would reveal important clues about Clarice’s case. Later the film, when Clarice enters Buffalo Bill’s house and realizes who he is, he shuts off the lights to escalate the fear that Clarice is feeling as we see her stumble around the room through the eyes of Buffalo Bill in his night vision goggles.
Acting and Performance refers to the “actor’s toolkit”, that is facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, etc. An actor’s physical gestures can give the audience several clues about their personality. In Silence of the Lambs, Dr. Lector’s facial expressions were usually stern, showing the audience his intents in escaping the cell and continuing his evil deeds. There were times however, when Hannibal Lector would smile and show excitement, as if his times with Clarice were all a game, and he was just enjoying his time playing. On the other hand, Clarice normally had a sense of focus showing from her facial expressions and body language. Whenever she was on the job, she was ready to show Jack Crawford that she was ready to be appointed and work with him in his field of study. By following Clarice’s performance, the audience identifies with her because we want to see her succeed in the end of the film. This in turn requires us to identify with Hannibal Lector, because throughout the film he is responsible for helping Starling get to the bottom of the case.
Jonathan Demme’s Silence of the Lambs (1991) highlights the story of young Clarice Starling and her journey to success in the FBI solving the case of an infamous serial killer, Buffalo Bill. Aspects of the film’s style allow us to identify with the main characters: Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lector. By using Murray Smith’s “Structure of Sympathy” and his notion of identification, we are able to analyze the characters’ main traits, allowing the audience to recognize, align, and form an allegiance with the morals of Starling and Lector.