The Silence of the Lambs - Hannibal Lecter, American Idol Essay

The Silence of the Lambs - Hannibal Lecter, American Idol hardly a(prenominal) modern horror movies have matched the critical acclaim of Jonathan Demmes 1991 The Silence of the Lambs, featuring Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal psychiatrist. The film, along with Alfred Hitchocks Psycho (1960), is one of few horror/ suspicion films accepted by movie critics as one of the best American films ever produced. However, as the trilogy of movies in the Hannibal Lecter series progressed, some feared that the character would generate commercialized, as he has in many ways. In the two sequent films, Ridley Scotts sequel, Hannibal (2001), and Brett Ratners 2002 prequel, Red Dragon, Lecter often seems more of a parody of himself, playing up the larger-than-the-screen status bestowed upon him after Anthony Hopkinss superior performance in Lambs. While many critics were upset at the commercialization of one of the greatest characters in the memorial of American cinem a, an even more interesting change may be indicated through the characters acceptance in mainstream culture. Hannibal Lecter is a different part of cannibal monster than those previously seen in horror films, as shown through his motivations and wrong actions, and has been accepted by the audience as an anti-hero instead of the antagonist of the movie. Cannibalism has scram a prevalent theme in horror movies since the 1960s. According to redbreast Wood, the cannibalism motif functions in two ways. Occasionally, members of a family devour each other . . . . More frequently, cannibalism is the familys means of sustaining or nourishing itself (84). The latter theme has been seen throughout several movies, including Tobe Hoopers cult classic The ... ..., both the intellectual and the primal self. And, whether approximately viewers would admit it or not, he is, in many ways, the type of person we are encouraged to be. Works CitedEbert, Roger. The Silence of Lambs. Chicago Sun-Times. 14 Feb. 1991.Gregory, Bettina. Hannibal Lecter The Honey in the Lions Mouth. American Journal of Psychotherapy 56.1 (2002) 100-14.Martingale, Moira. Cannibal Killers The report of Impossible Murders.New York Carroll, 1993.Sagan, Eli. Cannibalism Human Aggression and Cultural Form. New York Harper, 1974.Sanday, Peggy Reeves. betoken Hunger Cannibalism as a Cultural System. Cambridge Cambridge UP, 1986. The Silence of the Lambs. Dir. Jonathan Demme. Orion, 1991.Wood, Robin. The American nightmare Horror in the 70s. Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan. New York Columbia UP, 1986.