Post 1, Group C--Can something be heard in "silence"? By Kyle Gardner

While deliberating which movie to analyze, I figured the best way to provide a critical analysis was to re-watch a movie that I am familiar with and use the theories and analysis skills that we've discussed in class to try to unveil tactics of the producer to portray fear. The movie I watched, one of my all time favorites, The Silence of the Lambs, based on the novel written by Thomas Harris. I realized that the motivations of the semi-protagonist (Hannibal "The cannibal" Lector), and the main protagonist (Clarice Starling) could be derived from the Lacan psychoanalysis theory of desire. This blog post speculates on Lacan’s theory of desire as the motivation factor for each of these characters.

As a brief overview of The silence of the lambs, Starling was raised in a single father household with no siblings. Once her father gets murdered in the line of duty (Police), Starling goes on to essentially raise herself and join the FBI later in life, following in his footsteps. She gets contracted by the FBI late in the academy to stop an elusive serial killer, Buffalo Bill, from striking again. However, Sterling cannot crack the case without the help of Hannibal Lector, a forensic psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. 

Lacan theorized that individual desire is rooted in the desires of others. This idea is a crucial when analyzing Starling. After Starling’s father gets murdered, she goes to live with her aunt and uncle on a sheep farm. She couldn’t stand the fact that she had to live without her father and attempted to escape with a screaming lamb that she tried to save.  This memory haunts Starling to the point to which the only way she believes she can stop the screaming is by catching Buffalo Bill. I don’t think that the fact that Starling joined the FBI was any coincidence. I believe Starling was motivated by her father in two ways; by his passion to bring criminals to justice and intrinsic desire to avenge his death. These two things she believes her father desired.  During an interrogation, Lector says, “And you think if you save poor Catherine, you could make them stop, don't you? You think if Catherine lives, you won't wake up in the dark ever again to that awful screaming of the lambs”.  This makes me believe that Starling is motivated by her father to catch Buffalo Bill, and subsequently end the screaming of the lambs.

Motivation of Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lector, is a little bit more cryptic and requires a deeper understanding of how a common theme in the movie, “Quid pro quo”, and Lacan’s recourse of game theory and motivation are related. Throughout almost the entire duration of the film, Hannibal Lector is detained in one shape or another. His motivations for freedom are all dependent on the success of Starling catching Buffalo Bill. However, his help comes at a price. Many times Lector states, “Quid pro quo, you tell me something, ill tell you something”. He uses this strategy to slowly get more freedoms from the federal government in exchange for more freedoms. Starling would promise him a transfer to a lower security prison in exchange for a psychoanalysis… *wink wink* of Buffalo Bill to expedite her investigation. Lacan’s recourse on game theory states, “game theory involves precisely the attempt to formalize the possibilities available to individuals in situations where their decisions concerning their wants can in principle both affect and be affected by the decisions of others” (Sharpe). Understanding Lacan’s recourse of game theory is pivotal in deciphering exactly how he is impacting Starling. Lector makes sure that Sterling is always on the right course because he knows if he leads her astray, he will get nothing in return.

While watching this movie, I developed a new respect for the finer details of the thriller genera. I think that in a lot of these “creepy” movies, we lose sight of smaller important details that get covered up by the graphic use of imagery and violence.  To my pleasure, I am happy to see how incorporating the theories of Lacan can shed light on a whole new dynamic of film that otherwise could be missed.

Secondary article
Sharpe , Matthew. “Jacques Lacan (1901-1981 ) .” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.iep.utm.edu/lacweb/#SH2a.