The Silence of the Lamb
Slasher movies follow a certain pattern. In a horror picture there is the killer of course but there are also other factors that are consistent. For instance, the use of weapon is significant. The weapon of choice is mostly one that allows "intimacy" such as a blade or saw where the killer has to be in a very close proximity to the victim. Then there is always that terrible place in which something bad has happened to the attacker. This place is known to those of the movie to be avoided like a plague. The victim of choice is always a young, sexy, sometimes blond, bombshell which who has enough brains as a pea. And then there is the final girl who is able to survive the killer and saves the day. Though horrific, The Silence of the Lamb defies some of the usual patterns of a horror/slasher movie. The only similarity is the monster, here being Buffalo Bill. Buffalo Bill faces gender confusion just as Norman Bates did in Psycho, but Bill's confusion was trying to decipher his gender. Buffalo Bill's character was one of self-loathing, woman hating, and homosexual portrayal. Bill had been turned down by clinics to perform a sex change but in his mind, he forced himself to believe he was a woman. It can be seen that his disa
Buffalo but she is not the final girl thought. Katherine is the final girl because she is one who is in imminent danger of Bill. Typically, the menace in a movie is seen brandishing some sort of weaponry such as a knife or saw. Her survival tactics comprise of the hit and run and the hope that she is saved by the intervention of the heroic male. Contrasting other movies where the character "asked" to be killed by willfully venturing into the forbidden house, Buffalo Bill's victims are taken to the terrible place. The difference in this movie, compared to others, is the victims. In Silence, the weapon of choice by Bill is not shown, although the viewer can draw the implication that it is a knife. For the viewer, one change from the norm is that the actual killing is not shown in the movie. Recall the Senator's daughter, Katherine Martin, who's one of Bill's victims. The dead in Silence are not the usual objects of sexual desire. However, Bill has a slightly different taste when it comes to his selection. She deals with Hannibal the cannibal, has to prove her worthiness to her male superiors and ultimately kill Mr. She pleaded and toyed with Bill by offering him ransom money and even going as far as to "kidnap" the only thing Bill seemed to care for, his dog. The character of Bill and that that surrounds him is quite unique. Instead the only thing that is shown is the results Bill's butchery.
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Acceptance Essays
