Is Hannibal A Hero Or A Villain

Man is the world’s most dangerous animal. Though we do not possess sharp teeth, claws, poisonous stingers, or the ability to perceive heat radiated by other creatures, we do possess an unsurpassed ability to reason and think. Man has intelligence, the deadliest natural weapon of all. In Thomas Harris’ The Silence of the Lambs, readers are introduced to Hannibal Lecter, the cannibalistic psychiatrist, who fuses a razor-honed intellect with the savage qualities of a beast. He is both man and monster, but it is the balance of these two aspects that gives him the depth that still fascinates and horrifies to this day. In order to reach this conclusion with significant arguments I will proceed to analyze the books and different movies that refer to this interesting character.

Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist and a serial killer. As Clarice gets to the asylum the manager Fredrick Chiton makes a crude impass on her which she refuses. Clarice throughout the movie is often the subject of unwanted stares and impasses from men, she often shows her independent and her masculine identity by not acknowledging these impasses and proving she is a self-sufficient woman. Clarice main objective in talking to Lecter is to find the whereabouts of Jane Gumb or Buffalo Bill. As the movie progresses there seems to be a unique sexual connection between Lecter and Clarice. To get the right information the FBI was smart to send a female because Lecter probably wouldn’t talk to anyone else, but Clarice also has to be independent enough to refuse advances from other men as Lecter can only be the only man in her

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior that seeks to understand the mindset of individuals and groups in certain situations (Psychology). Often, the most riveting horror movies exploit the internal fears of the human mind.The way human beings react to each other and why people behave the way they do can be manipulated to evoke fear in an audience, especially if the motivations can’t be understood. In the 1991 psychological thriller Silence of the Lambs, Jonathan Demme creates a gripping narrative by exploiting the internal motivations of behavior and the violation of boundaries.

In every great novel or film there is an antagonist, and in some cases what people would consider a villain. Every villain has different motives for what they do and different character traits. The one thing in common with most villains is being an opposing force to a hero. In many cases, the best villains are the most complex. One example of a complex villain from both a series of films and novels is the character Hannibal Lecter. In the books you can see that Hannibal Lecter is a villain with many positive traits that are perceived negative because of the way he uses them. Some people may even say that towards the end of the series, Hannibal is more of an anti-hero than villain. Hannibal Lecter is the main character of the novels by Thomas

For this paper I was assigned to determine whether or not Napoleon Bonaparte was a hero or villain. I believe that he was a villain. Although not all he did was bad, he claimed many lives for nothing other than to gain power for himself. Not only did he declare many needless wars but he took away to of the most valued concepts of the revolution, which he calmed to be a part of.

He (or she?) appears at the snap of a finger, whisks victims away on a whim, and doesn't speak a single line. With that said, you'll be hard-pressed to think of a more uninteresting, one-dimensional killer in the history of horror cinema.

Though previous works state that Hannibal “does not fit any psychological profile”, Hannibal seems to fit the stereotypical tropes presented by the media on serial killers. Through Starling’s interactions with him, the audience can see that Hannibal is methodical and clever, able to steer and manipulate his conversations with Starling in the direction as he pleases, yet courteous and self-aware as he apologizes for another inmate's actions.This advanced mental capability and stability makes the infamous serial killer the perfect foil for the actual antagonist of the story, Buffalo Bill.

A villain is a person who tries to stop, kill, or destroy the protagonist in a story. The villain is a very important part to any story. The villain is rude, evil, and nasty. They are often known as the antagonist. Without a villain there wouldn’t even be a story. A villain can be likable or very hated. A lot of times the villain can be someone that the protagonist trusted. It can be family members or teammates or good people turned evil.

Starling is a great example of how women are subject to verbal and physical infringements by men (Magistrale). Starling experiences the rude comments when reviewing evidence at the funeral home: “When she was far enough away, one of the younger deputies, a newlywed, scratched beneath his jaw and said, ‘She don’t look half as good as she thinks she does’” (Harris 79). Because Clarice has great patience, she is able to ignore the deputy and accomplish everything she needs to. Clarice also has to handle the verbal assaults that come from the prisoners and deal with the patronizing comments that come from Dr. Chilton (Magistrale). For example, Dr. Chilton makes flirtatious comments to Clarice when she first enters his office (Harris 8). Chilton’s comment demonstrates how he does not take Clarice serious, but she is able to ignore him and maintain focus. When Clarice was leaving Lecter’s cell, Miggs flicks what was thought to be blood at her face (Harris 24). Instead of turning back and being unprofessional, Starling walks back to Dr. Lecter to finish her task (Harris 24). Harris continuously proves that Starling is capable of solving this case because her and the victims are similar with the aspect that they are ridiculed by men everyday. This ultimately proves that Starling is strong and has the ability to ignore any type of sexism or aggressive comments thrown at her, and still solve a challenging case

In the book silence of the lambs (Harris, 1988) as well as the movie (Demme,1991) "The Silence of the Lambs" deals with a young FBI cadet who is sent to interview a captured madman to find out about a serial killer who is stripping the skin from his female victims after they die. The FBI has had no luck with the case and agent Jack Crawford tries to throw a curve-ball to Dr. Hannibal Lecter by sending Clarice Starling. Lecter is a former doctor of Levine and holds the clues to capturing the unknown criminal. Needless to say the book and film takes many twists and turns, creating a suspenseful thriller that has no equal. At the heart of "The Silence of the Lambs" are the confrontations between Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling.

Chuck Klosterman writes thoroughly of his understanding of villains throughout his book “I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains”. He writes of their actions, ideas and specifically in “Electric Funeral”, he writes of the characteristics that are needed to be

In most plays, books, and movies villains have the same characteristics. Some of these include a menacing laugh, a conformity of some sort, dark colored clothing, and more. Yet these aren’t the qualities that make a villain a villain. The most obvious feature

In the film, young FBI agent in training Clarice Starling, played by actress Jodie Foster, is sent out to discover the identity of a serial killer known as “Buffalo Bill”. After graduating, she aspires to work in the behavioral science unit for Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn). Crawford asks her to interrogate imprisoned serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter, commonly referred to as “Hannibal the Cannibal” for eating his victims. Crawford believes that it may take one psychopath to know another one. It is Dr. Lecter 's insight, manipulation, and mystery that leads Starling on the right path while discovering the identity of the killer along with her own identity as well. Crawford believed that Starling would be able to to achieve an emotional response from Dr. Lecter being that she was a female. She was reminded not to let Dr. Lecter in to her head but he would only give information at a cost. He wanted Starling to express herself emotionally and reveal her past through psychoanalysis. By doing this she reveals key motives and backstory within the

to prison. Dr. Trevino died of cancer in 2009, but his life after prison was working in the very office he had committed his crime in (Valdez).

What makes a villain a villain? Is it the senseless violence inflicted upon the innocent? Or is it the oh so tragic backstory that is dramatically revealed just when the audience was really starting to hate them? Or is it when they...you know...eat people? When is it too much? When does a villain become a villain? Is it not all just based on our society’s views on what is right and what is wrong? After binging Hannibal, this is pretty much all I could think for several days. One moment you’re hoping that whoever this cannibalistic serial killer is, gets caught and put away for a long, long time and then the next moment, you’ve fallen in love with him. It’s really quite a rollercoaster. This show raises a lot of questions about morality, it