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
The usual victims are lusty and sexy young women. However, Bill has a slightly different taste when it comes to his selection. The dead in Silence are not the usual objects of sexual desire. They are young, yes, but they are of the heavy-set type. His selected victims were full-figured and roomy in the hips and a selection all for good reason. Because he covets their identity and not their sexuality he chooses these types of women. Buffalo Bills wants skin, and to get an abundant about these unfortunate women were selected. For the viewer, one change from the norm is that the actual killing is not shown in the movie. Instead the only thing that is shown is the results Bill's butchery. The final girl is the one who out-wits the killer, though may exhibit a tad of stupidity as the victim(s). Her survival tactics comprise of the hit and run and the hope that she is saved by the intervention of the heroic male. At a glance the viewer may be led to believe that Special Agent Starling is the "it" girl in this movie. She deals with Hannibal the cannibal, has to prove her worthiness to her male superiors and ultimately kill Mr. Buffalo but she is not the final girl thought. Recall the Senator's daughter, Katherine Martin, who's one of Bill's victims. Katherine is the final girl because she is one who is in imminent danger of Bill. She als
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 916
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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