[ SECRET POST #2608 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2608 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 090 secrets from Secret Submission Post #373.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

So, do you hate him in a good way, or in a way that makes you incapable of watching?

OP

[(Anonymous)]

It was for a film class, so I didn't see the whole thing. I think my reaction to the whole movie would depend on the characters around him--it would be frustrating and tedious if they all folded to him, but potentially interesting if some of them saw through him.

(BTW, I know the scene in question isn't one that repulses everyone because other students seemed to think he was cool, and the teacher talked about how cool he was. It's the bit where Clarice Starling tries to get him to fill out a questionnaire. After we'd talked a bit, the teacher showed us a horrific clip from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer--she said she wanted to "make us think" about how we'd been sympathizing with a serial killer just a while ago.)

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

I'd have pointed out the false equivalence between Henry and Hannibal. It's like comparing Ted Bundy and Aileen Wuornos.

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

Ultimately, I agree... although the scene is excellent (and in the greater context of things I think I probably love Hannibal in part because of how he handles situations like this one) I think that, for most people, their reaction is probably intense discomfort. I don't think the intended reaction to Hannibal Lecter is for the audience to admire him. At least, this is the case for the original novels and movies - the later books and especially the TV series have tried (and succeeded) to get away with a lot more sympathy for the villain.

But w this scene in particular I think we're meant to understand the charm and magnetism he has with people while ALSO understanding that he is a brutal killer that you can never, ever trust. The way the scene captures you and the power he takes over Clarice with so little effort is very attractive. But in the same breath you are forced to be disgusted by what he does to people for no real reason. So I don't think most people sympathize with him here, but they ARE taken in by him. And that’s kinda the intention

BC really it's that not only are the filmmakers manipulating the medium to their storytelling advantage, but Hannibal himself understands that he can take control of a situation even w/o having physical agency. And both the filmmakers and Hannibal understand that actually SEEING a brutal murder (or the evidence of one) would make the criminal seem wholly unforgivable. But just hearing the fact that he has murdered (and even eaten the remains of his victim) does not have the same effect. So instead of being constantly slapped with the twisted horror you would expect to feel toward him if you actually SAW his crimes committed, the audience is able to distance the violence from the character and instead put him in a position they wish they were in - the chessmaster.

Really your teacher’s right to point out the hypocrisy there, it’s a valuable lesson whether it’s applied to real life or to how you approach writing fiction. The audience of a story can either hate or root for a killer, and it all depends on how the murder is portrayed in the canon.