Hello everyone, I am Liao Yu who loves to watch movies more sincerely.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the reflection on "silence" triggered by a "sinking year" VCD</h1>
I don't know what year you first watched the thriller suspense movie "The Silence of the Lambs" and what medium was used to watch it? Let me give you an object that exposes its age – VCD!
A VCD disc of a "sinking year"
Now there should be many young friends do not know what VCD is, it is the mainstream disc player on the market around 95 to 2000, instead of the existence of video recorders and video tapes. It is equivalent to the Blu-ray player that has eliminated DVD now, and it was a very advanced player at that time.
But at that time, the capacity of a VCD disc was only about 700M, the resolution was 352x240 pixels, and generally two discs could hold a movie, and the clarity was not as clear as the movies watched online today. And it was in this clarity that I watched the movie "The Silence of the Lambs" for the first time. Even so, I was still immersed in the thriller and suspense atmosphere of the film, and I couldn't help myself, and I was addicted!
In the movie "The Silence of the Lambs", Starin is in the dark
The plot twists and turns are thrilling, and the actors Anthony Hopkins and Judy Foster, who play Dr. Hannibal and FBI agents Starling, are breathtaking and unforgettable.
In the movie The Silence of the Lambs: Dr. Hannibal and Starling
Therefore, the film also lived up to expectations and won the Oscar for best picture that year, and the two leading actors also won the awards for best actor and best actress. The film also won the best director and best adapted screenplay awards. Won the five most gold awards in the Academy Awards that year, that is, the legendary "Big Five"! The so-called "Big Five" refers to the five heavyweight awards for best picture, director, screenplay, male and female lead.
Oscar for Best Actor and Best Actress
The last "Big Five" of the Oscars dates back to the 1935 romantic comedy "One Night", and the second time there was such a sweep of five awards was the film "Flying Over the Madhouse" (1976) 41 years later, and then the 1991 film, and there is no one to come back. It can be seen that this movie can become a thriller suspense classic in the history of film history. In China, it also has a high score of 8.8, which is better than 98% of suspense films, which are sought after by countless fans, including me.
Dr. Hannibal in the movie The Silence of the Lambs
So much so that every time the image playback system is updated and iterated, I will buy a clearer version of the collection. And to see it once or twice a year, instead of feeling boring, there will be new discoveries and different feelings every time.
When I first watched the film, I always looked at it as an excellent commercial film, thinking that the original story was good, the adaptation was good, the acting was good, and the filming was good and naturally won the Oscar. But as the number of views increased, I gradually realized that my previous understanding of this movie was a bit superficial.
For example, we all know that the reason why this film is called "The Silence of the Lambs" is because when the female agent Starling met Dr. Hannibal, as a condition for the doctor to help her solve the case and exchange information, she was forced to recall the most painful memories of her childhood:
When Starling, who had lost both of her parents at a young age, was fostered at a relative's house, she heard the screams of lambs one night and woke up to find that the rancher was slaughtering lambs. She wanted to let go of the lamb, but the lamb wouldn't run. So she picked up a lamb and fled, but was eventually retrieved and sent to an orphanage by the rancher, who failed to save even one of the lambs.
The "Silence of the Lambs" by Dr. Hannibal in the movie "The Silence of the Lambs"
Combined with the whole plot, we can mostly realize that in the heart of Starling, who grew up to become an FBI female agent, the "lamb" represents the weak and the victim. And the screams of the lambs she heard in her dreams symbolized their cry for help in their loneliness, which is why she kept waking up from nightmares.
So in order to rescue them, Starling dared to cooperate with the fearsome Dr. Hannibal and dared to break into any daunting horror scene. In the end, she defeated "Buffalo Bill" and could finally stop being disturbed by nightmares because the lamb had been "silent". And this is only the first meaning of "silence" in this movie, through countless times of watching, analyzing and thinking, I understand that "silence" has another meaning.
Starling in the movie The Silence of the Lambs
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > use the language of the lens to imply the second meaning of "silence"</h1>
Let me begin with a brief analysis of the nature of the word "silence", which is not the same as "quiet".
The word "silence" suggests a meaning that is not positive and open, but more likely to describe a negative and closed state. Simply put, "silence" implies a state of loss of discourse due to repression, especially for the weak. Therefore, I think that the title of the film is "silent" lamb instead of "quiet" lamb, and when "silence" is combined with "lamb" representing the weak, it is more obvious that it implies a non-positive meaning of being suppressed or even killed.
In the film, in Starling's mind, the process of the "lamb" from "screaming" to "silence" is the process of "victim" from "crying for help" to "being rescued", which presents a positive transformation, but the result of this transformation can be seen in two. One is "crying for help" because it is "rescued" and therefore "silent", while the other is "crying for help" and "silent" because it is "sealed". The former can bring the audience a lot of justice, while the latter can bring deeper thinking to the audience.
The thinking Starling in the movie "The Silence of the Lambs"
In other words, in addition to symbolizing the female victims, the second meaning of the "Silent Lamb" in the film symbolizes the person who has lost his right to speak under the suppression of power, that is, Starling. This is evident from the most familiar movie posters, where Starling's mouth is obscured by a skull moth.
Poster for the movie "The Silence of the Lambs"
The state of the skull moth before it is conceived is pupae, in the film the moth pupae is embedded in the throat of the victim, in addition to the meaning of making the victim lose the right to speak, I think there is another metaphor: the pupa is the "silent" state in the transformation of the moth, and the pupa is bred in the new life state of the moth! This metaphor is also the key to my understanding of the second meaning of the film's "silence".
The skeleton moth pupae from the movie The Silence of the Lambs
Starling had to choose "silence" in order to have a new state of life, which is why skull moth can occupy the core position in the poster with the heroine!
I think Starling's "silence" stems from her own upbringing and the working environment in which she lived, specifically from the repression of male colleagues, superiors, and higher powers.
In the movie "The Silence of the Lambs", Starin and her boss Crawford
The film begins with several sets of camera language to hint at this point, with Staline in training being summoned by department head Crawford, and most of the colleagues she meets along the way are uniformly dressed and hordes of men, whose clothes are also different in color than Stalin's. On the surface, it is to distinguish the identity of the mature detective or senior student and the lower student Stalin, in fact, it also means how strong this group of men and women, well-organized, and hierarchical is, and how weak Stalin is as one of the few female individuals. In the picture below, four male colleagues are wiping down weapons that undoubtedly represent danger. The implication of this danger is even more pronounced in the next shot.
Stills from the movie "The Silence of the Lambs"
In the elevator to Crawford's office, Starling is surrounded by tall, muscular male colleagues, creating a strong visual contrast with her, who is short and slender in the middle. Even more remarkably, all male colleagues were dressed in red, with only Starling dressed in light gray. This is certainly not a coincidence, but the product of the creator's elaborate design.
As we all know, red generally represents danger, here obviously alludes to wolves, light gray means lambs, and the creator cleverly uses color and composition to make a group of wolves and a lamb in a confined space such as an elevator, giving people a strong sense of oppression from the whole vision. Sdalyn was forced to face the condescending "scrutiny" of the male gaze, and could only pretend to look up at the floor to show "silence". Isn't she the "silent lamb" at this moment because she has mistakenly fallen into the wolf pack?
There is a similar lens language in the back, suggesting Stalin's weakness in the predominantly male justice system.
The "Lamb" Starling next faces the leader of the wolf pack, the head of the department, Crawford, who is also her own boss. It is also a hint of the language of the lens. Crawford's state of conversation with Stalin is even more condescending, seemingly recalling his excellent grades in his lectures, but in fact it is a declaration of authority and strength - the subtext of "I gave you the first class" is that I can decide your fate!
Crawford in the movie The Silence of the Lambs
At this time, Stalin's answer is also worth reading, she corrected Crawford to say that it was "under A"! Its subtext is also self-evident, I am not satisfied with the results under the first division, I want to do my best! So the two hit it off and began to get to the point. When Crawford asked if you wanted to work for me after graduation, Starling replied very much! Let's take a closer look at The look on Starling's face when she answered this—shy and happy, with a hint of flattery and coddling in her happiness. I have to admit that Starling's actor, then only 26-year-old Oscar actress Judy Foster, beautiful with a green face can not help but be moved.
Thus we cannot ignore the significance of Crawford's fatherly image for Stalin, in addition to the identity of a male superior.
As Dr. Hannibal analyzed Starling at the first meeting, Starling was a girl who grew up with her father after her mother lost her mother, and then suffered from her father and became an orphan growing up in an orphanage. Growing up in a lonely and impoverished environment, she has a heartfelt admiration and yearning for the tall image and power of her police father. In other words, for Sdalyn, who is weak at the bottom, climbing up is the only way out of life, so her yearning for promotion or power is unquestionable.
In the movie The Silence of the Lambs, Dr. Hannibal meets Stalin for the first time
What is even more indisputable is that the well-organized, hierarchical, and powerful FBI is the objectified representative of Starling's heart that she admires and yearns for, and Crawford is the embodiment of this power. Therefore, in his second meeting with Dr. Hannibal, Dr. Hannibal asked whether there was some kind of equivalent exchange or emotional relationship between Stalin and Crawford because of Stalin's admiration for her father and yearning for power.
In the film The Silence of the Lambs, Dr. Hannibal meets Stalin for the second time
Dr. Hannibal made this analysis at the second meeting because at the end of their first meeting, the Doctor called back the departing Starling and promised her a great opportunity to be promoted, and at this time Starling did not refute and refuse but chose to be "silent". In this way, Dr. Hannibal also confirmed his insight into Starin's heart. So is there really a desire for power in Starling's subconscious, apart from a sense of justice to save the victims?
The end of the film The Silence of the Lambs when Dr. Hannibal meets Sdalyn for the first time
The answer is of course! Because the next shot is when Starling walks out of the mental hospital and reminisces about her happy time with her father.
In the movie "The Silence of the Lambs", Starling recalls herself and her father
After reminiscing, Starling cried on the side of the car, because such a time would never happen again, so the image of her father in her heart gradually changed to the worship of older, powerful (powerful) men. In the film, the object of worship is obvious, with Crawford on one side and Dr. Hannibal on the other!
In the movie The Silence of the Lambs: Dr. Hannibal/Starling/Crawford
In fact, the scheming Crawford also knew this, so he sent Starling, a trainee agent, to see Dr. Hannibal. Because he knew that the so-called psychiatrists were a piece of cake in front of Dr. Hannibal, and they were useless. And The young, beautiful, and tragic childhood of Starling may have piqued Dr. Hannibal's interest.
If Crawford is the leader of the wolf pack, then Dr. Hannibal is the fiercer beast, and the Lamb-like Starling is undoubtedly attractive to them! So Starling was actually Crawford's bait to lure Dr. Hannibal. Let's look at the same old man with power, Dr. Chilton, the director of the mental hospital, looked at Stalin with tears in his eyes.
Dr. Chilton in the movie The Silence of the Lambs
On the other hand, Starling also gradually guessed Crawford's intentions as bait, but she understood better that this was also a great opportunity for her to make a meritorious promotion, so she chose "silence"!
At this time, the fate of Sdalyn, a small person from the bottom, is clearly in the "silence" dominated by power, and she needs to complete a path to become an elite through such "silence". Thus receiving protection from the fathers and the upper echelons of society until they become part of the upper classes. The end result is also just as she wished, after defeating the criminal "Bison Bill" to rescue the victim, she is deeply snuggled in Crawford's arms, at this time the love of her father and the protection of her superiors have been cleverly integrated in Crawford!
In the movie "The Silence of the Lambs", Stalin snuggled in Crawford's arms
In the end, Starling was promoted from trainee agent to full agent. This is also Dr. Hannibal's first promise to her! On the surface, it is Starling's growth and self-reliance. From another point of view, it can also be understood as Starling's subconscious recognition and integration of the rules of power.
Stalin, who was promoted in the movie "The Silence of the Lambs"
In short, Starling's "silence" is a transition process between one kind of helpless "silence" at the bottom of poverty and another kind of active choice of "silence" to become an elite. Therefore, the film uses the language of Crawford shaking hands with her to express that Starling has psychologically replaced her father and been accepted by the upper echelons.
In the movie "The Silence of the Lambs", Crawford shakes hands with Starling
At this point, the "silence" that Starling chose was not over, because there was a repression of power higher than Crawford— the victim's mother, a female parliamentarian.
The congresswoman meets Dr. Hannibal at the airport, and in order to get the doctor to give important clues, she can easily allocate all the resources, and even make Dr. Hannibal "shut up" (with a mask) and praise his beautiful suit. Of course, the "pretty suit" of the councillor here is the doctor's comparison to the dress that Stalin said earlier was "cheap at the bottom". The use of clothing without traces is a metaphor for the obvious difference between the power class and the bottom.
Dr. Hannibal and the congresswoman in the movie The Silence of the Lambs
So can we make the following bold guess:
With this case, Stalyn successfully promoted to full FBI agent, and in the near future she will work harder to become independent from Crawford's asylum and become a leader. She can even have the social status and life of a female parliamentarian who holds power at this moment. But she still needs to achieve this position at the cost of some kind of "silence" by obeying orders.