Psychology

Some movies and novels talk about socio-psychopaths who are out to murder their victims. In some cases, victims are linked with a common object that interests their killer and in some instances killings are a source of personal satisfaction for the killer. Silence of the lambs is a story that talks about two offenders who kill only for their personal satisfaction.

Introduction
Main plot of the story of Silence of the lambs is to psychoanalyze a serial killer by utilizing information provided by another cannibalistic psychopath serving in a mental asylum, Hannibal Lecter. Silence of the lambs written by Thomas Harris features Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a cannibalistic psychopath serving in a mental asylum who was reached by a young FBI trainee, Clarice Starling. Starling was investigating into the psychological background of a serial killer, Buffalo Bill who was a serial killer responsible for murdering many women in a ritual manner. The common method used by Bill on his female victims was removal of their skins after murder. The psychological analysis was carried out by Starling based on the findings on crime scene and information provided by Hannibal Lecter (Ebert 24).

Clarice Starling was a young FBI trainee in the department of Behavioral Profiling. With the help of local police officers, Clarice was required to carry out the behavioral profiling of Buffalo Bill. Using psychological profiling based on the crime scenes Buffalo Bill was to be apprehended by the police officers for murdering women. Clarice reached Hannibal Lecter in order to gain information about the psychology of this serial killer. Hannibal Lecter does not help Clarice without a price. He was guided by his curiosity into finding ways to manipulate Clarice to expose her confusing and complicated demonized past for him. Here develops a relationship that was twisted enough to let Clarice open up her complicated past life in front of Hannibal thus being weak enough to stop a heinous and a deadly killer.

The movie focuses on two offenders, Buffalo Bill and Hannibal Lecter. Bill has killed and de-skinned five women. Hannibal can sturdily manipulate his prey to get a desirable outcome. Two instances relate to his manipulative demeanor. During Carlings first visit to the asylum to meet Hannibal, a fellow prisoner misbehaved with Clarice horrifying Hannibal, and he candidly disliked such misconduct. On her next visit, Clarice learnt that the fellow prisoner was dead as Hannibal manipulated him into committing suicide. Second instant was when Hannibal manipulates Clarice to open up her past in return of information that Hannibal provided about Bill. A person can have more than one psychopathologies at same time and Hannibal had two he was antisocial as well as a narcissist (BFI modern classics 67).

Buffalo Bill and Hannibal Lecter had been acquaintances in the past and Lecter does not provide this information to Clarice easily. The acquaintance was before Hannibal was abducted in prison. A link noticed in the murdered victims of Buffalo Bill was the presence of a Deaths Head Moth in victims mouths. It has been observed that the offender followed a ritual in his killings and these ritual-like killings increased his hunger even more. During the investigation, Bill abducted his seventh victim, daughter of US senator, heightening FBIs fears of them taking more time in apprehending Buffalo Bill.
A white male in his 30s, Buffalo Bill is a character who was seeking a change. Buffalo was shown as a serial killer who thinks of himself as a transvestite. Bill had once tried to get gender reassignment surgery but he was refused because of his criminal record. Bill was keen on checking records of people who have been turned down for the gender reassignment surgery owing to any criminal convictions in the past.

Buffalo Bill was a serial killer who grew in the society without affection and love, especially his mother. Originally, Buffalo Bill was named as James Gumb. He was born in 1948 and his mother was a beauty contestant. Bill passed his childhood without the love of an affectionate mother as she abandoned Bill in his childhood. His grandparents took him under custody from the foster home, who were killed by Bill after a period of two years. He was imprisoned in a mental asylum where he learnt tailoring (Ebert 89). After his release from the mental asylum, he tailored for Mrs. Lippman. It was at this time that he met Hannibal Lecter and started abducting and murdering women whose bodies he stored in a cellar. During her investigation, Clarice learnt that skins removed from female victims bodies were being used by the killer to prepare a suit for women that would be made up of real skin, by using tailoring skills (BFI modern classics 90).

Killers like Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill are shown to have the same psychological traits. Both of these offenders are antisocial and used charms, intimidation and manipulation to prey on their victims. Both lack conscience and cold bloodedly prey on their victims to satisfy their inner needs (Ebert 56).

Conclusion
American pop culture will always be remembered for greatest horror classics ever produced.  The movie Silence of the lambs was released fifteen years ago and it has been loved since the time it was first seen. This flick has been known as a pioneer in many other psychological thrillers using ideas as psychological profiling as well as realistic looks.