Hannibal Lecter's Identity and Ethos

Hannibal Lecter's Identity and Ethos

Anthony Hopkins, as Hannibal raises a few interesting ideas about reality, identity and our perception of the serial killer. First of all, the movie would have never been made if Hopkins, had not agreed to do the sequel (Sterritt). Second, even though Hopkins, has taken on numerous roles, his memorable roles (besides as Hannibal Lecter) are not so villainous such as his characters in "Remains of the Day or "Shadowlands. In relation to this ethnography of the audience viewing the film, Hannibal's ethos is directly tied to Hopkins, ethos and it shows in audience reactions.

Movie makers know the power of "celebrity in American society, and as Americans, we usually like to "cheer for characters played by actors that we admire or enjoy seeing our favorites. Thus, admirers of Hopkins, work will immediately give the character of Hannibal credibility and protagonist status despite what they know about the actual character,s actions. Then, because of

media coverage and media acknowledgement of Hopkins, "acting prowess, young moviegoers who have not been exposed to Hopkins, 30-year movie career will be inclined to adopt the opinion that he is a great actor and therefore, see him as the protagonist in the film, "Hannibal. Of course, we cannot view Hannibal's protagonist/antagonist identity as accident nor original idea. Citing movies such as "Terminator and "Pulp Fiction, one journalist wrote, "More and more often, we are seeing psychopaths and serial killers as protagonists. (Goldberg)

Four Orders of Signification

Jean Baudrillard, a French philosopher, opined that there are four orders of signification. The first order is that "signs are thought of as reflecting basic reality;...

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...d here that the film, "Hannibal fits in one way or another under all of these progressive orders of signification. It is not my place to show the reader where he or she perceives reality or his or her relationship with Hannibal's character; but, in conclusion, the fourth order of signification will say that the serial killer does not exist it is only a media-generated idea. I believe the serial killer does exist, but as a far different symbol than the one presented in media. "Hannibal just shows us, as a society, how far we'll go to accept a killer into our lives.

Works Cited

Goldberg, Jonah, "Violent Fantasy, National Review, 10/23/2000, Vol. 52 Issue 20, p. 62.

Sterritt, David, "Why Hannibal, Gives Us Chills, Christian Science Monitor, 02/16/2000, Vol. 93 Issue 58, p. 15.

Baudrillard, Jean, http://carmen.artsci.washington.edu/panop/baudrillard.htm