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Actor Ted Levine did a lot of research for the role of Buffalo Bill and met with a lot of trans people at bars and nightclubs. He ultimately came to the conclusion that his character was neither trans nor gay, and was a homophobic misogynist. Unfortunately like you said a lot of his characterization is missing in the film and Levine feels awful about how his portrayal of the character has hurt people, which I don't think is his fault if the backstory is on the cutting room floor.

I feel baffled that someone can watch this movie where in the opening scene, Clarice steps into an elevator full of men and they're all ogling her... And come out the other end saying there's no statements on gender or sexuality.

Maybe its me reading too much into it but I always felt that Jack wanted Clarice because she was honest but naive. Definitely smart but not willing to sacrifice her ideals. When questioning her grades I thought that was a test, to see if she was willing to stand up for herself even when it makes her seem weaker. Hannibal was intelligent but hubris, he would've likely ignored a seasoned agent, and judging from the guy agents they would've tried much harder to prove themselves. With Hannibal mentally crewing them out for daring to challenge him. Maybe its just me but Clarice hit that middle ground. Smart enough to get the job done but innocence enough that Hannibal would take the bait as he loves toying with people. Something a behavioral expert would do and Jack is showcased to push limits to get results.

In my head I wanted Clarise to have made all of the stuff she told Lector up and she was a genuine high functioning psychopath herself. And Lector never suspected a thing

When other KZfaq essayists talk about this movie they seem to portray Hannibal in a positive light. Sure, he's a monster that unalives people for trivial reasons, butchers them like livestock and eats them, but at least, he doesn't objectify Clarice's body like all the other men in the film do; he actually seems to respect her and see her as a qualified agent first and a woman second. I am in that camp. But I've never considered your take: Lecter is just as bad as the other men; even if he isn't exactly like them, he still plays with her mind like it's his toy. A mental objectification. He plays with her memories and trauma for his own amusement. I've seen this movie 20+ times and I never thought about this. Thanks for this video. Because of how charming and interesting he is, I often forget that Hannibal Lecter is the villain.

I took a "Film in Literature" class and I learned a huge facet of horror/thriller films in general relates to femininity: themes of Puritanism, like virginity and the original sin, and the "evil" of femininity and how it contrasts to the idea of the righteous male protagonist being two primary examples. Think "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Exorcist," respectively. You could say that "Alien" is the antithesis of those.

Incredible video! As someone from West Virginia, I think her being considered "white trash" really amplified your point. From personal experience people see women from West Virginia (especially ones with heavy accents) as uneducated hilljacks, and that would create a further degree of seperation. When my mother moved to california she actually had to unlearn her West Virginia accent because everyone said she sounded like clarice and that it made her sound unintelligent, which was especially a big deal since she worked in communications, often with men.

The danger in assuming that a certain type of person doesn't exist is that we're shocked and surprised when that type of person turns out to exist. Hannibal Lecter was assumed to be so outlandishly evil that he couldn't exist in real life. Then we got Jeffrey Dahmer.

about 31 minutes in and the themes of workplace advances is prevalent through not only this but the 2001 movie just titled Hannibal too. Clarice is metaphorically stripped down by a Justice Department official for a raid gone wrong that was out of her control. Wouldn’t you know it she rejected him prior. Thinking about it in the context of Silence definitely makes the film more disturbing as a whole and i’m ashamed to say I didn’t pick up on it

I really like when you analyze horror games- your points about mental health are both empathetic and nuanced and you know what makes great horror. Very cool to see you doing a video essay on a movie like this. Excited to watch this!

I read the original comic that the term "Bechdel Test" was coined in, it was just a satirical comment on the fact the bar was so incredibly low for including women as characters in movies, especially at the time. Not that a movie needed to pass it to be good or that a movie that passed it was good. The character jokes that she's hasn't seen a movie in 6 years since she started holding them to that standard.

I wouldn't say that womanhood is subtext in the film - it's, like, THE text. It's the crux of it all, from start to finish, top to bottom, womanhood and femininity are key throughout. I mean, they set it up at the very beginning, in the elevator. That sets the tone straight away. Love this movie. And you, too, Mert - sorry for not commenting for a while, I've been busy with school and am now catching up on your backlog of quality stuffs. I love how your channel has grown! I hope you're proud of yourself - you're doing a good damn job, friend.

I only watched this movie for the first time a few months back but I still think about it a lot, and when you mentioned that it's probably not a coincidence that Precious looks so much like a lamb, I gotta admit, that made my jaw drop a bit. That's a really interesting observation that I hadn't even considered.

It’s not illegal to eat people in Canada. I found out about this through a news article about dude who lost his leg in a car-accident. He requested his leg back, and he and his buddies cooked it in a BBQ as a bit of a meme. The meme got better when an increasing number of cops kept showing up and could not find a single legal reason to be there.

Yes. The director really did a fantastic job, it would have been easy for him to focus on Dr. Lector, who actually gets very little screen time. He does such a good job showing the daily female experience, that happens throughout a life. She's not the iconic character from this film, but it is fully her story. My favorite film when I need to process multiple traumatic things at once.

I'm sure how I feel about Bella being left out of the movie. On one hand, we learn a lot about Crawford through her brief storyline (she is very ill and Crawford is now her caretaker). The scene where he reminisces about their relationship was so sweet and made me cry. I really felt for him in the book. But on the other hand, it's not a huge part of the story and doesn't have anything to do with anyone but Crawford, so I can understand why it was cut.

Silence of the lambs is one of the movies that is closest to the source material I've ever seen! One of my favorite film facts is the reason there are so many shots where people are staring at the camera is to make everyone feel like Clarence and it is impactful I don't know how anyone thinks that Silence of the Lambs isn't about being a woman in a hostile male dominated field is wild

Hell yes. I hope you keep making movie-based video essays, especially on older, classic films such as Silence of the Lambs. Not only is it insightful but it also helps get these films back into the public consciousness. But of course, keep doing what you do. 💪

Remember kids, film is pretty much never about nothing. Even if the filmmaker meant nothing, their personal biases and opinions bleed through. And make no mistake, this is an extremely meaningful movie.

Great video as always 😎 Side note; the actual Buffalo Bill house is now available as a themed AirBnB. Complete with cellar. Which plays Goodbye Horses. Good Lord.

your nuanced and respectful takes on horror are always a joy to watch, especially as a queer person who's struggled with mental health issues. I love horror games and horror media, and I've noticed that a lot of the online communities surrounding them can be less than respectful, so I genuinely love that you put the effort into researching and being respectful with these. Love your videos!

I would have NEVER thought of the film this way so THANK YOU for this video. Also love how bluntly the bug guy says “yes” when Clarice asks if he’s flirting

The primary thing that makes me so upset whenever the defense that "the writer/director of the movie didn't intend for Bill to be trans" is genuinely used, is that the main list of trans characters in film on Wikipedia has Bill listed as a historical trans character. (no matter how many times I've sent editorial notes recommending that it's a bad addition, along with many other characters on the list but that's another rant) there comes a point that if the general public sees something as representative of a public group, even if the author didn't intend it, that there is consequences. That list is formed from popular public feed back, so the majority of voices are in favor of bill being trans representing. Even with wikipedias natural biases and personal interference, it's remained the same for decades in that decision. The films depiction of a people group has had an impact on the major cultural view of those people, as art is designed to do. An impact that has hurt and is still greatly hurting a lot of lives. This single film is if course not responsible for the entire anti trans movement or politics, but what it has done is created a concept for many to latch onto about what living as trans is like, one many at least subconsciously hold for things they don't understand, and this reinforces that. That being trauma and disgust being defining to being trans. There's a belief a lot of people, both those with Ill intent and good intent, that being trans is defined by one's self hate, body disgust, and trauma. I see it a lot when non trans people start defending trans rights by only pointing to things like suicide rates and self harm, and by those attacking trans people by again pointing to suicide rates and self harm, now claiming "being transed caused this." This I feel ties into the idea that by being trans there is something broken or wrong with you, that it needs to be fixed or taken out of you. This idea is so prelevent in main culture that even many trans people, formerly myself included, believe this about themselves, and that they're wrong and need to be made right in the world. I genuinely hate this belief. The way it defines all trans people by their unhappiness, struggles and death. This applies to even more than trans people infact, as also an immigrant I'm constantly reminding that the way people in my new country view life in my home is entirely based on it's violence, suffering, and pain. (especially ones they cause via colonialism but still frame as "our problems" again another rant) and I will say, it's good to acknowledge the problems, and it's good to fix those problems. But people are not problems, people are living humans and should never be described as a thing. I hate the general depiction of trans, immigrant, honestly most of not all suppressed people because it's the most dehumanizing shit I've ever seen. People, and especially writers and general workers in media want to use entire groups of people as props or dressing, taking people and turning them into things. And again I get it, it's practically impossible to show the fullness of a human being in just character, the common job of writers is honestly turning people into things. But what I do wish and know people can do is stop saying these things are representation, stop saying it's "a look into the trans condition" or whatever they're putting on reviews. And this isn't meant to just apply to writers, as said they can't control the audience much, but more over this is dedicated to the public view. The way the major public is willing to accept a depiction as an all encompassing reality for the incredibly complicated state of being human is both as old as stories, and still terrifying. I'm glad to see more people leave that way of thinking, but still not enough are willing to even accept the reality of it's existence. To try bringing this back to the original topic, the main pain I have with the view of Bill as trans, is they're a character with no joy, love, or acknowledging of self. (There's probably better words to describe this but English is not native to me please be patient) At least to me and those I've talked to, one of the primary aspects of being trans is self acceptance and love. Again this is left out of the narrative many make about being trans, but it's a genuine aspect of our lives. We are painfully aware of our bodies, and we build on ourselves to both better our own body, and our love for that body. There's a lot of self care and healing one has to make as trans, you have to relearn your relationship with how you live, how you view yourself. This is where I think so many people miss it, because when they hear the concept of someone changing their body because it doesn't fit or (don't know the word that best fits but the idea of not being proper or correct to the setting it's in, like a ground bird being forced into a tree) there's this idea that it must be from self hate, or loathing. That they want to mask over and hide their body, that they want it hurt or destroyed. So the audience with this view of trans people then projects it onto a character like Bill. Bill takes the skin of others and uses it to hide their own, in that state they experience "joy." Except by the way the scene is done not at all. The scenes are done to provoke disgust, discomfort and hate, and nothing is truly about Bill, but the concept. The concept bill is designed to be, and as a result the audience then takes as describing the concept of being trans. And it's not even close to the experience of trans joy, the point of transition is so that in your own body, your own skin, you feel joy, love, self care etc. There is never a need or point to taking that of someone else because you are you, and it's been about loving that, and bettering that. Transition is an experience of self love, also said you come to accept yourself and better yourself, because ultimately you're developing and growing, changing during the process because that is life, and you have to accept that. And unfortunately those looking in won't accept an idea that goes against their narrative of what it's really like, even in the face of what trans people are experiencing. Also side note just want to make clear this is attacking/targeting no one, not the writer's or directors, and definitely not you or your video. It's purely my own reaction to the film, and I generally like to assume the best intentions on the behalf of the creators. The primary goal was to acknowledge how many non trans people have these incorrect ideas that shape their view of trans folks, and how films like tsotl, even accidentally, support these beliefs both openly and subtly. There's a real push right now across multiple countries but especially the north and west to silence/destroy trans folks and communities so I do thank anyone creating content that stands to talk about trans folks in a respectful and humanizing way, and against those causing harm. It does go a long way to help more people at least acknowledge what's happening. Again thank you for this piece , and take care

I think what the film was trying to say is that, Billy wasn't trans gender by virtue of the fact that it was more of a sexual thing than it was an identity thing. Thats why they distance themselves from that explicitly imo.

Yay, glad you got a version of the video accepted by KZfaq! I love this movie. I think I actually screamed when we see the cutouts taped on the dress & it all came together in my mind. (so yeah, for me possible the biggest jump scare ever was a dress). Another data point for you - they named him Buffalo Bill because "he skins his humps" though later we hear that there is no rape. So the authorities were just assuming that that was what he would want from a woman.

I’d be super curious to hear your opinion on Psycho! The exploration of female sexuality, independence, and also the exploitation of DID and Norman’s experience with his mother. This video was excellent

The section on author intent reminded me of how appalled the writer was at how some people were idolising Hannibal Lector, and this affected how he wrote the sequel. Also, I'd love to see your take on the game Rule of Rose, I think there's alot of potential to discuss gender and power dynamics in it and I've liked what you've had to say about it here.

From the title alone, I've been agreeing with you 💯% for at *least* 10 years now. In my opinion, the feminine (feminist?) perspective of this film encompass most of the re-watch value and what makes this movie a Classsic ™️ Thank you for your service 🙏🏾

Sorry for a super-massive comment but I wanted to fill in some of the book stuff For starters, in the book, Crawford picking Clarice is down to her academic and work experience. "You have a lot of forensics, but no law-enforcement background" “What you do have is a double major in psychology and criminology, and how many summers working in a mental health center" “Your counselor’s license, is it. current?” "I found out in time to qualify as a Forensic Fellow. Then I could work in the lab until the Academy had an opening.” All of those quotes come in the conversation before Crawford mentions Lecter. Harris is clearly setting her up as qualified; a licensed counsellor would be better qualified to handle Lecter than a raw trainee and someone with a lot of forensics experience is a natural choice to take with you to examine a body. When Crawford goes off to speak with the sheriff alone because the sheriff resents the FBI taking over his case. Crawford uses Clarice as the excuse, not thinking what example that'll set to the police. And when he brings it up in the car, he dismisses it as a ploy and Clarice acknowledges that but points out to him that the police didn't know that and will follow his example of how to treat her. And when Clarice clears the dissecting room, she specifically wishes Crawford was there to use his authority but he's outside. So, she calls on a memory of her mother and other female forms of authority, which the narration describes as "a prototype of courage more apt and powerful than any Marine parachute jump". I love Clarice's response to Chilton in the book: “That’s perfectly fine with me. You might have suggested that in my office. I could have sent an orderly with you and saved the time.” “I could have suggested it there if you’d briefed me there.” The film's version of that conversation about the farm with the lambs really bugs me. For starters, Clarice's mum outlived her dad and might even still be alive at the time of the book. Clarice got sent away because there were too many mouths too feed on her mum's low wages and Clarice was the oldest. For another thing, Lecter never suggests her 'uncle' raped her. He asks “How did you like your mother’s cousin’s husband?” and Clarice answers "We were different.", then there's a back and forth that swiftly leads them onto the animals and, specifically, Clarice's horse, Hannah, who is the one she escaped with, not some random lamb. The screaming of the lambs only alerted Clarice to the danger. The one she wanted to rescue was Hannah. And Lecter is very disappointed to learn that Hannah lived out a happy life at Clarice's orphanage. You mention how the film isn't so lazy as to make her trauma about rape but Harris is doing something even more complicated. Clarice succeeded in saving the animal she was most attached to but is still haunted by the majority she couldn't save. I'm not going to opine on Jame Gumb's gender identity but, in the book, we get multiple scenes of them watching film of who they believe to be their mother and the way they speak to Precious about her is both covetous and uncomfortably sexual.

I distinctly remember when I watched this movie, alone in my bedroom around 6pm so the room wouldn't be too dark, and the thing I remember most clearly is how nauseous the movie made me feel. At the time I just figured it was the fact that I'm not used to thriller films but now I honestly think how silence of the lambs reflects my own experiences with womanhood and male dominated fields amplified the intensity for me. Incredible. Also a great video!

This was a fascinating watch, and you clearly tried hard to address Bill, namely the issues with the film’s portrayal of their gender identity, in as respectful and nuanced way possible. As a non-binary person, I really appreciate that. I also appreciated the amount of research you did and attention you payed to others’ perspectives on Bill’s gender identity, on the relative sexism/transphobia of the film, etc. The responses to the survey you did a while ago (that I was happy to be able to participate in!) were clearly something you took into account when writing the script for this, and, just, idk. It’s good. Despite the difficult subject matter it made me feel affirmed and respected as a person who falls under the trans “umbrella” of identities, and that was pretty cool to see from a cis person.

I think this is one of those movies where the message and themes are not hammered in and poorly written, and I actually got them- because I'm not always the sharpest tool in the shed 😅 I think this movie does a great job SHOWING you Clarice's struggle in a male-dominated workplace, and not just telling you like any other film would. Even as a man, I understood her plight and empathize with her. Otherwise, this is a great movie, and this is a great video, Mert 😁

I think another interesting aspect of the movie is the focus on the state senator's daughter having to be kidnapped in order for investigation unit to prioritize looking for buffalo bill. Might be looking too into it but interesting to think about.

I think the idea of casual depravity is something very prevalent in SotL. Lector is casually cruel, cold, and is not to be trusted, even in spite of his "competence" as a psychologist and fellow murderer. He views the entire world of living people as meat for his own appreciation and consumption. Even at his most "empathetic" toward Clarice, he never actually "likes" her for more than the small amusement she continues to bring him, because she's just a stimulant for his pleasure. The true horror of Lector is the illusion of competence, composure, and apathy he tries to push onto others to create terror and power for himself. I think about how unhinged it is to casually murder your deranged cell-mate for slighting someone you met for only a brief moment, but it all contributed to Lector building this narrative around himself that simply isn't true. I think Buffalo Bill is suppose to parallel this in many ways while interacting with characters like Lector indirectly. Like Lector, Bill casually uses women to accomplish nothing more than a personal agenda, and Lector can't help but prick at Bill from afar by sticking a woman on him that believe's he could only ever *want* to be a woman. He profiled Bill that way so Clarice would look down on him, which I think just serves to highlights Lector's competence as a manipulator again. I watched a video once analyzing the cinematography of Lector and Clarice's first conversation and how the camera angle changes to subliminally suggest how the power dynamic changes between the two of them. Very captivating stuff, no doubt an extremely well-done film.

In the book it’s stated that Clarice did want to work explicitly under Crawford as she admired his intelligence and Crawford picked her for her naivety because he thought it would appeal to Lecter and get him to help with the case

I do highly recommended you read the books, this theme is even stronger in the text. Its even more present in the book form of Hannibal.

It’s honestly rare to hear a cis British woman talking about silence of the lambs in a way that ISN’T transphobic. This analysis absolutely rocks ❤️❤️ instant subscriber gained 😘

I remember first watching this movie (or at least bits and pieces of it) when I was waaayyyyyy too young, something between 12 and 14, when it popped on tv and I actually didn't think the movie was all that great because of how people talked to Clarice. Tweeny me saw how people treated Clarice and I, at the time, just assumed that the writing was bad because it seemed like nothing ever got done and Clarice had to drag things out of people and in a way did pick up on what you mentioned; I saw how many hoops and how much effort Clarice had to go through to talk to these men and how it all seemed so much more complicated and petty than it had to be. It felt like no one but Clarice was taking the matter seriously so I remember struggling to care about what was happening. Cut to me now, over ten years later, having now gone through puberty and experienced being a (generally) femme-presenting person in the workplace and now I struggle to watch this movie for a related but simultaneously different reason; all the men in the film treating Clarice like shit drives me up the wall now and even though it is a much better movie than my child self gave it credit for back in the day, I'm still going to get annoyed and tell Chilton to go fuck himself every time I watch it. 😂

In the books hannibal absolutely kills people because they were rude, miggs was killed for the act of being rude. Also in the books clarice ends up marrying lector. I totally missed precious being a lamb allegory!!

Wow I love this video so much! especially as an author myself I do like the concrete discussion on writer’s intention and the cultural impact regardless

In the book, part of the reason why Crawford chose her is that she studied psychology as well as law. They use that distinction between clarice and her roommate, who didn’t study psych. Also, they play the scene of clarice seeing the victim different in the book. She’s looked at with respect, and they quickly clear out to give her room. Crawford has some bs thoughts about “seeing the herb woman, midwife, whatever” in her as she spoke with authority all of a sudden. They could have done it better.

I think how a lot of people see Hannibal really tells us how low the bar is for men. "Yeah, he's a cannibal who tortures people... but he treats Clarice kinda okay, so he's awesome." *The bar is so low, it's a tavern in Hades.*

i get so excited by new mertkaykay vids. they never dissappoint

Please keep pushing your feminism into everything. Every movie does have things they're trying to say. It's not a secret thing, it's usually pretty blatant to anyone who wants to look for it, but still worth analyzing. I honestly pity people who think subtext ruins a movie. How boring their lives must be to never think about anything they witness. I am not new to this reading of Silence of the Lambs. But I'm still glad you did it. I enjoy hearing your takes on these topics even if they're takes I've heard or had myself before.

I just wanted to pop down here for a sec and let you know that I appreciate your subtitles. I can tell you write them yourself, and I love it!

I've not actually watched this movie before, but I might have to now 👀 I'm curious, have you watched Revolutionary Girl Utena? It's kind of the same vein theme wise; with a focus on the patriarchy, oppression of minorites (mainly women and queer people), and growing up. It's pretty good, if a little absurd at times (even more so than a typical anime). Though I'd definitely recommend looking up a content warning list first, cause the show deals with some heavy subjects pretty explicitly (this coming from someone who already knew the show was dark, and was still surprised by some of the subject matter).

You always do a fantastic job of breaking things down and treating difficult topics with the respect they deserve. It makes your reviews way better to watch than someone just breaking down plot points. Also, I HIGHLY relate to bad UX right now. Just spent over 24 hours trying to get in contact with PS support...

Reminder that in the not too distant past it was perfectly valid for a trans person to be denied gender affirming surgery on the grounds that the assessor/s considered they wouldn’t be attractive enough by mainstream gender standards.

I'm so pumped for this video! This movie has always held a special spot in my heart! It without a doubt help drive me to study psychology! I can't wait to hear your perspective and insight on the very heavy and still impact full topics it covers! PS. Stay amazing 👏 💚

Another great video! Hannibals house is on Charles Street here in Baltimore, about 5 minutes away from where I grew up. The crazy thing is, I've been around that area so much that I don't even think about it anymore.

I recently wrote a paper on Silence of the Lambs! I'm lifelong Clarice Sterling stan, glad you're making videos about movies now, educate those gamers

omg hey mert congrats on this making it all the way onto my notifs

Buffalo Bill, as a nonbinary person, weirds me out a lot. I wouldn’t be upset to see a transgender character that just so happened to be a killer, but their motives being tied to their gender identity, their stereotypical manner, and the fact that they’re the ONLY trans character deeply disappoints me.

I saw this on someone’s list of top horror video essays, and I’m glad I found it. this is such a good in-depth analysis, thank you. So many video essays will just summarize the plot of a movie and gesture vaguely at running threads, but you really map it out here. You have a lot of little observations that I really appreciate, like how the dog looks like a lamb, how the movie probably intentionally left out any mention of crawford’s wife, catherine being like a reverse parallel to clarice.. and I really appreciate your take on buffalo bill as well

About the Bechdel test... People forget that the term originated at the punchline to a "D*kes to Watch Out For" comic by Alison Bechdel. The "Bechdel test" came about when someone (Anita Sarkeesian I think?) took and ran with. I always found it kinda funny that a quippy one liner from a comic in 1985 became an IRL barometer for evaluating media representation in the 2010s.

Yas it's finally here👏🏻👏🏻 well worth the slog, bravo buddyo, very interesting listen while I work on my crochet piece Also, obligatory twitch reminder because Amazon keeps shouting at me for not using my twitch prime subscription

This is your best work yet, and you know I’ve been around for a lot of it. Can’t wait to see where you go next.

Great video as always, it’s been such a pleasure to see your channel grow 🥰

Lindsay Ellis did a great video on trans representation in cinema, detailing the 50s-70s deranged killer to the 90s-2000s decade long puke joke. I can’t actually think of any truly positive examples, maybe Pricilla queen of the desert, if only for the greatest screen insult of all time; “Why don’t you light your tampon and blow your box apart, it’s the only bang you’ll ever get”

I really appreciated this video, especially the amount of nuance you introduced the main theme with along with the transgender topic. I was really worried at the start of this video, but I am so glad that even as an ally you recognize the problem with the character and how it was represented. I was especially impressed that you pointed out how harmful these representations can be because people then use them as examples to paint transgenders as dangerous people. A lot of allies I know are often too quick to shrug it off as "just fictional"/"just one's interpretation" (as you excellently put it) or take a work's word for it when they attempt to brush over all the bad implications. So overall, this was just really well done, and it felt like you really knew your stuff throughout the video. As a writer, I was also glad you mentioned on difficult this can be at times (I'm learning to loosen up about this in some areas and do my best to help other writers realize "you can't win them all"), but that we can still hold ourselves to some standards concerning serious topics and need to consider how things come across. If one's showcase supports the viewpoint of bigots, then it isn't a good representation and could be potentially dangerous, and again, I am so glad you pointed this out. Just 10/10 dealing with this topic. The movie's treatment of it personally makes me so uncomfortable as someone who is transgender myself that this film has sat on my movie blacklist for ages, and I don't plan to remove it anytime soon despite the interesting themes. So I'm glad I was able to hear about them still through your video and in such a well-explained and compassionate manner. Your takes on horror games are so refreshing, and it seems your takes on horror movies are much the same. We have a similar taste in horror and how we prefer these things to be written, so it was nice to hear you discuss this film, and if you ever want to discuss more horror movies in the future, I'll be looking forward to it!

i haven't finished the video, i’m on 17:52. but in the book one of the reason's ( or the one given ) jack picks clarice for the lecter task is because she has some experience with evaluating people / psychology / has some background in behavioral science. also this is from what i remember from the book!

You really deserves more subscribers. Really interesting video. It's nice that you talk about something else than videos games (even though a love them), it opens doors of subjets and I'm here for it.

This was absolutely fantastic! You balance your usual humor with the incredibly serious subject matter, and you do so with aplomb. I'd subscribe if I hadn't already.

Yessss you finally managed to upload after 8 million tries!! Been so excited to watch this!

This is really thoughtful, insightful work! Bravo, keep it up!

Just so it's said, I love your language skills, particularly your descriptive poetic sentence construction. A great example of what Ernest Hemingway calls, "Vigorous English". Top Marks, MertKayKay.

Thank you for your thoughts and perspective. I agree we don’t know enough about the character of “Agent Clarice Starling”. This could be seen as yielding to the greater and proven wisdom (LEAVE YOUR AUDIENCE WANTING MORE). So there is a danger of a loss of balance in the story telling! Prosper good health, and happiness for the new year to you and yours 🎊 🎉

LOVE Silence of the Lambs! And the other books (but not movies). Related to your sponsor bit though: I missed an online test one weekend in college because I was reading “The Passage,” and the professor did, in fact, understand, because she recommended the book. 😂

Great video. When it was announced, I was insanely excited to see. You didn't dissapoint!

This is such a great in depth analysis of the film, it is one of my favorite films of all time and every time I watch it, I discover something different about it. This is true horror, the kind of horror where the villains are real and capable of real life evil acts. I think that Harris's books really changed the thinking about psychological horror, how scary the mind can truly be when it is not on your side.

why the hell does this only have 4,000 ish likes (not even that!)??? your explanation is brilliant, your points are succinct and excellent, your analysis is as amazing as always, good god we need to get you to a million

Just found your channel and watched a few videos. Really love the content, and always excited to follow someone else from the UK😊

Loving this content ! distracting me from writing my essay , very greatful !!

Great video, I like your conclusion about how it is important for media to be somewhat open to interpretation to remain relevant and discussed over long periods of time, just as I also enjoy when you talk about UX.

I think one of the points you made in the “author intent vs audience reaction” part of the video was really interesting. The idea that the need for/utility of interpretation is what takes art from good/unobjectionable to something more than that makes a lot of sense!

44:12 "Billy embodies the negative stereotypes of trans people-big hulking heavy-jawed men with deep scary voices who throw on a dress simply to do harm to cisgendered women-and feeds back into those stereotypes in turn. It's simply a bad representation." Oof, yeah, when you put it that way, it feels pretty obvious now. I haven't seen this film in quite a long time, and I didn't watch it with the same understanding of gender I have today, so I don't think I really engaged with the implications very much at the time. I think you hit the nail on the head. Not to say that trans women need to pass or be especially feminine to be valid, but I agree, the character is in many ways a stereotype made into a serial killer. Not a great look. By the way, thanks for including closed captions in your videos. I appreciate the extra work you put in to presumably converting your scripts into captions. 51:38 Also thanks for doing the work of making the internet less infuriating to use lol. I agree with your metaphor regarding the communication of author intent as well, I've never thought of it that way.

this is such an excellent analysis. i learned a ton from it. thank you for making this and sharing it with us!

LOVED your break down. I actually didn't see this movie until college of all times cuz I was always a bit afraid of how gory it supposedly was. Ended up reading the book then watching the movie in a really interesting media literacy kind of class I was in. It was fascinating to see what subtle differences there are from the book to the movie and then even further to the NBC show (which i LOVE btw XD) and while I like the movie very much, I always got caught on how different Hopkins' performance was to the way Lecter is in the book and from there how Mikkelsen's performance brought it back. But anyway back on subject XD while it would have been nice personally to see Clarice end up alone at the end, I do really appreciate that they at least had her hook up with the guy who actually treated her like a person as opposed to the object like the rest of the men in the film. He was also the most straight forward in his advances, he was honest in how he felt and didn't try to use any dirty tricks to get at her. It's something I didn't fully notice until you pointed how how he just straight up asked her out. It also says a lot about how we're conditioned to just deal with men treating us as sub-human that we can completely miss it when one does because we're just not used to it.

Honestly, I will forever be sad about the near irreversible damage the whole “the curtains are just blue” thing did. Like it just killed media analysis for so many people.

I just discovered your account, I am absolutely in love with your content!

Brilliant analysis! Love your vids!

I just found your channel and have been binge watching it. Your analysis are thoughtful and humorous 💕

I am a total goober, I have watched this movie at least a dozen times and I haven’t considered half of these things. Probably because I don’t have to actually face any of them, but also, I’m an ignorant philistine. Thank you for continuing to broaden my horizons dude, keep up the good work Merty

Great video. This seem weird coming from a guy but Clarice is my favorite character in the movie. She’s so likable and you definitely want to learn more about her.

I never thought about how good of a movie this is for jumping back to and re interpret every few of years or so. Trying to think of what other character movies would fit in that too now.

Ok, I need to rewatch this film. There are a lot of films I need to watch at an older age, I feel like I didn't get sub text when I was in my 20s

your raid shadow legends ad is the only sponsored ad on youtube that made me actually kinda wanna play raid shadow legends and as a film nerd, hannibal series lover, and silence of the lambs obsessor, i cant believe RSL is actually what i commented about

New Mertkaykay video yessss!!! :D

oh hell yea, 1hr mert kaykay analysis !!

Great video friend, finished watching it all now, among all your others too

You’re absolutely correct that the book has overt references to the male gaze and how this ostracizes Clarice. She explicitly resents the men around her and thinks often on how her gender impacts her moving around the world/her career/interactions with those around her.

Late to this party, but really well articulated, I loved this analysis. Well done, thank you for your work!

Really great vid!

I'd always had a problem with Clarice's fragility. They paint her as so delicate and volatile, that irl she would never have gotten through Quantico. She falls into every trap set for her and it seems like her gender pre-identifies both the process in how these traps are set, and the outcome. Buffalo Bill was supposed to be based loosely on Ed Gein, another weirdo from my home state of Wisconsin. Shades of Norman Bates, Hollywood seems pretty content to just jumble all kinds of psychological states and conditions together to whip up the desired result. With all their wealth, you'd think they would hire a clever writer with some psych background for this sort of script.

What I find hillarious is that when people talk about "strong female characters" they often give examples exactly of the opposite, of what the male gaze sees as a strong female: - Silence of the Lambs = Claire acts and talks the way she does because its the only way she will get the people who hold power (men) to give her what she needs - Alien: Ripley's direct orders not to bring in the infested crewmate is ignored - Metroid: Samus' gender identity becomes irrelevant in the suit. The point is not that shes a girl who kicks ass, but that her womanhood is insignificant until the post credits. Terminator: Sarah's importance is only that of the mother of the Hero, not as a hero herself. Without this aspect of her, her life is meaningless to both the hero and the villain It seems like the concept of womanhood in media existed back then only in the way men can understand it, if that makes sense

I read the book before I watched the movie and I think that's why I never looked at Buffalo Bill as anything more than a guy who was a complete psychopath, who had a twisted fantasy of somehow ascending from his real life into someone else completely once he put on the skin suit....book went into a lot of detail about how he was absolutely not transsexual. I wish the movie could've got that point across in a more clear concise way.

Horror is cultural commentary, with the villains often manifesting cultural fears and tensions. So yeah. It’s about women, and even if it wasn’t originally intended to be (which it probably was), it is now, given our societal context. Thanks for the video essay!

Loved the vid, you always bring some new perspective I hadn't thought about. You've clearly put a lot of thought into this movie, and I'm always impressed by how well you can put your ideas into words and make convincing arguments. Something I struggle with, as evidenced by that last sentence. You were a bit all over the place with Bill's pronouns, jumping between he/him and they/them. Wasn't sure if that was intentional?

It kinda sucks to imagine how maybe Bill and Clarice could have discovered they shared a sort of mutual misunderstanding in their lives had they met some years before the first book. This was one powerhouse of a movie and the actors/director were so goddamn on point that the tension on a first watch felt almost real. Bill was great being an even worse asshole in Shutter Island (Ted something, I forget the actors name but he's great) where he casually asks Leo what might happen if he went to bite his eye out of his head. Maybe the actor writes his own lines and people just put some of that into movies. Great vid! I damn near forgot about that uneasy microscope the movie put on the men/Clarice relations in the workplace! That shit is so uncomfortable it's painful.