The Silence of the Lambs

Critical Essays on a Cannibal, Clarice, and a Nice Chianti

Add to my list

Edited by Cynthia J. Miller

Type: Essays
Subject: One Film > The Silence of the Lambs
Keywords: Jonathan Demme
Publishing date: 2016
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Language: English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Hardcover • 244 pages
6 x 9 inches (15 x 23 cm)

ISBN

978-1-4422-7785-4

User Ratings

(0 vote)

Average rating:

0	rating	= We can do without
0	rating	= Good book
0	rating	= Excellent book
0	rating	= Unique / a reference

Your rating: -

Book Presentation:
One of only three films to-date to win Academy Awards in all five major categories, The Silence of the Lambs marked a sea change in horror films when it debuted, shifting the genre from teen slasher fare of the 1970s to the sophisticated psychological horror that characterizes acclaimed films today. Praised by some as the first true feminist thriller, it has drawn criticism from others for perpetuating narratives of crimes against women and demonizing its queer character. Regardless of the controversy, this film is a perennial favorite and even made it into AFI’s list of top 100 movies of all time.

In The Silence of the Lambs: Critical Essays on a Cannibal, Clarice, and a Nice Chianti, editor Cynthia J. Miller compiles fifteen essays, contributed by authors from a wide range of disciplines, which are divided into three sections, each approaching the film from a different vantage point: “Situating the Silence” looks at the film in its cultural and historical context―as an adaptation, popular culture icon, and as an element in genre and character history; “Dissecting Evil” takes a closer look at portrayals of evil in the film, in both Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill; and “Minds, Hearts, and Body Parts” offers critical explorations of gender, patriarchy, class, Orientalism, and humor as lenses for continued contemporary analysis of this classic film.

Written accessibly, this collection of essays also introduces readers to forensics, semantics, and the psychology of serial killers. The Silence of the Lambs: Critical Essays on a Cannibal, Clarice, and a Nice Chianti will be of interest to scholars and fans of horror, thriller, and crime drama films, as well as those interested in film history and the legacy of “Hannibal the Cannibal” in popular culture.

About the Author:
Cynthia J. Miller is a Scholar-in-Residence at Emerson College, USA, and a cultural anthropologist specializing in popular culture and visual media. She serves on the board of the National Popular Culture/American Culture Association, and is Treasurer and Governing Board member of the International Association for Media and History, as well as Director of Communication for the Center for the Study of Film and History. She also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Popular Television. She is the winner of the James Welsh Prize for lifetime achievement in adaptation studies and the Peter C. Rollins prize for a book-length work in popular culture.

Press Reviews:
"Overall, though, most of the essays in this book have valuable insights to offer; even readers well steeped in the film and the critical tradition surrounding it will learn something they did not already know, or be provoked to think about the film from a new perspective― or both." ―Journal of American Culture

See the publisher website: Rowman & Littlefield

See The Silence of the Lambs (1991) on IMDB ...

> Books with the same or similar title: