8.8
Viewer Rating
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Traditional
Viewer Rating
Rating: 8.8
Overview
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
Starring Cast
Where to watch
Bias Dimensions
Political: Center
Diversity: Low
LGBTQ: Negative
Trans: Negative
Overview
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
Starring Cast
Where to watch
Detailed Bias Analysis
Analyzing...
Traditional
Primary
The film's central subject matter of serial murder and psychological horror is inherently apolitical. While it features a female protagonist overcoming sexism through individual merit and portrays a villain with complex identity issues, the narrative champions individual courage and law enforcement within an existing system, rather than promoting or critiquing specific political ideologies.
The film features primarily traditional casting, with no explicit race or gender swaps for its main roles. Its narrative does not critically portray traditional identities as a group, focusing instead on individual character psychologies and specific environmental challenges faced by the protagonist.
Secondary
The Silence of the Lambs features the villain Jame Gumb, whose psychopathic actions are linked to his desire for gender transition and gender non-conforming behaviors. While the film includes a line distinguishing Gumb from actual transsexuals, its overall depiction has been criticized for reinforcing negative stereotypes that associate gender identity issues with villainy and mental instability, resulting in a problematic portrayal.
The film features a serial killer, Buffalo Bill, whose horrific crimes are motivated by a desire to transition gender. While dialogue attempts to differentiate him from 'true transsexuals,' the overall portrayal strongly links gender identity issues with psychopathy and villainy, contributing to harmful stereotypes.
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
All major characters in the film, including Clarice Starling, Hannibal Lecter, and Jame Gumb, retain the same gender as established in Thomas Harris's source novel. There are no instances of a character canonically established as one gender being portrayed as a different gender.
Based on the source novel by Thomas Harris, all major and supporting characters in the 1991 film "The Silence of the Lambs" are portrayed by actors whose race aligns with their established descriptions in the book. No instances of a character canonically established as one race being portrayed as a different race were found.
Viewer Rating Breakdown
User Ratings
8.6
8.3
Critic Ratings
9.5
8.6
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