Silence of the Lambs
Characteristics of Left and Right Thinking and Ideology
It is important to realise we are a combination of both and our complexity lies in combining them with our own unique ideology.
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Social culture, religion and ethnicities
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+ Institutions / Traditions / Arts / Myths / Beliefs
+ Historical context
+ Period
Understanding the ideology of a film.
- Ideological criticism questions a film’s ideological stance (an important part of contemporary film theory.)
- Refer to Graph
- Ideology is usually defined as a body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class or culture.
- Refer to characteristics
- The fact that films are visualised and made against the background of culture, experience and knowledge of both the filmmaker and the viewers, places it in the realm of ideology and ideological criticism
- Social culture, religion and ethnicity include traditions, institutions, the arts, myths and believe. Ideological analysis also involves the period and historical contexts. All these elements must be taken into account in the understanding of the ideology of the filmmaker, the characters of the film and the viewer that watches it.
- Ideological analysis: To analyse the relationships between a film, society and the ideology of society to determine whether it supports or attacks the dominant ideology.
Central Questions in Contemporary Film Theory and analysis emphasising ideology
- How does main stream cinema contribute to maintaining social order?
Silence Of The Lambs’ is mainstream American cinema. By criticising and analysing it we can determine its ideological stance. ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ is a rhetorical motif of the police and action genre in mainstream cinema portraying ideal behavioural models in the federal government system, the FBI, and Clarice as an individual agent. Ideologically the FBI represents the establishment which identifies with the right of Genetti’s model. The FBI is an elite group that works to a strict code, is strongly patriotic and emphasises the importance of leadership. In the movie the FBI agency is a subverted form of the actual American government, and is a subtle form of propaganda reinforcing the Republican value system.
The ideological stance of the characters create the conflict and hence the interest in the viewers. Actors or stars are less likely to be ideologically weighted, but if the character is strong enough (the character portrayed well) the ideology of the character can win over the audience. Moreover the skill of the filmmaker will determine us believing in the character’s values. It is for this reason that we identify and even project with Hannibal. Hopkins’ skills in acting, the script and the director have made one of the most brutal murders charming and intelligent; we even identify with his twisted ideology. This in itself is what makes American main stream cinema so frightening. We identify with characters that are shallow and often violent, not characters that are complex or deep thus creating a population of viewers that identifies with misguided values.
Analysing Clarice’s ideological values are more difficult as they have contradictory sentiments. On the one hand she is a female acting in an independent fashion with strong values and at other times she is shown as vulnerable and in need of male help. The killer is a regurgitation of Hollywood’s continued biased and stereo typed character of another mentally unstable homosexual. Linking homosexuality to perversion and murder again reflects the right-thinking ideology of the movie production industry. Any thing that threatens the family is treated with hostility, reinforcing heterosexual monogamy as the only expression of sexuality. The title ‘The Silence Of The Lambs’ also has a biblical reference of Satan against God, making religion the moral arbiter.
- The next central question is: What form of oppositional cinema will break the hold of main stream cinema, and make films as instruments of social change?
- Oppositional cinema sets itself the goal of analysing and interpreting dominant ideology
- Ideological criticism questions a film’s ideological stance
- Films are produces by big production studios operating in terms of capitalist criteria with the purpose of propagating certain political ideas and values. (This makes it a powerful ideological state apparatus)
- Oppositional cinema is needed to counter media-ownership (controlled by the dominant culture of Western / male / white and heterosexual), and ideology being ‘sold’ trough the state institutions
- Examples include:
- African American cinema is the reaction to being portrayed in the first 50 years of US cinema in demeaning stereo-typical roles. Spike Lee’s movies have had a huge role in educating Americans about the ideology and culture of African-Americans.
- Independent American cinema opposition of its money making counter part. Michael Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine” won the Oscar for best documentary. (An attack on the American conservative gun club.)
- Fespaco lead by Sembene have reclaimed there space in world cinema with unique African pictorial communication reflecting their own ideology to counter the effects of colonialism.
- The gay-liberation movement inspired by feminism and the black liberation movement. (‘The Celluloid Closet’ documents the evolution of gay stars and gay roles in cinema.)
- Sally Potter’s feminist art movie ‘Orlando’
- Oppositional films have given voice, dramatizing tensions between the dominant culture and the values of a minority community.
Conclusion
Every film may be determined as an ideological statement as it is determined by, and hence reflects, the dominant ideology of society. By analysing and criticising films with the emphasise on ideology we are better able to understand the motivation, reasons, aspirations, and values of the filmmaker, the characters and how it will be interpreted by the audience. By putting it in the context of culture and the period of history we are able to understand its significance. Film is the most powerful medium of story telling and is an ideological statement. It is therefore our duty to treat it with respect, dignity, and fairness.
Tags: Digital Cameras, Video Cameras
