Ossobuco garnished
with Gremolata and served with Risotto alla Milanese, a tasty Italian
dish for any occasion. Oh! And the main ingredient, Human Leg.
Hannibal
Lector is a known aficionado in cuisine, art, and music. He is well traveled,
knows many languages, and a bona fide genius. While his dishes may verge on cannibalism due to his serial killer
nature, the traits, skills, and class he possesses are desirable. The traits
and skills he possesses we would like to express ourselves, yet he also
butchers people, many people for that matter. Clearly, there is some cognitive
dissonance between the cultured and psychopathic aspects of the character. On
the one hand, he perfectly melds into society with his critiques of opera and
fine dining, but on the other, he acts on impulses that are the complete
opposite of prosocial behavior. Mutilating bodies and then frying them up is
clearly savage and monstrous, but taking a deeper look, those actions are
displays of domination and power, traits many people would like to see in
themselves.
Dr. Lector
on a social level displays enviable traits, and he displays alluring traits on
an instinctual level as well. The self-efficacy and individualism that Lector
boasts through malevolent physical and psychological domination is sensational.
However, in a society fully entrenched with the slave-ethic (Nietzsche), the means at which Dr. Lector manifests
these elements of instinctual strength are taboo, yet the personal desire is
there nonetheless. As the audience projects these sentiments onto the character,
uncomfortable questions arise, “Could I eat someone?” For this reason, Lector
isn’t as intrinsically terrifying as he may seem. No Hannibal is the means to
look into our own monstrous, intrinsic nature, which is even more terrifying.
Therefore, despite Dr. Lector’s extrinsic and intrinsic monstrous nature, the
questions and insights that arise about ourselves that scare and intrigue.
I completely agree. One of the most compelling aspects of Lector as a villain is how he is not just a raw, animalistic, uncultured horror. The monster challenges categories, and I think in this case Lector presents an extreme challenge to the boundary between monster and human. As you said, he embodies many desirable traits that can be considered cultural capitol. He comes off as rather bourgeois--a symbol of the middle and upper class in our society. Most people in our society aspire to be financially successful and to have a classy lifestyle, much like Lector. However, in many ways the success of the upper class depends on the devouring of the lower class. (wage slavery, consumption of labor, etc.) It may be that Hannibal Lector is the monster that our own capitalist culture makes out of all of us, certainly if you take a Marxist view.
ReplyDeleteI really like this way of looking at Hannibal Lector. I'm sure when many people think of a cannibal, they picture some deranged old man, eating an uncooked human being. Hannibal is able to feed human to his guests without them knowing my making extravagant meals with it. He takes something that seems so foreign and crazy to most people and includes it in his everyday life, without anyone knowing any better. No one wants to believe that this highly intelligent, respected man is actually a monster. This is a big reason he seems to escape so much. It's difficult to convince others that this seemingly normal man is actually one of the worst people in their society.
ReplyDeleteI also really like what all of you said about Hannibal. I am watching the Hannibal show that was on NBC. I am so scared of Hannibal but I can't help but keep watching because his character is so entrancing. He is a popular psychiatrist that actually helps patients with their own demons and problems when he is considered a monster himself. I think that Hannibal also incorporates the fifth thesis, “The monster polices the borders of the possible.” Cohen says “to risk attack by some monstrous border patrol or worse, to become monstrous oneself.” That’s exactly what would happen if you attempted to be a cannibal like Hannibal. You would become monstrous yourself and would be attacked by society. I think Hannibal was a good monster to write about because Hannibal can relate to each thesis in Cohen’s paper on some level.
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