Silence+of+the+Lambs

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS BUFFALO BILL

media type="youtube" key="ZWCAf-xLV2k" width="425" height="350" Psychological Disorder

The film deals with antisocial personality disorder through the character Buffalo Bill. The commonly-termed, sociopaths take up a very small percentage of the population, and antisocial personality disorder is often found to be a trait shared by a substantial number of serial killers.

Antisocial personality disorder is assumed to be the product of both biological and environmental factors: - Biological: smaller amygdala, hence, would respond less to emotions - Environmental: exposal to abuse, neglect, or deprivation during childhood In the case of Buffalo Bill, it is mentioned in the film that the cause of his disorder was having severe childhood disturbances associated with violence. Hannibal Lecture says: "Billy wasn't born a criminal...he was made one through years of systematic abuse."

Symptoms of this condition include lacking conscience or feelings for others, committing crimes and violating social norms without remorse. In Silence of the Lambs, Buffalo Bill shows no regret in his series of inhumane killings and deviates from social norms by shaping himself as a transsexual.

Treatment

Psychotherapy: This treatment involves specific assessment of the subject's condition, focusing on alternative life goals, improving social relationships, and learning new coping skills by reshaping the subject's distorted perception of life. Cognitive behavioral therapy: This treatment involves making the subject recognize his/her unhealthy, distorted actions and perceptions, and supplanting new and positive ones that deviates less from the socially excepted behavior. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Hospitalization: This approach is taken in the more sever cases, where the subjects are incapable of taking care of themselves and are under the risk of harming themselves or others. This treatment is aimed at offering an opportunity for the different patients to converse and connect with their feelings. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Medication: Within this treatment, there are antidepressant medications, mood-stabilizing medications, anti-anxiety medications, and antipsychotic medications.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">In the film, Buffalo Bill is not treated of his disorder because, like most other sociopaths, he does not believe he needs treatment. In stead, by executing his desires, his condition worsens and he gets killed.

<span style="color: #0014ff; display: block; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 180%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">What I learned <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">There were several things I learned from The Silence of the Lambs, especially how the psychology of dysfunctional individual is shaped. Buffalo Bill's assumed dysfunctional childhood is seemingly the reason he is so insecure and hateful of his identity. This hatred and confusion of self goes to the extent where he thinks himself a transexual, an identity in which he can abandon himself. I can see now the significant role environment and childhood development play in shaping a psychological disorder.

<span style="color: #041bb9; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 18pt;">Why I chose this <span style="color: #041bb9; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">film <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">I chose this film to watch because personally, I am very intrigued by the subject of psychological thriller and serial killers. Also, in learning that Anthony Hopkin, one of my favorite actors, starred in this film and won an oscar for his performance convinced me more to watch this film. I wanted to see the connection between crimes and the offender's psychology, and how successful this approach could be.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Personal Assessment:

I used time efficiently by watching portions of the film in class and researching about the psychological disorder. I watched this movie once before, and watched it once for this project and again when I was answering the questions, so I believe I have a thorough understanding of this film and the disorder it analyzes. I learned a lot of things about the impact of a dysfunctional childhood on the psychological development of an individual. I also recognized how one could potentially identify a criminal by analyzing their psychology. Wikispace's attractiveness 4.5/5 Reason for grade: The content I desire to convey is sufficiently attractive enough to portray the message I want to display. <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> I used different fonts and eye-catching pictures to attract the reader.
 * Use of class time 5/5 Reason for grade: **
 * Depth of work done 15/15 Reason for grade: **
 * What I learned 5/5 Reason for grade: **

Total /30