What Is Hannibal Lector Mental Illness

The 1991 psychological thriller, Silence of the Lambs, follows the heart-racing story of Clarice Starling, an aspiring behavioral science FBI agent, as she attempts to catch the serial killer Buffalo Bill. In order to complete her mission, Clarice seeks the aid of the infamous killer and cannibal Hannibal Lector. Lector, being a former killer himself and an expert on human behavior, provides much insight into the case but also plays with the people around him psychologically for his own personal gain. Throughout the course of the movie, a twisted relationship forms between the killer and FBI trainee that eventually assists in both the escape of Hannibal Lector and the death of Buffalo Bill. The film highlights several mental illnesses throughout

the course of the story, such as gender dysphoria and post traumatic stress disorder, but antisocial personality disorder proves to be the most prominent feature, with both Hannibal Lector and Buffalo Bill exhibiting the necessary criteria.
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) can be defined as a long lasting and inescapable pattern of disregard for basic human rights indicated by three or more of the following symptoms: failure to comply with social norms, deceitfulness, impulsive behavior, irritability or aggressiveness, the disregard for the safety of either themselves or others, the inability to keep up with responsibilities, and lack of remorse (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health).

These symptoms were evident in the portrayal of both of the killers in Silence of the Lambs. Buffalo Bill felt no regret for murdering and skinning several young women for his own personal gain, a suit made out of human skin, or for violating basic social norms by kidnapping girls and keeping them in a hole for extended periods of time. This blatant indifference towards the wellbeing and feelings of others is one of the key indicators of ASPD (Meloy). He also demonstrated aggressive behavior towards his kidnapped victim, Catherine, by spraying her with a hose when she would not comply with his demands. Hannibal Lector also demonstrated several characteristics of antisocial personality disorder. One of the first and most obvious indications is that he feels no regret for murdering and eating multiple people and continues to do so at every chance he gets. Another reason is that he is insensitive to the feelings of others (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health). When talking to Catherine’s mother while he is being transferred to a new facility, he makes several sexual comments while discussing her daughter’s disappearance. Most people would respect an anxious and devastated mother’s feelings and tread lightly on most subjects, but Lector did not feel the need to, nor did he see anything wrong with his actions. Hannibal Lector also is extremely deceitful and manipulative, almost to the point where he seems amused by his own cleverness. These characteristics indicate the presence of antisocial

personality disorder and even point towards psychopathy. Psychopathy can be defined as ASPD but with highly developed interpersonal and social skills (Hare). These skills allow the affected individual to easily manipulate the people around them with their superficial charm and to understand ethical values without connecting them to their seemingly unethical behavior (Hare). Each killer also embodied the ASPD fundamental belief that they should put themselves first and that other people were simply just tools for their own personal gratification (Meloy). This can be seen when Lector violently murders the two guards watching him while he is being transferred to a new location and uses their body parts in order to aid in his escape, and when Buffalo Bill skins innocent young women to create his skin suit.
There is a pretty large social stigma associated with mental illness that is evident in many aspects of everyday life. The depiction of people with mental illnesses in media outlets, such as movies, as the “bad guy” or antagonist only supports this narrative. The more people see people with these disorders in positions of evil or terror, the more they will associate mental illness as a taboo topic. Though most of the basic characteristics of Antisocial Personality Disorder were accurately portrayed throughout the course of the movie, some features were dramatized for entertainment purposes in order to make both the characters and the plot more dramatic and shocking. This dangerous misrepresentation can be seen in the dramatic killing done by Lector while escaping, and his overly intelligent and manipulative way of being. Each killer represents a very small group of people with mental illnesses but the spotlight on their erratic and terrible behavior of a few may lead to the increase of the stigma on many