OSCAR LETTERS : Feminism and Foster’s Character in ‘Silence of the Lambs’
I was appalled to hear actress Jodie Foster refer to her character in that most gruesome of movies, “The Silence of the Lambs,” as feminist. Please!
She needs to take a step back and check out exactly what type of role she got herself involved in. The whole point of the movie was that men (Hannibal) are brighter and cleverer than Foster’s character (women). The only way she got any pertinent information from Hannibal was to use her femininity (read “vulnerability”), not through any superior analytical investigative skills. And, as usual, the victims in the movie were all female, caught up in a sadomasochistic sexual phantasmagoria.
I’ve worked diligently for more than 12 years as a probation officer, interviewing criminals in custody, in my office and on the streets. If I were for one moment to allow myself to be played like a fiddle, as Foster’s character was, by one of my “clients,” I would probably lose my job. I would certainly lose my self-respect.
That movie and the role Foster plays in it are about as anti-feminist as they come.CAROL REIMAN LINVILLE
Ventura
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