Hannibal - Analysis of the Movie - part 1: Introduction; reference to the Holy Trinity

CATEGORY: MOVIES; WARNING: THIS ANALYSIS CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

[Image at left from the Wikipedia 'Hannibal (film)' page; "Hannibal movie poster",[a] licensed under fair use via Wikipedia.]














Welcome to the analysis of Hannibal. Buttons at the bottom of each post enable navigation through the parts of the analysis. Regarding the appearance of possible anti-Semitism on this blog, please see the 'Disclaimers' section near the bottom of this page.


Hannibal is a 2001 psychological horror film directed by Ridley Scott, adapted from the Thomas Harris novel of the same name. Its screenplay was written by Steven Zaillian and David Mamet. It starts Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, and Ray Liotta. Hannibal was the highly anticipated sequel to 1991's Academy Award-winning The Silence of the Lambs, which introduced Hannibal Lecter to mainstream movie-going audiences (though the character was first portrayed by Brian Cox in the 1986 film, Manhunter, based on Harris' novel, Red Dragon). The premise of Hannibal is that Hannibal Lecter's only surviving victim, the extremely wealthy Mason Verger, is determined to capture, torture, and kill him.[b]

In part of Hannibal, Hannibal Lecter, and inspector Pazzi and his wife, see an outdoor opera in Florence, Italy called Vide Cor Meum. This opera is based on the sonnet "A ciascun'alma presa", in chapter 3 of Dante Alighieri's La Vita Nuova.

Hannibal Lecter (who has taken on the name "Dr. Fell") converses with the Pazzis after the opera performance.


If we turn to chapter 3 of La Vita Nuova, we see that in it, Dante makes several mentions of the numbers 3 and 9 (the latter being equal to 3 x 3, that is, the root of 9 is 3). In the below, the material inside quotation marks is from the Musa translation of La Vita Nuova (emphasis not in original):[c]

• At the opening of chapter 3, it has been nine years since Dante has seen his beloved Beatrice.
• Beatrice appears to Dante at the "ninth hour of [the] day (3 o'clock in the afternoon)."
• A vision later appears to Dante "in the fourth hour of the night; that is, it was without a doubt the first of the last nine hours of the night."
• The second part of the sonnet begins, "The first three hours..."

Dante's uses of the numbers 3 and 9 in his sonnet, point to the concept of the Christian Holy Trinity, which is composed of three persons. Therefore, in Hannibal, the showing of an opera based on this sonnet is itself a reference to the Trinity. We will begin to look at the Holy Trinity in the next post.

a. Poster for Hannibal: The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, MGM / Universal, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist.
b. Wikipedia, 'Hannibal (film)'. Web, n.d. URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal_(film).
c. Dante Alighieri. La Vita Nuova. Trans. with introduction Mark Musa. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. pp. 6-7, 86.

Hannibal analysis - part 14: Right and left symbolize conscious and unconscious

CATEGORY: MOVIES

In Hannibal, Clarice Starling is depicted as somewhat ambidextrous; in the screen captures below, we note that she uses both her right and left hands. Carl Jung tells us that the right symbolizes the conscious mind and the left, the unconscious.[a]


























Top left: Starling in the boar pen, with gun in right hand. Top right: Starling drawing with her left hand. Above left: Lecter signs his letter to Clarice with his right hand. Above right: Lecter drinking with his left hand. This shot is shown alternating with the writing of the letter. Left: Lecter has cut off his own left hand at the end; this symbolizes the 'severing'of that part of his unconscious that was tied up with his late sister, Mischa, and thus signals the end of his obsession for Starling (as indicated in part 13, Mischa Lecter was a character in the 2007 film, Hannibal Rising).




a. "[A] leftward movement is equivalent to a movement in the direction of the unconscious, whereas a movement to the right...aims at consciousness." (--Jung, C.G., The Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 12, Princeton University Press, 1968, p. 127.)


[UPDATE: The analysis of Hannibal has been extended, in the 'unified analysis' of the first three Lecter movies.]

Hannibal analysis - part 13: Lecter desires to unite with his own unconscious

CATEGORY: MOVIES

Within Hannibal Lecter's unconscious, Clarice Starling represents his sister, Mischa, with whom he was very close and who was killed and cannibalized as a child during World War II.[a] One thing being represented by Lecter's attempt to unite with Starling, is his attempt to unite with Mischa, and accordingly, an attempt to unite with a component of his unconscious (Jung called this component the anima). As Jung says, "That is one of the great difficulties in experiencing the unconscious—that one identifies with it and becomes a fool. You must not identify with the unconscious; you must keep outside, detached, and observe objectively what happens."[b]


a. Mischa Lecter is a character in the 2007 film, Hannibal Rising, which is a prequel to Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal.
b. Jung, C. G. The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1932 by C. G. Jung. Ed. Sonu Shamdasani. Princeton University Press, 1996. Google Books, pp. 82-83. URL = https://books.google.com.


   

Hannibal analysis - part 12: The Chymical Marriage of Christian Rosencreutz

CATEGORY: MOVIES

In part 11 it was stated that Lecter desires to have a chymical marriage come about between himself and Starling. Chymical Marriage is also part of the name of a book: The Chymical Marriage of Christian Rosencreutz. The story in the book follows the Passover and the seven days of unleavened bread. The slaughtering and roasting of the Paschal lamb begins in the evening (near Easter), as does The Chymical Marriage. The Chymical Marriage begins with Christian Rosencreutz sitting at a table with both the Paschal Lamb and the unleavened bread. The events of this story span seven days and are divided into seven chapters, each chapter being a different day.

In Hannibal, Paul Krendler represents the Paschal Lamb from the Chymical Marriage of Christian Rosencreutz (recall that earlier in the analysis, it was mentioned that the name 'Krendler' is a reference to Passover seder). Hannibal Lecter's meal with Krendler and Clarice Starling (shown at left) is a depiction of the first day of the Chymical Marriage. (The chymical marriage is sometimes called the chymical wedding).

Below is the opening paragraph of The Chymical Marriage of Christian Rosencreutz:

"On an evening before Easter-day, I sate at a table, and having in my humble prayer conversed with my Creator and considered many great mysteries (whereof the Father of Lights had shewn me not a few), and being now ready to prepare in my heart, together with my dear Paschal Lamb, a small, unleavened, undefiled cake, all on a sudden ariseth so horrible a tempest, that I imagined no other but that, through its mighty force, the bill whereon my little house was founded would fly all in pieces."[a]

a. The Chymical Marriage of Christian Rosencreutz in The Real History of the Rosicrucians, Arthur Edward Waite, 1887, at sacred-texts.com.


   

Hannibal analysis - part 11: The processes of alchemy

CATEGORY: MOVIES









Evelda Drumgo (shown at left) represents Clarice Starling's Jungian shadow. The confrontation with the shadow is associated with the alchemical nigredo stage.


Alchemy is an ancient tradition, the primary objective of which was the creation of the mythical "philosopher's stone", which was said to be capable of turning base metals into gold or silver, and also act as an elixir of life that would confer youth and immortality upon its user. The philosopher's stone is created by the alchemical method known as The Magnum Opus or The Great Work.[a] Often expressed as a series of color changes or chemical processes, the instructions for creating the philosopher's stone are varied. The Great Work originally had four stages:

1) nigredo, a blackening or melanosis
2) albedo, a whitening or leucosis
3) citrinitas, a yellowing or xanthosis
4) rubedo, a reddening, purpling, or iosis[b]

Jung relates alchemy to psychology in his Psychology and Alchemy:

"The problem of opposites called up by the shadow plays a great - indeed, the decisive - role in alchemy, since it leads in the ultimate phase of the work to the union of opposites in the archetypal form of the hierosgamos or 'chymical wedding'. Here the supreme opposites, male and female (as in the Chinese yang and yin), are melted into a unity purified of all opposition and therefore incorruptible."[c] The chymical wedding (also called the chymical marriage) takes place during the alchemical citrinitas stage.

One of Lecter's goals is to have a chymical wedding come about between himself and Starling.


a. Wikipedia, 'Alchemy'. Web, n.d. URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy.
b. Wikipedia, 'Magnum opus (alchemy)'. Web, n.d. URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnum_opus_(alchemy).
c. Jung, C.G. The Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 12. Princeton University Press, 1968. p. 37.


   

Hannibal analysis - part 10: Another biblical reference: Jews as children of the Devil

CATEGORY: MOVIES

Above six screencaps: Looking at a video (through Starling's eyes) of an imprisoned Hannibal Lecter biting a nurse (at some point in time prior to the beginning of Hannibal), when we, the audience, get our first view of the video monitor digital readout (at the lower right of the monitor screen in the top left screencap), it shows '08:42:47'. We watch as it advances to '08:42:56' (middle right screencap), then the camera cuts to Starling's face for a couple of seconds; then when we are shown the video again, the readout has mysteriously gone back to '08:42:52' (lower left screencap), even though the action in the video has continued to proceed forward, i.e., Starling has not re-wound the video. It then advances to '08:42:53' (lower right screencap); then, after a few more seconds, the camera cuts to Starling again. Note the inconsistencies in what is shown on the monitor at the two '08:42:52' and the two '08:42:53' readings - it is as if the movie-makers are emphasizing these two particular readouts.


We are to take the initial display readout, '08:42:47', as a reference to the bible, Gospel of John chapter 8, verses 42-47, which comprise the section titled The Children of the Devil. From the New International Version of the bible (Jesus is here speaking to a crowd of Jews):

42. Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46. Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? 47. He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

As stated above, the readout advances to '08:42:56'. Verses 48-56 of chapter 8 of John fall under The Claims of Jesus About Himself. Verses 52 and 53 have been placed in bold-face type below, since those are the verses which seem to be 'emphasized' by the video monitor readout (as described in the caption to the screencaps). From the New International Version:

48. The Jews answered him, "Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?" 49. "I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, "but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50. I am not seeking glory for myself, but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51. I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." 52. At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. 53. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?" 54. Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 56. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."


   

Hannibal analysis - part 9: Lecter's scented letter to Starling

CATEGORY: MOVIES










Starling carefully opens the letter she has just received from Hannibal Lecter.









The Las Vegas postmark, no doubt placed on the envelope by a re-mailing service, is meant to appeal to Starling's 'trashy' side - it is designed to suggest that Lecter wants to have a 'quickie wedding' with her.







Later, while Starling is listening to a recorded tape of her interview of Lecter in Memphis, Tennessee,[a] she experiences a sudden urge to smell the letter. This use of her sensation function shows that she is becoming more like Lecter in terms of psychological functions - Lecter's goal is to 'modify' her as required and then unite with her.


A perfume expert 'determines' that the source of the scent is an ambergris base with "Tennessee lavender." Lecter used the ambergris for its aphrodisiacal properties. The lavender plant is native to dry climates and thus, would not normally grow in the damp American Southeast, where Tennesse is located. The point is that "Tennessee lavender" is a fictional name: the perfume experts are here helping Lecter to deceive Starling. Lecter has designed things so that the experts will give her a short list of perfume shops that includes the one where he bought the perfume, so that she can then trace him. From the beginning, Hannibal has set things up so that she is guided to him.


a. Starling's interview of Lecter in Memphis, is shown in The Silence of the Lambs, the Lecter movie that was released prior to Hannibal, in 1991.


   

Hannibal analysis - part 8: Lecter desires to become Mercurius

CATEGORY: MOVIES

One of Lecter's goals is to become Mercurius, whom Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist Carl Jung said, "consists of all conceivable opposites". Lecter's becoming Mercurius is a process which includes 'assimilating' the good (represented by Starling) to complement his evil, and Starling's feminine to complement his masculine. Lecter is, in a sense, trying to 'fuse' Starling to himself.

Here's some information on the nature of Mercurius from Jung's Alchemical Studies:

"The multiple aspects of Mercurius may be summarized as follows:
(1) Mercurius consists of all conceivable opposites. He is thus quite obviously a duality, but is named a unity in spite of the fact that his innumerable inner contradictions can dramatically fly apart into an equal number of disparate and apparently independent figures.
(2) He is both material and spiritual.
(3) He is the process by which the lower and material is transformed into the higher and spiritual, and vice versa.
(4) He is the devil, a redeeming psychopomp, an evasive trickster, and God's reflection in physical nature.
(5) He is also the reflection of a mystical experience of [the alchemist] that coincides with the opus alchymicum.
(6) As such, he represents on the one hand the Self and on the other the individuation process and, because of the limitless number of his names, also the collective unconscious." [a]


a. Jung, C.G. "The Spirit Mercurius" in The Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 13. Princeton University Press, 1967. p. 237.


   

Hannibal analysis - part 7: The hidden plot: Mason Verger is being set up

CATEGORY: MOVIES


     

Above left: Cordell Doemling (dressed in white), Mason Verger's doctor and caretaker, doesn't want to leave Starling alone with Mason when she arrives for her interview of him. When Mason says, "Cordell, I think you can leave us now", Cordell responds, "I, uh, thought I might stay - perhaps I could be useful." Above right: Verger responds to this by saying, "You could be useful by seeing about my lunch", at which point Cordell reluctantly leaves the area.


There is a hidden plot in Hannibal whereby Cordell Doemling is secretly helping Hannibal Lecter with his plan to do away with Verger; this is true in spite of the fact that it appears to be the other way around, that is, that Doemling is helping Verger with his plan to torture and kill Lecter (by having him eaten alive by wild boars). Referring to the above screencaps, one inidication we have that Cordell is deceiving Verger is that he is very hesitant about leaving Verger alone with Starling during Starling's interview of him - it's as if Cordell doesn't want to be out of hearing range of anything that might be said between the two of them, in turn suggesting that it is his task to report to someone (i.e., Lecter) on this.

 

 

Top left: A van driven by Cordell and carrying Mason Verger, arrives at the building on the Verger grounds in which some specially-bred boars are being kept, so that Verger can exact his revenge on Lecter. Top right: While Cordell is pushing Verger's wheelchair from the van toward the boar pen, a gunshot goes off, and Verger says, "What was that?!" Cordell has a slightly worried expression on his face, but he doesn't hesitate or say anything, and instead keeps pushing the chair toward the boar pen in which Lecter is supposedly going to be eaten alive. However, as indicated above, Cordell is working for Lecter, and he knows that the actual plan is to get Verger killed here at the pen; and Cordell knows that he himself is to be left unharmed, per his prearranged plan with Hannibal. Above left: Lecter (on left, wearing mask), here having been wheeled into the pen by one of his captors, makes a comment on how bad the man smells, in an attempt to get the man to untie him and start a fight. The plan is for Lecter to obtain a gun at the scene from one of Verger's henchmen, and then shoot Verger when he arrives at the pen, but this part of the plan doesn't work out, as the captor Lecter taunts is somehow able to keep his cool. Above right: The wooden slats forming the walls of the boar enclosure are starting to weaken, and the boars are about to burst into the pen. This happenstance would be unexpected by both parties: Lecter is not expecting the boars to be in the pen at any point, and Verger's own plan is that once Lecter is in the pen alone, with Verger watching from outside it, to let the boars into the pen in a controlled fashion, by opening a gate connecting the enclosure with the pen.

 

 

The gunshot Mason heard while being pushed by Cordell in his wheelchair, was due to a gunfight taking place between Clarice Starling (who has arrived on the scene unbeknownst to Cordell and Mason), and Lecter's two captors in the pen, who she eventually overcomes. Due to being shot by a third henchman who had been hiding in the loft above the pen, Starling falls backwards and drops her gun (top left). Hannibal, who has now untied himself (with Starling's help, prior to her being shot), pockets her gun. He then picks her up so that the boars, who have now crashed through the enclosure walls (top right), will not go after her. Lecter hid from Cordell that Clarice was to be a part of his plan here, for otherwise, Cordell would be worried that Starling, not knowing that he is working with Lecter, might try to shoot him. And, of course, Lecter could not tell Clarice ahead of time that Cordell was working with him. The two henchmen who were shot by Starling in the pen, end up being eaten by the boars (above left). Once Cordell and Mason have arrived and are at a location overlooking the pen (above right), Mason sees what's going on, and he tells Cordell to go into the pen and get one of his men's guns, which is lying on the ground, and to go after Lecter. Lecter can't shoot Mason with the gun in his pocket, because he needs both hands to protect Starling from the boars. Cordell refuses to go in the pen out of fear of the boars, and Lecter's suggestion that he throw Mason into the pen, is completely new to him, i.e., it is not part of the prearranged plan.

 

Above left: After Lecter makes a statement to Cordell implying that he can say Lecter is the one who pushed Mason into the pen, Cordell throws Mason into the pen. Above right: Lecter leaves carrying a wounded Starling.


All of the above is tied in with what was said in part 5, about Lecter being intentionally 'caught' at Union Station - the reason Lecter allows himself to be taken captive there, is so that he can carry out his planned action at the pen (though as described above, things do not go exactly according to plan; Lecter nevertheless gets the upper hand).


   

Hannibal analysis - part 6: More numerical references

CATEGORY: MOVIES











Ray Liotta as Clarice Starling's FBI supervisor, Paul Krendler.


Let us explore the etymology of the surname of Clarice Starling's supervisor, Paul Krendler. Kren is the German word for horseradish, which is typically used for maror, one of the two types of bitter herbs eaten during the Jewish feast of Passover seder. This meal marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The bitter herbs symbolize the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Ancient Egypt, as recorded in the biblical book of Exodus. We see that Krendler's name is a reference to Passover seder, and therefore, that the movie-makers are making reference to the biblical Jews.

The '253' in the same photo from Starling's work area shown in part 4 of this analysis, refers to Exodus 5:3 (Exodus is the second book of the bible, thus the leading '2'). Exodus 5 verses 1-4 read as follows [from the Revised Standard Version of the bible]:


1. Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'" 2. But Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should heed his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover I will not let Israel go." 3. Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us; let us go, we pray, a three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword." 4. But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get to your burdens."










Lecter's 'mug shot' as shown in the movie. Note the sequence of numbers typed at the lower left. The '966' and '656' are biblical references.


From the numerals on Lecter's mug shot shown in the above screencap, '966' corresponds to 1 Samuel 6:6 (1 Samuel is the ninth book in the bible), which falls under 'The Ark Returned to Israel', in which the priests and the divinities are instructing the Philistines. From the Revised Standard Version:

"Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had made sport of them, did not they let the people go, and they departed?"

'656' refers to Joshua 5:6 (Joshua is the sixth book in the bible). From the Revised Standard Version:

For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the nation, the men of war that came forth out of Egypt, perished, because they did not hearken to the voice of the LORD; to them the LORD swore that he would not let them see the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Note that both Exodus 5:3 and and Joshua 5:6 mention the Israelites journeying in the wilderness, and that Exodus 5:3 and 1 Samuel 6:6 both have to do with the Egyptian Pharaoh's actions toward the Israelites.


   

Hannibal analysis - part 5: Lecter intended to get caught at Union Station

CATEGORY: MOVIES










Starling arrives at Union Station, with Mason Verger's henchmen trailing her in a black van.










Lecter, who has been sitting in his vehicle outside Union Station, gets out after both Starling and the van pass him, as if he expected someone to be following Clarice.










Once all parties are inside the station shopping area, it doesn't take long for Lecter to get a good look at the two guys who are following Clarice.










It is only after spotting the two men, that Hannibal exposes himself to plain view by getting on the carousel (though Starling still does not see him).






Lecter gets taken down - as he had planned: As depicted in the above, once Hannibal verified that Verger's men were looking around for him, he let them get a good look at him; then, as shown at left, he drew them into the mall's parking area. Lecter has succeeded in getting 'caught', fully expecting that he can later get the upper hand with Mason Verger.



   

Hannibal analysis - part 4: Barney represents a 'corrupted' Holy Spirit

CATEGORY: MOVIES










Barney picks up a dead pigeon or dove from a Washington, D.C. street.






Barney brings the bird into his home. Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. The Holy Spirit is sometimes represented in art by a dove. This dead bird is a 'metaphor' for Barney (who represents the Holy Spirit) having become corrupt; for recall that he sells illegally obtained items that belonged to Hannibal Lecter.


The upper right corner of a photograph in Starling's work area. The two sets of three digits each, ostensibly part of an FBI file or evidence item number, are actually biblical references: '189' is a reference to Genesis (the first book of the bible, thus the '1'), chapter 8, verse 9, which is associated with Barney's actions above, in that the dead bird Barney handles represents a dove: "But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark."[New International Version] The '253' reference will be discussed later in the analysis.


   

Hannibal analysis - part 3: Hannibal and Clarice represent Dante and Beatrice

CATEGORY: MOVIES

Dante and Beatrice, by Henry Holiday. Dante (standing at far right) looks longingly at Beatrice (in white) passing by with friend Lady Vanna (red) along the Arno River in Florence. [Image from the Wikipedia 'Dante and Beatrice (painting)' page, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.]

Beatrice di Folco Portinari (1266–1290) was a Florentine woman and the principal inspiration for Dante Alighieri's La Vita Nuova. Beatrice also appears as Dante's guide in The Divine Comedy (La Divina Commedia) in the last book, Paradise, and in the last four canti (parts) of Purgatory. Being the incarnation of beatific love, as her name implies, it is Beatrice who leads into the beatific vision.

In Hannibal, part of the conversation that takes place between Hannibal Lecter and the Pazzis (after the showing of the opera Vide Cor Meum), has Allegra Pazzi saying to Lecter ('Dr. Fell'), with regard to the content of the opera, "Dr. Fell, do you believe that a man can become so obsessed with a woman from a single encounter?" Lecter responds, "Could he daily feel a stab of hunger for her and find nourishment in the very sight of her? I think so. But would she see through the bars of his plight and ache for him?" The fundamental romantic metaphor at work in the movie Hannibal is that Lecter represents Dante, and Clarice Starling represents his beloved, Beatrice (note the common '-rice'/'-ice' ending of the two names, Beatrice and Clarice). The fragment of conversation quoted above refers to the fact that Hannibal's obsession with Clarice began at the moment of their very first encounter, in The Silence of the Lambs (the prequel to Hannibal). Subsequent to this, Lecter encountered Starling an additional three times (in The Silence of the Lambs). (All four encounters took place while Lecter was imprisoned).

In Christian theology, the beatific vision is the eternal and direct visual perception of God enjoyed by those who are in heaven, imparting supreme happiness or blessedness. While humans' understanding of God while alive is indirect (mediation/prayer, not actually looking at Him), the beatific vision is direct (immediate, visual), or literally, seeing God. In other words, the beatific vision means a soul is actually looking at God, as is, viewing Him without any sort of censorship like that found in the biblical book of Isaiah. Furthermore, seeing God in the beatific vision does not take the viewer's life.[a]

Hannibal Lecter believes that if he gets close enough to Clarice, who represents Beatrice, then he will experience the beatific vision.

a. Wikipedia, 'Beatific vision'. Web, n.d. URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatific_vision.


   

Hannibal analysis - part 2: A description of each part of the Holy Trinity

CATEGORY: MOVIES

The Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, but one being. Each person is understood as having the one identical essence or nature, not merely similar natures. Trinitarianism, belief in the Trinity, is a mark of Roman Catholicism, Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy as well as of the "mainstream traditions" arising from the Protestant Reformation, such as Anglicanism, Methodism, Lutheranism and Presbyterianism.[a] The three persons of the Trinity and their main characteristics are listed below.

The Father
God the Father is the title and attribution given to God in many monotheist religions. In Christianity, God is called Father because he is the creator, law-giver, and protector, and because of the mystery of the Father-Son relationship revealed by Jesus Christ. In general, the name Father signifies that he is the origin of what is subject to him, a supreme and powerful authority and protector. Moreover, God the Father is viewed as immense, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, with infinite power and charity that goes beyond human understanding.[b]

The Son
The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as God the Son. He is co-eternal with God the Father (and the Holy Spirit), both before Creation and after the End. So Jesus was always "God the Son", though not revealed as such until he also became the "Son of God" through Incarnation. "Son of God" draws attention to his humanity, whereas "God the Son" refers more generally to his divinity, including his pre-incarnate existence.[c]

The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son. He is different from the Father and the Son in that he proceeds from the Father (or from the Father and the Son) as described in the Nicene Creed. His sacredness is reflected in the New Testament gospels which proclaim blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as unforgivable. The Holy Spirit is believed to perform specific divine functions in the life of the Christian or the church. These include:

1) Conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit acts to convince the unredeemed person both of the sinfulness of their actions, and of their moral standing as sinners before God.
2) Bringing to conversion. The action of the Holy Spirit is seen as an essential part of the bringing of the person to the Christian faith. The new believer is "born again of the Spirit."
3) Enabling the Christian life. The Holy Spirit is believed to dwell in the individual believers and enable them to live a righteous and faithful life.
4) As a comforter or Paraclete, one who intercedes, or supports or acts as an advocate, particularly in times of trial.
5) Inspiration and interpretation of scripture. The Holy Spirit both inspires the writing of the scriptures and interprets them to the Christian and/or church.[d]

As we will soon see, the character Barney in Hannibal, represents a 'corrupted' Holy Spirit.


a. Wikipedia, 'Trinity'. Web, n.d. URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity.
b. Wikipedia, 'God the Father'. Web, n.d. URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_the_Father.
c. Wikipedia, 'God the Son'. Web, n.d. URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_the_Son.
d. Wikipedia, 'Holy Spirit in Christianity'. Web, n.d. URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit_in_Christianity.