Mulvey harps upon the male fear of castration. The penis symbolizes male power over women. Yet the serial killer in this movie not only defies this fear, but seeks to align his body with that of the female. He mutilates women, cutting off their skin to wear as his own. He tucks his penis not in an effort to protect it, but to appear female. To me, Hannibal's mutilation of the prison guard is not only a gory symbol of his power, but a clue as well as the artistic expression of the serial killer's identity and motives. What would Mulvey say to a man who desperately craves female anatomy? The killer overpowers many women, not in protection of his penis, but in a quest to feminize himself. How does this killer fit into Mulvey's belief in phallocentrism?
(Sorry post is late. I checked this blog early yesterday and the picture wasn't up. I forgot to check it again until this morning. Apologies for the inconvenience.)
Conversation Piece - Monday, December 8, 2008
"Oh, come not near me, sir; I shall defile you.
I am that of your blood was taken from you
For your better health. Look no more upon't
But cast it to the ground regardlessly;
Let the common sewer take it from distinction.
Beneath the stars, upon yon meteor
Ever hung my fate, 'mongst things corruptible;
I ne'er could pluck it from him. My loathing
Was prophet to the rest, bu ne'er believed;
Mine honor fell with him, and now my life."
(The Changeling V.iii.158-67)
I am that of your blood was taken from you
For your better health. Look no more upon't
But cast it to the ground regardlessly;
Let the common sewer take it from distinction.
Beneath the stars, upon yon meteor
Ever hung my fate, 'mongst things corruptible;
I ne'er could pluck it from him. My loathing
Was prophet to the rest, bu ne'er believed;
Mine honor fell with him, and now my life."
(The Changeling V.iii.158-67)
