The Silence of the Lambs opening sequence analysis

(apologies for the mirrored film)

This sequence begins with a strong connotation of a horror genre, this is because the situation is of a woman alone in a foggy, dark forest. The music is also tense, the lighting is dark, she is breathing heavily, worn out and continuity editing is quick. The fact that no other person is part of the mise-en-scene makes you believe that she is running away from someone unknown or that something bad will happen to her. However the suspense is then broken when a group of people along with a building come into the mise-en-scene

The woman character in this opening sequence is introduced well as it shows that she is not a typical female, the scene shows her to be active; exercising and taking part in an assault course and doing stereotypically male things to do. She breaks the female stereotype this way, making her character more interesting to the audience. Another way she breaks her female stereotype is once she arrives in the building and walks into the life filled with tall men, this is a juxtaposition as she is a small woman stood between men however the fact that she is working with a lot of men like them breaks her stereotype of being a female and taking part in female jobs.

This opening sequence sets the scene for the rest of the film. One reason how it does this is when "Behavioural Sciences" is shown on a wall (you won't be able to see it properly in the clip unfortunately), that symbolises that the case the main character will be part of will be an unusual one, and it will be a psychological problem, this engages the audience, and gives away what the film may be about. Also once she moves into the room for "Behavioural sciences" there are many gory pictures of skinned humans. These pictures signify that the film will be a horror film, there will be gore, and that the case involves humans going through a lot of pain.