One of the take-aways that the audience is able to get from this film is that for years, we have been completely mis-sold when it comes to the media representation of serial killers. Look at some of the output on the subject; how many books about "serial killers", television documentaries about "serial killers", websites devoted to "serial killers" do we see? The media represents serial killers as one single, generic breed who enjoy killing so much they do it over and over again until they are caught, or until they die, one or the other.
But "serial killer" is not a psychological diagnosis. It is merely another phrase used by law enforcement to categorize the person they are looking for. A serial killer is a person who has killed three or more people, usually in unrelated or unconnected incidents. They have a modus operandi. They have a specific type of victim. Being categorized like this is the only thing that these criminals have in common, yet being a serial killer is often presented to the public as being the diagnosis, or the common thread between seemingly disparate psychopaths.
Profiling, the work done by Clarice Starling and Jack Crawford, is what actually enables law enforcement to hunt down the serial killer. Profiling also emphasizes the differences between serial killers. The movie shows the incredible difference between two prolific serial killers, Hannibal Lecter and Jaime Gum. Lecter is charming, mannerly, suave and offended by rudeness. He likes propriety, beauty, art. He is a connoisseur of classical music, likes to travel, is frighteningly intelligent, and he eats his victims accompanied by a very good wine. Gum, on the other hand, is not particularly cultured. He is not particularly intelligent, either. In fact he is a man of average abilities and below average social skills. What he is not is a cannibal. In fact, he would most likely find that concept as alien as the film's audience do. Gum kills women so that he can make a woman suit out of their skin. Lecter, perfectly comfortable in his own skin, would be no more likely to identify with this than would the average member of the movie's audience.
The film juxtaposes two very different men, committing very different murders, for very different reasons, and even their appearances emphasizes their differences. This is a clever and also chilling way to remind the audience that there is no way of telling by appearances what a serial killer looks like; he could be the person sitting next to you in the theater. This, more than the gruesome action on the screen, is actually the most disturbing part of the film.
