# When did Hannibal Lector become someone the audience cheers for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221 "2015-05-17T04:47:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/41 "2015-05-23T00:35:43Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Weasel my words, suitable only for Welshmen and Smurfs. I know you think you’re clever and funny, but knock it off with the Welsh jokes. Nobody else gets to poke fun at other ethnicities. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/42 "2015-05-23T00:45:25Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > I know you think you’re clever and funny, but knock it off with the Welsh jokes. Nobody else gets to poke fun at other ethnicities. Sure. I’ll go back to mocking Etruscans. But if you expect me to stop making bigoted , hate-filled comments about how all Smurfs must die in the most violent and degrading fashion possible, you’re nuts. But I’m gonna need a cite that I’ve ever claimed to be clever. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/43 "2015-05-23T00:47:41Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Is something caught sideways in your rectum? You are being rather more contentious than the subject matter here warrants. Why don’t you go re-read Hannibal and see if it wasn’t there? You’re as mistaken as a Trojan. I don’t even HAVE a rectum; that’s why I’m so full of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/44 "2015-05-23T03:42:11Z")
Well, now that you’ve pretty well taken all the fun out of the the thread, I guess that’s a wrap. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/45 "2015-05-23T06:32:41Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Sure. I’ll go back to mocking Etruscans. But if you expect me to stop making bigoted , hate-filled comments about how all Smurfs must die in the most violent and degrading fashion possible, you’re nuts. I’m not sure you’re particularly serious about this, but we’ll keep it out of the Pit for now. In the meantime, you might consider how funny you’d find a poster whose schtick was to continually made allegedly funny remarks disparaging “Negroes”: you might even find something to recognise in the traditional caricature of Taffy as a garrulous thieving simian; oh, but he’s such a wonderful singer. You probably have no idea of the history of the prejudice [but here’s a Spectator piece from Jan Morris for you to start you off.](http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/5200003/mocking-the-welsh-is-the-last-permitted-bigotry/) ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19adc/32.png) [@Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Why_Bother)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/46 "2015-05-23T12:10:13Z")
n/m ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/47 "2015-05-23T13:28:24Z")
Yeah, “cool good guy Lecter” is definitely a revisionist view that conflicts with his treatment of earlier victims. Early episodes of the TV show dabbled with it until they then showed us Hannibal toying with & eventually savagely killing characters we had come to know & love. Thus, while we can “enjoy” Hannibal’s wit & homicidal creativity, we are constantly reminded what a depraved gleefully malicious bastard that he is. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/48 "2015-05-23T13:30:52Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > I’m not sure you’re particularly serious about this, but we’ll keep it out of the Pit for now. In the meantime, you might consider how funny you’d find a poster whose schtick was to continually made allegedly funny remarks disparaging “Negroes”: you might even find something to recognise in the traditional caricature of Taffy as a garrulous thieving simian; oh, but he’s such a wonderful singer. You probably have no idea of the history of the prejudice [but here’s a Spectator piece from Jan Morris for you to start you off.](http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/5200003/mocking-the-welsh-is-the-last-permitted-bigotry/) I’m serious about not mocking the Welsh any more. I was never serious about holding them in contempt. But this has naught to do with Hannibal Lecter and why he’s a monster deserving nothing but contempt from the reader, so if you want to continue the discussion, PM me. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/49 "2015-05-23T13:38:12Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > No, HANNIBAL actually gives us some of HL’s back story, which is fleshed out more in HANNIBAL RISING. Yes, and I agree…it was scarier, the idea of him not being “made” into a killer, the way Buffalo Bill or the Tooth Fairy were products of abuse/violence. I did like Hannibal, but finding out that his cannibalism stems from eating his sister…it all feels a little cheap. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/50 "2015-05-23T14:05:52Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I did like Hannibal, but finding out that his cannibalism stems from eating his sister…it all feels a little cheap. But you must remember, he is insane. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/51 "2015-05-23T16:14:59Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > But you must remember, he is insane. No, he’s not. He’s rational; he appreciates the nature and quality of his acts; he can stop himself at will. Hannibal is EVIL, not I’ll. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/52 "2015-05-23T17:28:31Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > No, he’s not. He’s rational; he appreciates the nature and quality of his acts; he can stop himself at will. Hannibal is EVIL, not I’ll. You’re Wrong, Will Graham said so in _The Red Dragon_. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/53 "2015-05-23T17:31:24Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > No, he’s not. He’s rational; he appreciates the nature and quality of his acts; he can stop himself at will. Hannibal is EVIL, not I’ll. His methods may be rational, but his motivations aren’t. He wants to murder and eat people in a society where both things are seen as abhorrent. He’s insane. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/54 "2015-05-23T18:12:20Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I am utterly mystified by person who think Letter[sic] cool. Maybe he’s like the xenomorph: > [@](#): > > **Ripley** : How do we kill it Ash? There’s gotta be a way of killing it. How? How do we do it? > > **Ash** : You can’t. > > **Parker** : That’s bullshit. > > **Ash** : You still don’t understand what you’re dealing with, do you? Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility. > > **Lambert** : You admire it. > > **Ash** : I admire its purity. A survivor… unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/55 "2015-05-23T18:40:43Z")
To return to the OP, I believe it is his escape from the hogs and carrying the wounded Christine out. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/56 "2015-05-23T19:23:39Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > To return to the OP, I believe it is his escape from the hogs and carrying the wounded Christine out. Christine? Shouldn’t a demon-possessed Chevy be able to handle a few swine by itself? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/57 "2015-05-23T19:42:18Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Christine? Shouldn’t a demon-possessed Chevy be able to handle a few swine by itself? Clarice, dang it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/58 "2015-05-23T22:10:20Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Clarice, dang it. 🙂 Rudolph’s girlfriend? I hear reindeer sausage is delicious. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/59 "2015-05-23T22:43:59Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I hear reindeer sausage is delicious. Especially with fava beans and Chianti. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221/60 "2015-05-24T06:09:16Z")
I’ll tell you why: because he’s entertaining. It’s always more fun to watch the villains in stories than it is the good guys. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-hannibal-lector-become-someone-the-audience-cheers-for/720221.md?page=4)