Sexism In The Workplace

Crime fiction relies on danger and tension, characteristics that can also be found in real life scenarios. These characteristics are crucial to this genre because they create suspense and the idea of fear to the reader. Each crime fiction novel has a detective and when they get closer to solving the crime, the danger and tension for the characters heighten. The real-life element in crime fictions makes the audience feel like the story is relatable and something that could potential happen to them. It`s the same concept that is used in horror stories. They use situations that people can encounter in everyday life which increases the fear factor. For example, after the movie Jaws premiered, many people were scared to swim in the ocean because
of that potential danger that the movie instilled. These scenarios that happen in crime fiction are applied to the real world, which creates the connection of fear and danger to the audience. The real-life element is applied in crime fiction and can be seen in Silence of the Lambs by the blatant sexism towards Clarice in the workplace, kidnapping and the phenomenon of serial killers. The real-life element in crime fiction does not always have to add to the suspense and danger of the book, it can show other scenarios that add to the book which the audience can relate to.
The sexism in the workplace is an issue that is still relevant to this day and can be seen in everyday in some workplace environments. Most of the time, women are the victim of sexism in the workplace because they are the minority. Even though Silence of the Lambs came in 1988 and sexism was still very prominent in the workplace then, but today women who work in male dominated areas experience some type of sexism. In this novel, Clarice the main character works in the Federal Bureau of Investigation where men surround her. We see this sexism early on within the story when Clarice is on her way to interview Lector when she meets Dr. Fredrick Chilton. He makes a remark to Clarice saying “So the FBI is going to the girls like everything else, ha, ha.” (Harris 8) and this statement shows the discrimination towards women in the workplace. I believe this quote speaks volume regarding sexism in the workplace. This is also an example of how much harder women have to work to succeeded in a sexist environment. Clarice dealing with Chilton and the sexism is the real-life element that the audience can connect to which makes the readers more invested in the
story. Kidnapping has always been a scenario that is scary to think about.
It is hard to imagine one day your life changing because someone decided to take you from everything you know for their own personal enjoyment. This is a real-life element that adds to the genre of crime fiction which adds tension to the storyline. Kidnappings are common in today`s culture and this term is not just limited to kids. Thousands of kidnappings happened per year and it is scary to think about someone taking you by force, from your own environment. This can be seen in today`s society by seeing missing posters in supermarkets, news reports and amber alerts through the radio which is a harsh reminder that kidnappings are a harsh reality. In Silence of the Lambs, the scene where Buffalo Bill tricks Catherine into helping him but it is all a ploy to kidnapped her, is too relatable (Harris 110). There are many times that people will stop what they are doing to help someone else, whether it is push their car out of a ditch or help them carry their groceries, out of the kindness of their heart. It is a scary thought that some evil-minded people will take advantage of this and use it to their advantage. This can be seen in real life serial killer, Ted Bundy, who would trick young women into thinking that he is disabled. He would have the upper hand in the situations and would take advantage of the women who are just trying to help him. Like in Silence of the Lambs, kidnapping is a harsh reality that we
face in today`s culture which just adds suspense to the novel because this is something that the reader could potentially experience. Serial killers are fascinating because it is hard for our society to wrap their heads around the horrific crimes they perform. This phenomenon is growing just like people`s attraction to them. Serial killers almost seem fictional, which is why novels relating to them are so popular. We, as readers, forget that these types of people exist in the world until a news article pops into our vision. In Silence of the Lambs, there are two serial killers in the novel, Buffalo Bill and Hannibal Lector. There are eerie similarities between Buffalo Bill and real life serial killer Ed Gein. Like Buffalo Bill, Ed Gein would kidnap and kill women for their body parts, in hopes of making a “women suit”. Anyone who has extensive knowledge of serial killers and who is reading this book, should have drawn that connection. This added a whole new real life element to the novel due to the similarities between the fiction and nonfiction characters. A serial killer is an individual who kills multiple people on separate occasions. Buffalo Bill is the active serial killer in this novel. He keeps killing these women for his own personal gain and body after body keep popping up, which means Buffalo Bill fits the dictionary definition of a serial killer (Harris 81). The real-life element of serial killers adds to the genre of crime fiction due to the increased suspense and danger that is associated with them. Serial killers do exist in today`s society and create real-life horror stories. Suspense and danger are two characteristics that thrive on the genre of crime fiction, which pulls the reader in. A real-life element, situations that the reader can relate to, makes the audience more invested within the novel. Having real-life elements in crime fiction only adds more suspense and danger to the audience because these are situations that they could possibly encounter in their lifetime. Not all real-life elements have to add to the tension of the story, like the sexism in the workplace that Clarice experiences, which forms a connection from Clarice to the audience and makes this story more believable. Kidnapping is another horrific act that takes place all over the world, and seeing it when Buffalo Bill kidnaps Catherine just adds suspense to the novel because it can happen to anyone. The idea of serial killers seem so unrealistic to people who only watch them on the news, but they are a real life phenomenon. When Silence of the Lambs, mentions two different serial killers, it adds that aspect of danger because these horrific people do exist. The real-life element that takes place in this story adds suspense and danger to the crime fiction genre because it could potential happen to anyone reading this novel. I believe that Ted Bundy said it best when regarding people fear of serial killers and other fears that we cannot control, “We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow.”.