Hannibal Lecter, Evil as a Formative Element: A Means of Development of (the) Good

Portrayal of evil in Hannibal displays a contrast between appearances and hidden suggestions in addition to turning Evil into a constructive element of the crime story - due to it does Good eventually strengthen and learns to defeat Evil. The AXN TV series created by Bryan Fuller Hannibal (2013-2014) is based on the book trilogy by Thomas Harris, later turned into silver-screen thrillers. Small screen, however, reduces the “thriller” character of the original story due to carefully maintained balance between what is shown and what is suggested, i.e. between visuals and story. TV never shows how crime is committed only the outcome – the deed is suggested by means of editing of the film. Based on contrast the imagery parades cannibalistic, beast-like deeds of a sophisticated and extremely human being. Hannibal’s portrayal suggests utter self-control and respectability by means of carefully constructed mise-en-scène which presents an impeccable, educated, and highly sophisticated gentleman, cool and detached in all he does, suggesting his superiority to others. As opposed to a classical whodunit, Hannibal reveals the solution to the mystery at the beginning already; hence, the story focuses on the game between the good and the evil, in which the latter is not a tragic, shattering experience, but it becomes a means of development for the good. Therefore, the paper proposes to discuss the role Evil plays in the present TV series in addition to analysing the cinematic rhetoric used to suggest this role.