Hannibal is the Cannibal from the movie The Silence of the Lambs. However, he is not as terrifying and disgusting as ordinary serial killers. On the contrary, Hannibal is elegant and decent, loves classical music, has high EQ and IQ, is proficient in surgery and psychology, and has the image of a European nobleman.
So does the complex character has prototypes?
It is said that Hannibal has character prototypes, and there are more than one: H. H. Holmes, Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo, Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, and Ted Bundy.
H. H. Holmes
H. H. Holmes is known as the father of serial killers. His representative case is Hotel Murder. He once opened a hotel. And almost all the passengers in it were killed by him. Their corpses were sold as specimens.
This prototype corresponds to Hannibal's achievements in medicine and cadaver disposal.
Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo
Andrei and his sister
Andrei is a born pervert. He has sexual dysfunction. Only molesting and torturing a child can make him sexual. So this man committed many crimes in the post-Soviet era.
As a child, Andrei experienced famine in the Soviet Union. He is said to have an older brother who was traded for food by his parents.
The movie borrows from his youthful experiences to shape Hannibal's past.
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer
Jeffrey had an unhappy childhood. Divorced parents, favoring the younger brother and ignoring him.
As a child, he was interested in collecting animal carcasses, taxidermy, and chemistry. And his biological father's occupation is related to chemistry, and his hobby can just be satisfied.
Later, Jeffrey found out he was gay and started killing people.
He used his knowledge of chemistry to dispose of the corpses, leaving human organs for consumption and human bones as souvenirs.
This archetype corresponds to Hannibal's cannibalistic characteristics. His proficiency in chemistry and intelligence is also borrowed.
Ted Bundy
The archetype of Ted Bundy corresponds to the charismatic side of Hannibal.
Ted Bundy once gained many fans in the United States because of his handsome appearance, gentle temperament, rich knowledge, confident conversation, and charming smile. Every time his case is in court, many young women will come to the scene to see this charming criminal up close.
He escaped the county jail twice. After his arrest, he completely denied his crimes, only confessing to more than 30 murders more than a decade later.

In addition, Ted Bundy also helped Washington University criminology expert Robert Kepper investigate the Green River Victims that killed 48 women. The plot is similar to The Silence of the Lambs.

Hannibal's role not only appeared in the movie "The Silence of the Lambs", but also in the TV series "Hannibal Rising", "Hannibal" and "Red Dragon". There are three different Hannibals on screen, corresponding to Hannibal's childhood, youth, and adulthood. They are also drawn from the experience of the four archetypes respectively.

Knowing the prototype story, which interpretation do you prefer for the three generations of Hannibal?
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