Deconstruction of The Silence of the Lambs Poster

This was the first official poster released for the film directed by Johnathan Demme, when it came in 1991.

The poster shows the protagonists (Jodie Foster's) face with a butterfly covering her mouth. Her eyes, usually blue are red.  The faux skull markings on the moths head, show that the skulls are made up of 7 naked women, which is believed to be homage to Salvador Dali.

The poster shows a contrast of light and dark; the protagonists face being white, and the background around he fading to black. This use of colour suggests the presence of both good and evil in the film. This use of colouring conforms to the Psychological Thriller genre. On top of this, the use of the deaths-head Hawkmoth across the protagonists mouth, and the high contrast of her face matches the dark tone of the film, allowing the audience to immediately be aware of the genre.


The title "The Silence of the Lambs" is interpreted in visual form on the poster. The Protagonist is displayed to represent the lamb, and the high key lighting of her face connote some sort of innocence about the character.The moth across her mouth represents her being silenced. The red colouring of her eyes, and the dark colouring of the moth could represent the danger she will face in the film, as well as adding to the mysterious and sinister atmosphere of the poster.

The film is shown to challenge the classic thriller conventions by having a female protagonist, which is the only character displayed on the poster. This can be considered unusual for the Psychological Thriller genre, as the protagonists are usually all male. By challenging these conventions the poster could potentially appeal to a wider audience.

The use of the typography in the red font is used to connote the danger the protagonist will face in the film. The colour also conforms to the Psychological Thriller genre.