Mar 25
Amherst Cinema Amherst, MA
TicketsErik Cheries, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, UMass Amherst
The Silence of the Lambs— The science of the lambs? What Hollywood’s most famous crime thriller tells us about the birth of Forensic Psychology
Program Description
What can Hollywood’s most famous crime thriller tell us about serial killers, psychopathy, and the birth of Forensic Psychology?
"Well, Clarice, have the lambs stopped screaming?” is Hannibal Lecter’s haunting question to agent Starling in this academy award-winning crime thriller. It is pop-culture’s most famous depiction of a murderous psychopath locked in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with an FBI investigator asking for his help solving a crime. But is this what psychopaths are really like? And do FBI agents really interview serial killers to help catch others? In his talk, Psychologist Erik Cheries will separate fact from fiction and describe the scientific reality of so-called “psychopaths,” review the history of criminal profiling in the FBI, and discuss whether or not research supports these as valid techniques for gaining insight into the criminal mind and, ultimately, solving crimes.
This event is part of our 2025 National Evening of Science on Screen.
Film Synopsis
A young FBI cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.
Young FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is assigned to help save a missing woman from a psychopathic serial killer who skins his victims. Special Agent Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into this case and that Starling can draw him out. In order to discover what he knows, Clarice must first gain Lecter's trust, but soon realizes that she may be in over her head. Based on Thomas Harris's 1988 novel of the same name, The Silence of the Lambs won Academy Awards in all of the top five categories, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
About the Speaker
Erik Cheries is a cognitive scientist and faculty member in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at UMass Amherst. His research focuses on the developmental foundations of moral thought and behavior and he is the professor of Forensic Psychology: an introductory course that explains how the field of psychology impacts nearly every aspect of our criminal justice system, from crimes to convictions. Erik obtained his Ph.D. in Psychology at Yale University and completed his postdoctoral research fellowship in the Laboratory for Developmental Studies at Harvard University. He is passionate about liberating scientific discoveries from the ivory tower and communicating them to the broader community.