Jan Van Eyck semiotics continued - Film Industry

Continuing from the theme of semiotics and "easter eggs" from Jan Van Eyck's wedding portrait, a famous, recently 

discovered easter egg in the film industry is from the film Silence of the Lambs. When Hannibal tells Clarice he "ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti", the easter egg here was indirectly saying he wasn't taking his monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI) which was medication given to the criminally insane. Whilst on this medication, foods that cause blood pressure to rise such as beans, liver and red wine would give the patient a fatal heart attack. This means Hannibal wasn't taking his medication through unknown but non-compliant means. Though there's not a deep meaning behind it, it's a sinister one intended to instill a sense of fear, in that Hannibal does what he wants and is infamous for not complying with anything or anyone beyond reason, which is partly what makes him dangerous. It's clever and quirky and the inter-activeness of easter eggs in forms of media gives the audience a sense of involvement. 



 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Ptctl5_qQ

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