Cinematic Contrast: Loneliness and the Male Gaze in Her and Lambs
Representing Isolation: Her vs. The Silence of the Lambs
Spike Jonze’s Her (2013) and Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs (1991) both examine characters who experience deep loneliness, but they show this isolation using very different visual strategies. Her uses warm colors, soft lighting, and close-up shots to reveal Theodore’s emotional isolation and his sometimes idealized or unrealistic view of the women around him. In contrast, The Silence of the Lambs relies on point-of-view shots, spatial arrangement, and framing to show how Clarice Starling is constantly observed, judged, and physically overshadowed by the men in her environment. By looking at these visual choices, both films explore how loneliness and the male gaze can be represented on screen, though they do so in contrasting ways.
External Isolation and the Structural Male Gaze
A clear example of this external isolation in The Silence of the Lambs is the elevator scene early in the film. This short scene is highly effective at showing Clarice Starling’s loneliness and the pervasive presence of the male gaze. Clarice steps into an elevator surrounded by male FBI trainees who are taller and broader than she is. Demme uses the way the scene is framed to emphasize her isolation.
The Elevator Scene: Clarice Starling’s Vulnerability
Clarice is in the center of the frame, but the men around her form a sort of wall of masculinity. Their matching red uniforms and height create a visual pattern that she breaks. Even though she is physically present in the space, she is clearly set apart. This contrast is not explained in the dialogue—it is built purely through the visual composition of the scene.
The camera angle adds to this feeling of vulnerability. Demme films at eye level, but because Clarice is shorter, the viewer’s perspective makes her seem smaller and more exposed. The tight framing in the elevator compresses the space, which makes the scene feel claustrophobic and emphasizes that she is alone even when she is surrounded by other people. The male gaze is present even without any overt staring. The men’s uniformity and physicality create a visual field in which Clarice becomes “the other.” This shows how the world around her is structured by male dominance. At the same time, Demme subtly critiques this structure. By isolating Clarice visually, the audience is invited to feel the discomfort she experiences, highlighting the gendered structures within the FBI. Her loneliness is not just personal; it is produced by the social and institutional environment around her.
Internal Loneliness and the Psychological Male Gaze
In contrast, the surrogate partner scene in Her focuses on Theodore’s internal loneliness and the subtle ways the male gaze operates in his perception.
The Surrogate Partner Scene: Theodore’s Subjectivity
When the surrogate arrives at Theodore’s apartment, the scene is framed with soft, warm lighting, which is a signature of the film’s visual style. However, instead of creating comfort or intimacy, the warmth highlights how *artificial* the situation is. The gold tones emphasize the difference between the tenderness Samantha tries to create and the uneasy reality Theodore faces. Close-ups of Theodore’s face show his discomfort, confusion, and emotional distance, while the surrogate’s face is often out of focus or partially hidden. This creates a **visual hierarchy** in which Theodore is the subject and the surrogate is more of an object within the frame.
Blocking and movement in the scene also shape the emotional tension. The surrogate moves deliberately toward Theodore, while he steps back or looks away. Even though she is physically present, her movements echo Samantha’s voice, making her feel less like an autonomous person and more like an extension of the AI. This spatial arrangement reinforces Theodore’s internal conflict: he wants intimacy but cannot connect fully with a body that does not match his emotional reality. The camera aligns mostly with Theodore’s point of view, emphasizing his subjective experience over hers.
The male gaze appears in a subtle way in this scene. The surrogate is framed mainly as a vessel for Theodore’s feelings rather than as a full character. The camera often focuses on parts of her body, such as her lips or hands, rather than her face, reducing her to a tool for Theodore’s emotional journey with Samantha. However, the film critiques this dynamic rather than endorsing it. It shows how Theodore’s idealized, self-centered view of love—his desire for a perfectly controlled, ideal relationship—actually prevents him from forming real human connections. When Theodore finally pulls away, the sound design changes:
- Samantha’s voice becomes disembodied again.
- The natural sounds of the room grow louder, making the artificiality of the situation obvious.
Through framing, lighting, blocking, and sound, the scene shows that Theodore’s loneliness is partly self-made, and that the male gaze can act as a barrier to real intimacy.
Contrasting Formal Techniques and Audience Empathy
Both films use formal techniques to make the audience feel isolation, but in very different ways.
External vs. Internal Isolation
In the elevator scene, Demme uses tight framing, eye-level shots, and spatial imbalance to show Clarice’s loneliness in a physically oppressive, male-dominated environment. Her isolation is **external**, produced by the men and the institution around her, and the male gaze is explicit and structural. In Her, Jonze uses warm lighting, close-ups, and point-of-view shots to show Theodore’s internal loneliness and the subtle objectification of women through his perspective. The male gaze is **psychological** rather than physical, and his loneliness comes from a world mediated by technology and filtered through his own emotional expectations.
Empathy, Perspective, and Power Imbalance
Another interesting difference between the two films is how they make the audience empathize with the characters. In The Silence of the Lambs, the visual strategies place the viewer in Clarice’s world, making us feel the pressures and judgments she faces. The camera emphasizes her vulnerability, and the spatial arrangement makes the power imbalance visible. We see the male gaze as something that shapes the environment around her, and this makes her loneliness feel imposed by society. In Her, the techniques are more internal. The audience experiences Theodore’s loneliness through his subjective point of view. We understand that his isolation is partly his own creation, shaped by technology and his idealized vision of love. The male gaze operates through his desire for control and perfection, and the film critiques this rather than normalizing it.
The Consequences of Loneliness
Both films also comment on the consequences of loneliness. In The Silence of the Lambs, Clarice’s isolation emphasizes her courage and resilience, but it also shows how socially structured systems of power can produce loneliness. In Her, Theodore’s loneliness is more emotional and personal, showing the challenges of forming genuine connections in a world mediated by technology and idealized fantasies. The formal elements of each film—lighting, framing, blocking, camera perspective, and sound—work to communicate these different types of isolation and to show how the male gaze operates in different contexts.
Conclusion: The Dual Nature of Loneliness and the Gaze
In conclusion, Her and The Silence of the Lambs both explore loneliness and the male gaze, but they approach these themes in contrasting ways. Demme uses camera angles, framing, and spatial composition to show Clarice’s isolation within a male-dominated, institutional world, where the male gaze is physical and structural. Jonze uses warm lighting, close-ups, and point-of-view shots to explore Theodore’s loneliness, showing how the male gaze can be internalized and psychological, limiting emotional connection. Both films make the audience feel the characters’ isolation, but while Demme reproduces the effects of a male-dominated world, Jonze critiques the way idealized, self-centered perspectives on love can prevent intimacy. Together, these films show how loneliness and the male gaze can be both external and internal, and how cinematography and formal techniques are crucial in shaping the audience’s understanding of these themes.