How are Narrative Codes used in the opening of "Silence of the Lambs" to set up audience expectations?

In ‘Silence of the Lambs’ there are lots of enigma codes throughout the opening sequence as the viewer does not yet know anything about the character or plot. There is a strong sense of ambiguity as the viewer asks questions like: “Who is that girl?” “Where is she?” and “What is she doing?”.  

 The enigma codes intrigue the audience but the action codes must answer the questions in order to set up the expectations for the rest of the film and move the plot along.

 The action codes used in the sequence were subtle but revealed a lot about the plot. For example, the setting is established as an FBI training school. We discover this by seeing the girl climbing a rope, then running towards a net. This shows the viewer that she is on an obstacle course. This again triggers more enigma codes such as: “Why is she on an obstacle course?” and “What is she training for?” However a man appears and says: “Crawford wants to see you in his office.” This moves the plot forward as “Starling”, as he called her, now heads towards the office. Another action code, would be that the man is wearing an FBI cap, which further establishes the setting and reveals to the audience that “Starling” was on the obstacle course in training for the FBI.

 As she runs to see Crawford, she runs towards a large school-like building, which suggests this is an FBI training centre. When the character enters the building she high-fives a girl and another character says “Hey Clarice!” so we now know have a real name for our heroine and this gives us a personal link to her.

 The audience will still be asking; “Who is Crawford?” and “Why does he want to see Clarice?” which ensures that the audience will want to continue watching to find out the answers.

 As Clarice is walking through the school she enters an elevator and there are a few significant narrative codes in which this presents. Clarice is the only woman in the elevator and tall men surround her. This suggests that we could expect her to face problems in the rest of the film by being a woman in a male dominated field. The contrast in height also emphasizes this point. Also, she is wearing a pale blue uniform whereas the men re wearing bold red uniforms. This sets her apart from the other characters and poses questions like; “Why is she wearing a different uniform?”

 When Clarice approaches the office she walks past a “behavioural sciences” sign, which is an action code to reveal more to the audience more about the plot.

 The fact that when Clarice reaches the office and is sent away to wait for Crawford in a different room is a significant action code because she spots something on the wall of the office which triggers a confused and horrified expression from Clarice. The audience does not see what she is looking at but it creates lots of questions in the viewers mind like; “What is she looking at?” and “Why is it so shocking?”.

These narrative codes set up certain expectations for the film. For example, the opening suggests that the film will be based around Clarice using her skills from the FBI training school to maybe solve a crime. We can also expect action, as we saw her on an obstacle course at the very beginning and she will be faced with problems regarding her gender.

Narrative Codes:-

Narrative codes are split into two groups; action codes and enigma codes. Action codes are events or moments in a film narrative that then motivates the action in a certain direction. An enigma code is a question that is posed by an action, event or character, which is then answered in the narrative.

For example, a film may have a scene where a man is walking down a dark road. This presents a few enigma codes such as; "Who is this man?" and "Where is he going?". To keep the narrative moving forwards, these questions need to be answered with action codes. Therefore, in the clip, the man could eventually walk into a shop and the shop owner could possibly say; "Hello John!". These two action codes answer the enigma codes and this enables the viewer to learn more about plot and characters but keeps the audience interested in what will happen next.

Narrative Structure

In order to create a successful film opening, I need to create an entire plot for a film. This will allow me to be inventive with ways in which the opening can lead on to the rest of the plot.
The typical structure of a text would be as follows:-

  Equilibrium -> Disequilibrium ->Equilibrium.

 This suggests that films start with an equilibrium, normality in the context of the genre, and then an event or character will disrupt this normality and create disequilibrium and chaos. The normality will be attempted to be regained and eventually the equilibrium will be restored by the characters. The plot may not completely revert back to the first equilibrium, however.


For example, the plot of the romantic comedy 'Juno' begins with the portrayal of the "almost" average life of Juno, a 16 year old girl, this is the equilibrium. Her life is then thrown turned upside down by an unexpected pregnancy, which presents the disequilibrium and she goes through the trials and tribulations of being a pregnant teenager. However, at the end of the film the equilibrium is restored after the birth of her baby who is adopted by Vanessa, a caring character and soon Juno resumes her life as a teenage girl and therefore the equilibrium is restored.

Another narrative structure is as follows:-









To make this clearer, we could use the story of Little Red Riding Hood as an example. Little Red Riding hood is the protagonist, as the plot is based mainly around her. The agent of change would be the fact that Little Red goes a different way through the forest and is spotted by the Big Bad Wolf. The quest would be the journey to Grandma's house and escaping from the clutches of The Wolf and finally the solution would be The Woodcutter saving the day.

These narrative structures are fairly basic but will help us to prepare a plot and a successful opening scene.