I have some thoughts about Hannibal that one of the season 3 promos has made me feel obligated to share.
[It’s the ‘Hannibal’s Dilemma’ promo, btw. I haven’t seen any of the others yet]
Knowing what I know about Bryan Fuller and the things he’s said about Hannigram [[marinades fingers in hand sanitizer after typing that word]], I’m a bit put off by the objectification of Hannibal. It’s an odd phrase to put together, I know, but that’s what appears to be a recurring theme in the show. I mean, I know in any show or movie, the characters are all objectified to an extent. (I mean, have you seen the promotional images for Supernatural? Like, from day 1, it’s been one romance novel cover after another)
But I just feel like we keep seeing Hannibal in very sexual contexts (BDSM in particular), and while I am very much attracted to Mads and very much a fan of BDSM, the way it’s being used for this character and how frequently it’s used to promote the show and double as fanservice just makes me uncomfortable.
Compared to other shows in the same or similar genres/airtimes, sex isn’t really a major part of Hannibal, so when Hannibal is put into poses/outfits where there are heavy sexual themes/subtexts at play, it’s just uncomfortable because (1) Hannibal is the king of shitty terrible people and playing up his attractiveness just makes me uncomfortable because the last thing I want is to be attracted to Hannibal Lecter, (2) They seem to be attempting to frame it as/allude to BDSM which is super shitty because what they’re really doing is sexualizing abusive relationships and calling it BDSM (which it is NOT), and (3) it isn’t relevant to the plot except for one instance (that I’ve seen, anyway, I’m 6 episodes behind). Aside from that, it’s just sort of shoehorned in for no other reason other than to objectify him and it just makes me uncomfortable because that seems both cheap and inappropriate.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the looks of Mads shirtless and wearing a collar because I’m attracted to him and I’m into BDSM. But I have a problem with Hannibal shirtless and wearing a collar where its purpose is clearly to make the fans have a positive sexual response to him, especially when the showrunner is a very vocal shipper of Hannibal and Will, which is super abusive and unhealthy, which he knows full well and takes great pleasure from. And on top of all that, it’s just another of many examples of popular media giving BDSM a bad name by glorifying abusive relationships and calling it kinky.
tl;dr Bryan Fuller’s fetishization and promotion of an extraordinarily unhealthy relationship is gross enough on its own without him also painting the primary villain (who is an abuser, a cannibal, and a serial killer) as a sexual object we should all find attractive. Whether he’s meaning to make us uncomfortable or not in doing this, he is, and I really think he needs to stop.