Black Lives Matter, The Silence of the Lambs and the Rhetoric of Empathy
Black Lives Matter, The Silence of the Lambs and the Rhetoric of Empathy

Summary/Abstract: Many aspects of contemporary society and culture—including politics, interpersonal communications, and the dissemination of information—have taken a turn for the absurd. Has this been happening for a significant period of time? Probably. Yet, in the last five years or so, unexpected public events and tragedies have escalated to an unprecedented point. This begs for explanations, and more importantly, for solutions. How can society, and the individuals who make up societies, begin to remedy the many ills that plague us? One answer to why institutions have fallen apart, and one potential remedy for how we, as individuals, can rescue many of our failing institutions may lie in the important spiritual practice of empathy. Defining empathy, and citing examples of empathy from an exploration of the sociopolitical movement Black Lives Matter can serve as inspirational; additionally, a close examination of a scene from the film The Silence of the Lambs can demonstrate the application of empathy as a theoretical, critical model. The purpose of the paper is to establish an original, pragmatic definition of empathy, in order to establish this spiritual principal as both a critical concept for film and literature, and to remind us all that practicing empathy, according to the model established within, can serve to elevate our discourse and relations generally.

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