The character of Jame Gumb, widely known as "Buffalo Bill," serves as the primary antagonist in Thomas Harris's 1988 novel, The Silence of the Lambs, and its acclaimed 1991 film adaptation. Portrayed by Ted Levine, Buffalo Bill is a chilling serial killer whose horrific crimes are driven by a complex and disturbing desire for female transformation.
Origins and Early Life
Jame Gumb was born in California between 1948 and 1949. The unusual spelling of his name is attributed to a clerical error on his birth certificate that was never corrected. Gumb's early life was marked by hardship; his mother, an aspiring actress, succumbed to alcoholism after her career failed to launch, leading to Gumb being placed in a foster home at the age of two. The novel details his subsequent life in foster homes until the age of ten, when he was adopted by his grandparents. Tragically, two years later, he impulsively murdered them, marking his first known victims.
Following these events, Gumb was institutionalized at Tulare Vocational Rehabilitation, a psychiatric hospital. It was here that he acquired the skills of a tailor. Later in life, he formed a relationship with Benjamin Raspail. While the film adaptation omits much of Gumb's detailed backstory, it strongly implies a traumatic childhood.
The Twisted Motivation: A "Woman Suit"
Both the novel and the film depict Gumb as someone who deeply hates his own identity. However, it is explicitly stated by multiple characters that Gumb is not transsexual. The novel provides several examples illustrating why Gumb does not fit the psychological profile of a genuine transsexual. His primary objective was to become a woman, or at least he believed he did, but he consistently failed to qualify for gender reassignment surgery. This frustration fueled his horrific actions: he killed women to skin them and create a "woman suit," a grotesque attempt to achieve his perceived transformation.
Marjorie Garber, author of Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing and Cultural Anxiety, suggests that while the book and film indicate Buffalo Bill merely believes himself to be transsexual, they still carry negative connotations regarding transsexual identity. Barbara Creed, in her work Screening the Male: Exploring Masculinities in the Hollywood Cinema, posits that Buffalo Bill desires to become a woman "presumably because he sees femininity as a more desirable state, possibly a superior one." For Buffalo Bill, the woman is "[a] totem animal."
Modus Operandi and the "Buffalo Bill" Moniker
Gumb's method of operation involved approaching women under the pretense of injury, soliciting their help, and then incapacitating them in a surprise attack to kidnap them. He would transport his victims to his home and imprison them in a pit in his basement. There, he would starve them until their skin became loose enough to be easily removed. In the cases of his first victims, he would lead them upstairs, place nooses around their necks, and push them from the stairs, resulting in strangulation.
This gruesome MO led the homicide squad to nickname him "Buffalo Bill." This moniker is often linked to Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, which historically claimed that Buffalo Bill Cody had scalped a Cheyenne warrior. One officer quipped that the killer was nicknamed Buffalo Bill because he "skins his humps."
A particularly disturbing element of his crimes was the insertion of a death's-head hawkmoth into the victim's throat. This fascination stemmed from his interest in the insect's metamorphosis, a process he wished to emulate by becoming a woman.
The novel begins with Gumb having already murdered five women. The first victim mentioned is Fredrica Bimmel, whose body was weighed down, making her the third victim discovered. At the start of the novel, Gumb has already murdered five women.
The Investigation and Clarice Starling's Role
The Behavioral Science Unit Chief, Jack Crawford, assigns gifted trainee Clarice Starling the task of interviewing the incarcerated serial killer Hannibal Lecter to gain insights into the case. Senator Ruth Martin becomes involved, and Lecter offers Starling a psychological profile of the killer in exchange for a transfer to a federal institution. This profile, however, is largely composed of cryptic clues intended to guide Starling towards solving the case herself.
Through Lecter's riddles, Starling eventually deduces that Gumb knew his first victim, Frederica Bimmel. She travels to Bimmel's hometown of Belvedere, Ohio, to gather more information. Meanwhile, Crawford discovers Gumb's true identity and leads a SWAT team to his house for an arrest, only to find it is merely a business address.
Concurrently, Starling visits the home of Bimmel's employer, Mrs. Lippman. There, she encounters Gumb, who is posing as "Jack Gordon." Gumb had murdered Mrs. Lippman prior to Starling's arrival.
The Confrontation and Demise
While at Mrs. Lippman's house, Starling notices a moth flutter by, realizing she has found the killer. She orders Gumb to surrender. In response, Gumb flees into the basement, plunging it into complete darkness by switching off the lights. He then stalks Starling, armed with a revolver and night vision goggles. Just as he is about to shoot her, Starling hears him behind her, turns, and fires her weapon, killing Buffalo Bill.
Inspirations and Cultural Impact
The character of Buffalo Bill is widely believed to be inspired by several real-life serial killers:
- Ed Gein: Known for creating trophies and keepsakes from the bones and skin of corpses exhumed from cemeteries, as well as from two women he murdered.
- Ted Bundy: Who employed a tactic of pretending to be injured (using an arm-brace or crutches) to lure his victims into asking for help.
- Gary M. Heidnik: A kidnapper and torturer who held women captive in a pit in his basement.
Jack Halberstam, author of Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters, argues that Buffalo Bill's extreme violence against women stems not from gender confusion or sexual orientation, but from a "humanist presumption that his sex and his gender and his orientation must all match up to a mythic norm of white heterosexual masculinity." Halberstam views Buffalo Bill as symbolizing a discomfort with one's own skin and likens the character to a combination of Victor Frankenstein and his monster, as he gathers body parts and experiments with his own body.
The phrase, "It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again," originates from a scene in The Silence of the Lambs. In this scene, Buffalo Bill threatens Catherine Martin, his captive, with being hosed down with cold water unless she applies lotion to her body. The lotion is used to keep the skin pliable and hydrated, facilitating its removal after the victim is "skinned." This line gained significant traction as an internet meme, often parodied in shows like Family Guy and South Park, alluding comically to the character's dark and disturbed nature.
It rubs its lotion... #JustAddZebras Last Week Tonight
In March 2016, Lilly Wachowski, co-director of The Matrix, publicly criticized The Silence of the Lambs for "demonizing and vilifying" the transgender community through the character of Buffalo Bill. Wachowski alleged that the character had been used as a reference in anti-transgender attack ads, portraying transgender individuals as potential predators in women's bathrooms. The character of Bill and the assertion that he is "not really transsexual" have faced criticism for perpetuating transphobic stereotypes.