Editing The Silence of the Lambs (film) (section)

== Legacy ==
According to ''[[The Guardian]]'', before ''The Silence of the Lambs'', serial killers in film had been "claw-handed bogeymen with melty faces and rubber masks. By contrast, Lecter was highly intelligent with impeccable manners", and played by an actor with "impeccable credentials".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Clarke|first=Cath|date=2017-10-13|title=An old friend for dinner ... why we're not scared of Hannibal Lecter any more|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/13/an-old-friend-for-dinner-why-were-not-scared-of-hannibal-lecter-any-more|access-date=2020-11-17|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112021613/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/13/an-old-friend-for-dinner-why-were-not-scared-of-hannibal-lecter-any-more|url-status=live}}</ref>

When ''The Silence of the Lambs'' was re-released in the United Kingdom in 2017, the [[British Board of Film Classification]] reclassified it from an [[18 (British Board of Film Classification)|18]] to a 15 certificate. The film's co-producer Ed Saxon said audiences had become desensitized and that the film had become less shocking.<ref name=":0" /> However, the BBFC's Craig Lapper felt that audiences had instead become used to procedural crime dramas with serial killers as dramatic tropes, and suggested that ''The Silence of the Lambs'' had created interest in these themes.<ref name=":0" />

United States President [[Donald Trump]] repeatedly referred to Hannibal Lecter and ''The Silence of the Lambs'' during his [[Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign|2024 presidential campaign]], claiming that other countries are "dumping" their "insane asylum" patients and convicted prisoners into the country, while likening immigrants to the fictional cannibal.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-19 |title=What is it with Donald Trump's obsession with Hannibal Lecter? |url=https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/07/19/what-is-it-with-donald-trumps-obsession-with-hannibal-lecter |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=euronews |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fortinsky |first=Sarah |date=May 13, 2024 |title=Trump: 'Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man' |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4660008-donald-trump-hannibal-lecter-wonderful-man/ |access-date=July 20, 2024 |work=The Hill}}</ref>