Serial Killers, Hannibal Lecter, My American Friend Howard Stiller, and Swedes
Americans have a special place in their heart—and head—for serial killers. With much fanfare, NBC this April has launched a new series, “Hannibal,” based on the character of cannibal psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter played so deliciously by Anthony Hopkins in “Silence of the Lambs.” Besides paying well-known actors to populate the series, the show hired a famous chef to beef up the credibility of cooking scenes. Apparently, recipes making use of human parts must be prepared just so.
No, I have not watched the show, but I have heard much about it and Hannibal Lecter, including “Silence of the Lambs,” from my good friend Howard Stiller, who by day is a practicing attorney of quite some renown in these parts of the country where I live. He specializes in representing clients, and “getting them off,” who are often teachers who are accused of doing something sexual they should not have. I know what you are thinking--it will be revealed that my friend Howard by night eats people. Well, you are close. Just take a look at the photo below which shows Howard’s preparations for dinner to sit down to the premiere of "Hannibal."
I do not think that Howard’s obsession with serial killers is much more extreme than that by so many Americans. He is just more open about it and able to make others jealous when they see his talking Hannibal Lecter doll strapped to a gurney when they visit his house.
Mention Jeffrey Dahmer or John Wayne Gacy to even the most hardcore Southern Baptist, and you will see a look of horror and fascination flash across their face. And if you speak with these same God-fearing folk, off-the-record, you will find out they have watched “news” or read about these serial killers. There is something that appeals so very much to the Puritanical, Calvinist streak in people in America as it relates to serial killers. Add to that the element of cannibalism, which is uniquely American in our modern world, and you notice quite a cultural divide if you consider Sweden.
Why is it that Sweden does not produce serial killers? Are the words of Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs” to be believed or interpreted as extreme, American narcissism, when he speaks, “Nothing made me happen. I happened.”? Why does a serial killer in Sweden not happen? Are Swedes born with some kind of “safety-gene”?
It turns out that Sweden has some serial killers, but with a difference. A man named Sture Bergvall, known as Thomas Quick, admitted to at least 28 murders, though he was convicted on the evidence of his own confessions, and some say, fabrications. And in 2012 Peter Mangs was apprehended and referred to as a serial killer. But his m.o., just as Thomas Quick’s, does not fit what we associate serial killers with in the U.S.—cannibalism or something sexual-ritualistic. Mangs attempted several shootings of and killed a few persons who were immigrants.
Further research reveals a “Laser Man” killer in Stockholm. Born of Swiss and German parents in Sweden, he is said to have shot 11 people in the early ‘90’s, xenophobia appearing to have played a part in his actions.
Again, where is the m.o. of the serial killers a la Dahmer and Gacy to be found in Sweden? Are there any homegrown Swedish serial killers? And why not? It can’t be that Sweden is so pretty and the cheese so good that serial killing involving the sexual and eating of body parts cannot emanate from, happen in Sweden.
Or have we found something that is truly unique that can point to Swedes as a peace-loving people, a nation where citizens behave themselves and are not psychologically damaged to the eating extent of Americans. Is Sweden a nation of depressives that find catharsis by watching a Bergman film of psychic mayhem and so are apt to skip Hannibal Lecter and popcorn in front of television or in the movies?
I look forward to next Wednesday, the night my wife and I and three other couples go out to eat. I will have a chance to speak with my friend Howard, and I will hear about what transpired on the episode of “Hannibal” that I missed. As I recall from this week’s dinner, sausages were prepared on the TV show. I can only hope they graduate to something higher up the food chain, like filet mignon.
The American Howard Stiller's preparations for an episode of "Hannibal"--will Swedes follow suit?
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SuperSwede
With a foot on each side of the Atlantic SuperSwede will keep all of us - Swedes, Americans and Swedish Americans alike - on track. |