Anthropophagy—most widely known as "cannibalism"—is the consumption of human flesh by other humans. The word “cannibal”, derives from the Spanish word “caribal”, a word used by Christopher Columbus to describe the Carib people who were said to have eaten human flesh.
There are different forms of cannibalism. While I like to argue that they aren’t different forms but instead different motives, these still hold up to be true. Funeral, ritual, revenge, and gustatory are all different forms of cannibalism. I won’t go into much detail about each because each sounds self-explanatory. Funeral is the eating of a deceased loved one in a compassionate manner; Ritual is based on one's beliefs and practices; Revenge is as it sounds—eating someone out of revenge; Gustatory is the consumption of human flesh simply because the taste is appealing.
Obviously, even with the "right motives," cannibalism is still unacceptable. It’s a crime. Yet the metaphorical meaning of it is full of romantic aspects. So the question comes: Why is it seen as a form of love? Because it’s as raw as it comes.
There are different forms of cannibalism. While I like to argue that they aren’t different forms but instead different motives, these still hold up to be true. Funeral, ritual, revenge, and gustatory are all different forms of cannibalism. I won’t go into much detail about each because each sounds self-explanatory. Funeral is the eating of a deceased loved one in a compassionate manner; Ritual is based on one's beliefs and practices; Revenge is as it sounds—eating someone out of revenge; Gustatory is the consumption of human flesh simply because the taste is appealing.
Obviously, even with the "right motives," cannibalism is still unacceptable. It’s a crime. Yet the metaphorical meaning of it is full of romantic aspects. So the question comes: Why is it seen as a form of love? Because it’s as raw as it comes.
In 2013, a TV series called “Hannibal” made its debut on NBC. The show is premised on the main character—Will Graham. Will is part of the FBI as a profiler; he essentially analyzes criminal cases. He looks about as normal as someone from the FBI comes, but Will is especially good at his job. He has “pure empathy disorder”, as someone from the show says. He’s able to think exactly like a killer at the moment of the crime, and he’s always right.
He’s well off in life, until the show's second protagonist comes into play—Hannibal Lecter. Lecter is a retired surgeon who became a psychiatrist, a highly respectable man, and—above all—charming. He’s a good man, most would say. But he’s a cannibal. Everything goes downhill from the moment Will and Hannibal meet. Hannibal develops an obsession with Will. He goes as far as to kill for Will. I’ve heard the arguments before that Hannibal didn’t feel even a speck of affection for Will, but I heavily disagree. Hannibal’s psychiatrist has a conversation with Will where he asks, “Is Hannibal in love with me?”, to which she responds, “Could he daily feel a stab of hunger for you and find nourishment in the very sight of you? Yes.” That alone should prove my point because Hannibal—a cannibal—can find nourishment from simply seeing Will. It’s a raw but dangerous love.
When someone like that allows you to see their most intimate sides, they expect you to do the same, but Will does not, almost leading to his death in season 2. In season 2, Will betrays Hannibal, which he doesn't take lightly. He wants Will to feel just as he felt—gutted. Hannibal guts Will with a knife. Then he gives one of his most famous quotes: “I let you know me. See me. I gave you a rare gift. But you didn’t want it.”
Hannibal is, obviously, hurt, but despite all of that he forgives Will in hopes Will would forgive him, too. Now, I’ll give another quote from Hannibal’s psychiatrist: “Betrayal and forgiveness are best seen as something akin to falling in love.” That alone should prove Hannibal’s love and obsession towards Will. It’s all absolutely horrible, yet it’s craved.
He’s well off in life, until the show's second protagonist comes into play—Hannibal Lecter. Lecter is a retired surgeon who became a psychiatrist, a highly respectable man, and—above all—charming. He’s a good man, most would say. But he’s a cannibal. Everything goes downhill from the moment Will and Hannibal meet. Hannibal develops an obsession with Will. He goes as far as to kill for Will. I’ve heard the arguments before that Hannibal didn’t feel even a speck of affection for Will, but I heavily disagree. Hannibal’s psychiatrist has a conversation with Will where he asks, “Is Hannibal in love with me?”, to which she responds, “Could he daily feel a stab of hunger for you and find nourishment in the very sight of you? Yes.” That alone should prove my point because Hannibal—a cannibal—can find nourishment from simply seeing Will. It’s a raw but dangerous love.
When someone like that allows you to see their most intimate sides, they expect you to do the same, but Will does not, almost leading to his death in season 2. In season 2, Will betrays Hannibal, which he doesn't take lightly. He wants Will to feel just as he felt—gutted. Hannibal guts Will with a knife. Then he gives one of his most famous quotes: “I let you know me. See me. I gave you a rare gift. But you didn’t want it.”
Hannibal is, obviously, hurt, but despite all of that he forgives Will in hopes Will would forgive him, too. Now, I’ll give another quote from Hannibal’s psychiatrist: “Betrayal and forgiveness are best seen as something akin to falling in love.” That alone should prove Hannibal’s love and obsession towards Will. It’s all absolutely horrible, yet it’s craved.
Earlier this year, I discovered the show and have been obsessed with it ever since. I find Will and Hannibal’s dynamic so intriguing. At one point, I hoped someone would love me as much. It was crazy to think, but after viewing people’s opinions online, I didn’t feel so strange anymore. There are many poems I’ve found that use pomegranates as a metaphor for cannibalism. So I began my deep dive into it. I watched many TikToks, YouTube videos, and read some articles. A certain video I saw on TikTok spoke of opening a pomegranate in a container of water to avoid the whole mess, and at that moment it sort of clicked. Pomegranates are a messy fruit—simply cutting into it bursts its seeds and causes juice to flow out, so you have to open them carefully if you don’t want a mess, and that’s what some people crave. They want to be opened up so gently and eaten so carefully. They don’t want their mess to flow out. But others, like myself, can crave it differently. If you remain clean after having eaten me, have you truly enjoyed me? Have you felt my red sweet juice drip from your hands? Did I leave my stain on you?
Eating me carefully without a mess is offensive. If you open me you must indulge. And in return, I will do the same if that’s what you crave. I will eat from you just as you have from me. But that is such an intimate love that it’s scary. It’s scary to open yourself up to someone like that. Hence, after experiencing betrayal, you’d want them to feel just as you did. It was concerning, but I had understood—but not justified—Hannibal’s raw emotion.
Eating me carefully without a mess is offensive. If you open me you must indulge. And in return, I will do the same if that’s what you crave. I will eat from you just as you have from me. But that is such an intimate love that it’s scary. It’s scary to open yourself up to someone like that. Hence, after experiencing betrayal, you’d want them to feel just as you did. It was concerning, but I had understood—but not justified—Hannibal’s raw emotion.
Cannibalism itself is a strong metaphor, but it’s so commonly used. Such a strong metaphor requires strong emotions. Love within society has become a foreign concept. Many things that are acceptable today would’ve been much more grand in the past. Things such as "situationships," a term used for relationships that have yet to be fully established, are normal. But then in some cases, those situationships never grow to be anything more. They create a fake sense of hope for the future of the ones in it.
Grand gestures have become less common as well. Asking someone out required flowers, a parent's approval, or something along those lines at least—those are gone. Now, the bare minimum has reached that of a simple text. Humans don’t love how we used to, and that has created an inner yearning for more. The yearning stems off into a metaphorical, physical sensation of hunger and dissatisfaction.
A big song in pop culture for that is “Abbey” by Mitski, an American singer-songwriter. The first verse of her song says, “I am hungry. I have been hungry. I was born hungry. What do I need?” There’s a clear need and hunger for something, but the knowing of what that "something" is--that's what is lacking. It creates a feeling of being stuck because you can’t do anything about it. This then results in the suppression of those feelings--because if anything can’t be done about it, why be sad?
A less common song used for it—but one that I still fully enjoy— for that is “Crack Baby." The chorus says, “Crack baby, you don’t know what you want. But you know that you had it once and you know that you want it back.” The term “crack baby” refers to someone whose mother abused drugs while they were in the womb and then born already addicted. The baby has never touched a drug in its life, but it wants them. An interpretation of that is the need for something that’s foreign to you--like love in society now. We’ve had it once, so we know it’s achievable, and yet we cannot recognize it.
Grand gestures have become less common as well. Asking someone out required flowers, a parent's approval, or something along those lines at least—those are gone. Now, the bare minimum has reached that of a simple text. Humans don’t love how we used to, and that has created an inner yearning for more. The yearning stems off into a metaphorical, physical sensation of hunger and dissatisfaction.
A big song in pop culture for that is “Abbey” by Mitski, an American singer-songwriter. The first verse of her song says, “I am hungry. I have been hungry. I was born hungry. What do I need?” There’s a clear need and hunger for something, but the knowing of what that "something" is--that's what is lacking. It creates a feeling of being stuck because you can’t do anything about it. This then results in the suppression of those feelings--because if anything can’t be done about it, why be sad?
A less common song used for it—but one that I still fully enjoy— for that is “Crack Baby." The chorus says, “Crack baby, you don’t know what you want. But you know that you had it once and you know that you want it back.” The term “crack baby” refers to someone whose mother abused drugs while they were in the womb and then born already addicted. The baby has never touched a drug in its life, but it wants them. An interpretation of that is the need for something that’s foreign to you--like love in society now. We’ve had it once, so we know it’s achievable, and yet we cannot recognize it.
Cannibalism is, naturally, a heavy topic. Nobody thinks about eating someone else on a regular basis, and if they do, that’s a completely different topic. Hannibal never ate Will, but him being a cannibal is what pushed his love into such a raw form. A pomegranate isn’t exactly like eating someone, but there’s something beautiful about the meaning behind it. And songs that mention it allow others with the same viewpoints to feel less alienated from those who don’t share them.
Cannibalism is for the hopeless romantics of society. Everything about it is strange—the literal version of it, the love aspect, and the way it unites people. It creates a deeper understanding and connection within people.
Cannibalism is for the hopeless romantics of society. Everything about it is strange—the literal version of it, the love aspect, and the way it unites people. It creates a deeper understanding and connection within people.
