A Superheroine Movie with Teeth....

[3113]

I *THINK* there was a thread on this movie, but with search disabled, I can't know. So apologies if this is a repeat....

Review from Cenematical:

You can often sell a movie with a shocking or unique approach to an ... unseemly topic, but it takes a good deal of talent to take an outrageous idea and turn it into a effective, entertaining and weirdly powerful experience. Case in point: I just finished seeing a movie called Teeth, which centers on a pretty teenage girl whose vagina has teeth. Yes, you read that right: The old "vagina dentata" myth that's been propagated across dozens of cultures for thousands of years -- most likely because, deep down, men are pretty much terrified of women. (Or at least certain parts of 'em) One might expect a movie with this concept to be broad, stupid, campy "Troma" material all the way. But in the hands of writer/director Mitchell Lichtenstein and a stellar cast, Teeth (against all odds) ends up being one of the most witty, intelligent and darkly insightful looks at young womanhood since Lucky McKee's brilliant May. (And how strange and admirable is it that both of these movies comes from male writer/directors?)

If you get over the rather distasteful subject matter and focus on what's beneath the surface, you'll find a flick that's got a whole lot to say about young women and their fear of burgeoning sexuality, society's general distaste (and, let's face it, fear) of the female sex organ, and the ways in which men do a serious disservice to womankind by treating their "naughty bits" as if they're something to be ashamed of. Teeth covers all this ground (and a whole lot more), and I suspect it's more open-minded and honest than most of what passes for "sex ed" these days. This movie offers enough meaty subtext to fill three semesters and it does so in a shocking, humorous and strangely compassionate fashion.

Stellar newcomer Jess Weixler plays young Dawn, a passionate supporter of teenage celibacy who's generally dismissed as a harmless little goody-two-shoes by most of her high school peers. But when those "icky" urges hit Dawn in a big way, she quickly discovers that she's quite a bit ... different than other girls. And not in a particularly good way. Toss a dying mother and a vile step-brother into the mix, and you just know things aren't going to end well. To divulge much more in the way of plot synopsis would be doing the film a grave disservice, as this comedy/horror hybrid has more than a few jolts, jumps and unpredictable twists up its sleeve. Those who would dismiss the film based solely on its premise, well, they probably wouldn't really like Teeth anyway.

I'm of the opinion that audacity is something to be admired in today's cinematic world, and Teeth has audacity to spare. Fortunately for the brave movie-watcher, the film is also very smart, slick and entirely unashamed to throw a few nasty shocks into the equation ... if that's what it takes to get the point across. As Dawn begins to realize that her privates possess a decidedly unsavory set of dental features, the phrase "sex as a weapon" begins to take on a whole new meaning. Lichtenstein bravely refuses to shy away from the sticky questions and icky repercussions, which elevates Teeth beyond the label of "interesting curiosity" and right into the realm of "brazen brilliance."

Perhaps it's just because I've always had a soft spot for horror films that push the envelope and actually have something to say, but I'd call Teeth one of the grade-A highlights of this year's Sundance Film Festival.

So. Anyone going to go see it? And riddle me this guys...oral sex, which most men really really want, involves teeth for real. So...why the fear of vagina dentata?

 

[rgraham666]

I'm supposed to be afraid of the female sex? And the organ that epitomizes their difference from men?

No one ever tells me these things!

 

[neonlyte]

I *THINK* there was a thread on this movie, but with search disabled, I can't know. So apologies if this is a repeat....

Review from Cenematical:

So. Anyone going to go see it? And riddle me this guys...oral sex, which most men really really want, involves teeth for real. So...why the fear of vagina dentata?

It's the flossing... afterwards.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Cunnilingus is a self-flossing activity!

But I have wondered about that, a few times. Could it be that the dentata implicit in vaginas are seen as uncontrolled (by the woman, presumably) and express a feral side of femininity?

 

[gauchecritic]

I take it that you're not familiar with 'gum jobs' then.

 

[neonlyte]

Cunnilingus is a self-flossing activity!

But I have wondered about that, a few times. Could it be that the dentata implicit in vaginas are seen as uncontrolled (by the woman, presumably) and express a feral side of femininity?

Self-flossing? I think we are talking consistency here.

Let's face it, for most little guy's - by which I mean younger rather reduced pecker-tial circumstance - we've mostly forgotten where we came from by the time we first get back there (no smutty incest jokes... please).

Most young ladies, the Surrey school girl type, are not likely to provide a guided tour. That first vaginal encounter - from an English 1970's standpoint - was, to say the least, mysterious, nerve-racking, pretty scary (from a getting caught perspective), in the dark, in the car, and surprising, and spontaneously, messy. If I'd been told there were teeth down there, I might easily have believed it... the knicker elastic alone felt like a clamp grip.

But... but... I knew there were no teeth down there. For starters, she'd never been to the gynadentist and secondly... I'd explored once or twice, several times... a lot.

I can't imagine who spreads these rumours.

By the way... ladies, shave first... it saves flossing afterward.

 

[Stella_Omega]

The Old Man volunteers; his idea of Vaginal Dentata is that they point inwards like those tire-shredders at the entrance to parking lots. You can push in but you can't pull out...

The guy should write a horror story.

 

[Carnevil9]

Now we know why Hermie the Elf wanted to be a Dentist.

 

[jomar]

... And riddle me this guys...oral sex, which most men really really want, involves teeth for real. So...why the fear of vagina dentata?

Well, it's not nicknamed 'snapper' for nothin!

 

[3113]

It's the flossing... afterwards.

ROFLMAO. Okay. You win the prize for that answer. And your description of finding your way in the dark. I suppose it would be very scary to know that in addition to the elastic, the mess, having to find the right spot and all that you also had to worry about having your pecker chewed on....

 

[3113]

The Old Man volunteers; his idea of Vaginal Dentata is that they point inwards like those tire-shredders at the entrance to parking lots. You can push in but you can't pull out...

The guy should write a horror story.

So it's not only fear of castration, it's fear of being trapped? And are you going to write up this horror story?

 

[Oblimo]

So it's not only fear of castration, it's fear of being trapped? And are you going to write up this horror story?

It's a category of horror fantasy (a big one) that I like to call "the Greedy Womb," and I file ghouls, undead burials, and the like under it too, because I subscribe to the pop-psych notion that fear of death is about control, so it's really fear of life, at least as far as fictional characters are concerned. Every Lovecraft horror story has a hungry hole in it one way or another, for example.

And am I right in remembering that Orb Weaver Spider males kill themselves during sex by tearing their sexual aparatus off in mid-act to keep other males, er, out?

There was a music video about it a few years ago, yes? *googles*

Yes!

 

[3113]

And am I right in remembering that Orb Weaver Spider males kill themselves during sex by tearing their sexual aparatus off in mid-act to keep other males, er, out?

Now that's dedication. But it would seem in that instance that the females haven't anything to do with it--that's a matter of male pride and competition

 

[only_more_so]

I *THINK* there was a thread on this movie, but with search disabled, I can't know. So apologies if this is a repeat....

Review from Cenematical:

So. Anyone going to go see it? And riddle me this guys...oral sex, which most men really really want, involves teeth for real. So...why the fear of vagina dentata?

I might actually go to see it. I heard some good reviews.

As for oral sex, I actually don't really really want it, and I especially don't want to feel any teeth when recieving... Reminds me of a joke actually.

The king is going away on a trip for a month, leaving the queen behind. He doesn't trust the queen, so he has his court magician create a chasity belt for the queen. Except instead of preventing her from having sex, it magically creates razor blades in her vagina which will ruin the manhood of any who try to have sex with the queen.

When the king returns from his trip, he makes all of his knights drop there pants. Knight after knight has a horribly ruined penis. He gets to the last knight, his bravest and most trusted knight. The only knight who still has an intact penis.

The king says, "For being the only knight who didn't attempt to sully my queen while I was away, I will give you anything you ask."

The knight said, "Mmmmrmrpph!"

 

[3113]

The knight said, "Mmmmrmrpph!"

I love this joke! Which, I'm sure, says a great deal about my sense of humor.....

 

[3113]

I guess what I'm asking is if men have as much fear of oral mishaps as they do of vagina dentata, especially given that the former does have real teeth and could, unintentionally cause some, er, hurt and the later is mythical. Why fear the myth more than the reality?

 

[Stella_Omega]

So it's not only fear of castration, it's fear of being trapped? And are you going to write up this horror story?

Hmm... no.

 

[3113]

Hmm... no.

http://brooklynskeptic.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/chicken.jpg

 

[neonlyte]

ROFLMAO. Okay. You win the prize for that answer. And your description of finding your way in the dark. I suppose it would be very scary to know that in addition to the elastic, the mess, having to find the right spot and all that you also had to worry about having your pecker chewed on....

Seriously, in the sober half-light of post dawn, I believe this is an American myth rather than English/European myth. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I have an instinct that young American gals are far more willing to blow a guy that young European girls. Those first blow jobs involve teeth, not purposely, but it requires some practice, and nervous adolescents tend to squirm. For many guys, that first penetrated orifice contains teeth... it's not difficult to move the analogy along... down, where it's dark... and hairy.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

There is an old Muslim aphorism, 'there are three things that are insatiable, the desert, the grave and a woman's vulva'. and the word 'mouth' derives from 'mother'. The yoni (cleft) has lips (labia) and lips hide teeth. The mouth - either - is a symbol of matriarchal power of men - why lipstick and lip gloss. The practice of wearing a veil across the mouth comes from this.

The yoni swallows the strong male erection and, after the 'petit mort', spits it out enfeebled.

Chew on this;

http://www.goddesscafe.com/yoni/dentata1.jpg

 

[Carnevil9]

......Why fear the myth more than the reality?

Because myths are more powerful than reality, and therefore, more fearsome.

 

[SummerMorning]

And there I thought, for a second, that this was going to be a post about super heroin.

Instead here I find chicks with extra dentures. Sigh.

 

[TheEarl]

So. Anyone going to go see it? And riddle me this guys...oral sex, which most men really really want, involves teeth for real. So...why the fear of vagina dentata?

I can't say I've ever thought of someone with teeth there, so it's a new thing to me. However, I can say that the major reason why I'd fear this and not oral that is that sex, if you're doing it right, often causes vaginas to squeeze tight around whatever's in them.

Heck of a disincentive for men to make women come.

The Earl

 

[only_more_so]

I guess what I'm asking is if men have as much fear of oral mishaps as they do of vagina dentata, especially given that the former does have real teeth and could, unintentionally cause some, er, hurt and the later is mythical. Why fear the myth more than the reality?

Actually, I can't really recall ever hearing about the myth. When I first saw a preview for the movie, I wasn't too surprised at the idea, so I must have heard some variant at some point, but never enough that it was something that I thought about.

Although there was that scene in, I believe it was, Eve of Destruction where the android chick gets revenge on these guys and basically has a garbage disposal for a vagina, and well... Yikes! Makes a guy cross his legs.

 

[Oblimo]

Actually, I can't really recall ever hearing about the myth.

Probably no male human being is spared the terrifying shock of threatened castration at the sight of the female genitals.

Of course, this is the guy who wet himself when Jung told him he disagreed with him.