Body parts...

[fajrdrako]

It has amused me how many of the items I've seen about Matt Smith's coming role as the Doctor in Doctor Who have been about his hair. Even a kid, in a question and answer session, asked about his hair. Now, I don't see his hair as being so remarkable.



When I was young, people used to fuss over other people's hair all the time. It was a thing. Especially young men's hair. Girls could do anything with their hair, it didn't matter much - mostly they just grew it long and straight, as I did. But men's hair? That was a big deal. My cousin and my uncle fought over the subject like Hector and Achilles. For years. There was even a Broadway musical about it - "Hair". It was a big deal. So Matt Smith has been photographed with hair that has personality - I like that. It's a good thing. Hair should be interesting.

And teeth... I thought of this while reading Sam Wollaston's review of Britain's Got Talent and John Barrowman's new show, Tonight's the Night:

In all my years of watching television, Simon's teeth are the silliest I've ever seen; they're like the White Cliffs of Dover... John Barrowman is the man with the perfect teeth this time. Perfect everything, he's shiny and sparkly, nice even. Too nice. No one ever failed on Tonight's the Night, we're told. Where's the fun in that?

I laugh. (Ah, Wollaston, there is a world of philosophical speculation in that question.)

But then I thought: speaking as someone who is neither British nor American, it seems to me that the British talk about teeth a lot. Really a lot. They notice teeth, and mention them. While Americans, though they value their teeth, don't talk about teeth. Not directly. They might talk about dentists, and dentures, and toothpaste, or whatever, but they don't say (at least not in the media), "Look at that person's funny teeth."



Now I'll probably see a zillion sources proving me wrong.

Comments

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Aside from routine dental upkeep, the most I've had is replacement of a broken tooth. (From falling on ice when I was ten.) That's enough for me!

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

Orthodontics weren't a blast but I was elated to get them. I hated having crooked teeth (and mine were pretty bad).

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you were able to get the fix, then. That must have felt wonderful, in the end.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

It did. :) Funny how I don't notice other people's teeth, but I noticed my own.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Well. Yes. We and our teeth are intimately attached. I don't notice or much care what my teeth look like - as long as they look okay - but I certainly notice what they feel like.

In fact, one of my major recurring dreams has always been about my teeth getting loose, splintering, and falling out. I assume this is a memory from being six years old, and that it went a little to deeply into my subconscious - possibly exacerbated by the loss of that front tooth when I was ten.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

I still find flossing scary because I lost a tooth that way as a child, ha!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I find flossing... annoying. I really should do it more.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

It is annoying. I get lectured every time about not doing it 'right' or 'enough.' You know, I have enough to do!!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Difficult, isn't it? I'll make any excuse to procrastinate over flossing.