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

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

I have something of a prejudice against orthodontics for cosmetic use -- I had braces when I was a kid, which tipped my predisposition for TMJ into the full-blown problem, and I've had issues, both major and minor, with my jaw ever since (I can't yawn properly, for starters, and it just goes downhill from there).

But I will concede that there are a few medical uses for them. Although I do hope that the state of orthodontia has improved in the last forty years to the point where they don't screw up people's jaw joints just because those people happen to have slightly receding chins.

[toraks.livejournal.com]

Well, I can definitely see that.

But really bad teeth make me very uncomfortable. As do people who have really bad teeth and therefore can't speak properly. Or smile properly. It's definitely more my problem then theirs, I'm sure. But, it's one of those 'can't look away because I'm fascinated at how horrible it is' situations. Embarrassing for me. I suppose they're used to it.

Actually, I guess in the 2 cases I'm thinking of, it's teeth and whole mouth. I don't know, I've never asked, but maybe that's the best medical science can do with their condition(s).

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I find it difficult to talk to people who have teeth missing. I keep looking at the place where the tooth should be.

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

There's a huge difference between bad teeth and crooked teeth. Teeth that are too crooked automatically move over into the "bad teeth" category, but not all crooked teeth are bad.

I wonder how many of those folks you're thinking of could only have their teeth/mouth problem "fixed" by messing up their jaw joint? If what they're living with is the lesser of two evils?

It's a possibility, anyway. I would much rather not be able to smile properly than not to be able to chew, for instance...

[toraks.livejournal.com]

Oh definitely, that could be it. I've never asked. And I agree, chewing is much more imp't!