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

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

Ricky Gervais is the creator, writer and star of the original The Office series, also the Extras series - neither of which I watched because that kind of humour makes me feel ill not amused, but I can recognise their brilliance - and has also done some absolutely hilarious standup shows that made me really laugh, and lately a few films including Night at the Museum, Ghost Town and Stardust. He's one of those people who gets everywhere, basically.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thanks for explaining!