Movie review: 'Teeth'

By now, most of us have probably heard of the film 'Teeth,' starring Jess Weixler. Upon mention, there will usually be a series of groans and whines from those with male genitals, and sometimes giggles or looks of disgust from those with female genitals. A common response will be a male placing his hands lovingly and protectively over his zipper and exclaiming, "Owww," for just the thought of a vagina with teeth can be enough to make his wee a bit sore.

"A vagina with teeth!?" you may say, if you've never seen the film. This thought will either be reacted to with a smile and a chuckle, a sneer, a look of disgust, or placing your hands lovingly and protectively over your zipper and exclaiming, "Owww."

Before you write the movie off as nothing but a gore-fest made solely for shock value, take a moment and hear me out. There's a lot of good to be said of "Teeth," despite it's reputation.

(Warning: Spoilers ahead!)

The movie begins by introducing you to a pretty high school girl named Dawn O'Keefe, who advocates abstinence in the name of God. She's loved by her friends, her family, and is all one could ever ask for if they wanted a 'good girl.' However, soon Dawn's hormones take over and she finds herself infatuated with her friend Tobey. After attempting to avoid each other in order to maintain their innocence, they soon end up unable to keep apart. This leads them to a river, swimming about and exchanging a few kisses. Dawn's discomfort becomes more and more obvious with each kiss.
Soon, they find themselves within a cave, where other teens have clearly previously fooled around. Kisses get more and more heated, Dawn grows more and more uncomfortable. At first, Tobey's pressure is gentle, but it soon fires into explosive rage as he screams, "I haven't even jacked off since Easter!" (the most upsetting part of the film for me) and proceeds to rape her.

(Woah, hold up. Let's take a moment here. I know there are a few of you here who are thinking to yourselves, "Rape in film is wrong. I refuse to watch this." I understand and I certainly can't blame you. But try to keep in mind that this movie does not use rape as a gimmick or a shock- it really has a purpose and a meaning. The point is not that she is raped and then her vaginal teeth proceed to chomp off Tobey's wiener, the point is that she is raped and that, for once, the man get's what he deserves for his injustice toward an innocent person.
Yet, if rape scenes are still a turn-off to you, by all means, order something else on Netflix.
That said, shall we continue?)

After that, Dawn spirals into depression. She begins to realize her body is 'abnormal.' And after a series of awful things that happen to her (each ending in sweet, vagina-dentata-induced revenge) she starts to realize this thing is not a curse, but a gift. No more injustice for Dawn O'Keefe, because Dawn' O'Keefe's got vaginal teeth!

In the end, "Teeth" is not the gore-fest I expected (although, there was plenty enough for me to close my eyes.) It isn't meant to make the viewer squirm with blood and guts- it makes you squirm because of the awful things that happen to Dawn. But you find yourself cheering for her and her 'vagina dentata' as they battle their way to independence, liberation, and life beyond oppression.

Most of all, this is not a movie about a monster vag.
The real villains are the men who hurt Dawn.
The vagina dentata are the heroes.

I recommend it to all, especially those who have just endured any nasty break-ups.
Watch it with a girl-friend or a friend with girl parts. You'll have a good time.
Watch it with a boy-friend or a friend with boy parts and tell them to get over their anatomical infatuation and pay attention to what the movie is really about.
Watch it with your feminist friends and debate its quality.
Watch it with your film guru friends and debate its quality again.
Just give it a chance!

Also, a question for the viewer:
How does it make you feel when discussing this movie with male friends or friends with male parts?
What about girl friends or friends with girl parts?
For those who have seen the film, do you agree with my little write-up here?

In any case, that's the end.
This being my first post on Paper Dolls, let me say, I'm pleased to be here among Jen, Leah and Lisa. They're beautiful and I adore them all.

Let me leave you with this hilarious bit from Lashings of Ginger Beer.
It gets real good at 1:17.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_4yCm6DZp8

-Cameron.

Addicted to Podcasts

by Jen!
As someone who utilizes public transit in a city where public transit is really inefficient, podcasts save me from bus boredom (when the entertainment of people-watching does not suffice). Here are my favorites:

the F-Files
(down for now, but hopefully back soon?)
Interviews with feminists such as Catherine Mackinnon and Sheila Jeffries.
ffiles.net

the F-Word
Canadian radio show discussing feminist issues.
feminisms.org

Destination DIY
DIY! DIY! DIY! DIY!
destinationdiy.org

Bitch Radio
Feminist podcasts by Bitch!
bitchmagazine.org/blogs/audio

Madness Radio
Discusses alternative perspectives on mental health. Affiliated with the Icarus Project (theicarusproject.net)
madnessradio.net

Healing the Earth
Discusses radical environmentalist issues. Has good interviews with Derrick Jensen, but my favorites are the interview with Lierre Keith (http://resistanceisfertile.ca/lierrekeith.html) and the interview with Lierre Keith and Aric McBay (http://resistanceisfertile.ca/lierreandaric.html)
resistanceisfertile.ca

Rage Against Global Ecocide
Interviews with Gail Dines, Stephanie McMillan, & Derrick Jensen.
rageedm.com/wordpress

Because I'm Not Sure How To Comment on Jen's Post...

I'd like to add some to the list of feminist/female driven comics Jen put together.

The Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies graphic novel adaptation is great. It is drawn well and supports the idea that ladies can kick ass.

Hope Larson has a younger target audience but is currently working on an adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time.
http://hopelarson.com/

Kate Beaton. Hark, A Vagrant. No other words necessary.
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=287

Danielle Corsetto with Girls With Slingshots
http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/

And Raina Telgemeier for Smile.
http://goraina.com/

Feminist & Indie Comix

A rundown of cool feminist, woman-made and/or indie comics. By Jen!

Alison Bechdel
dykestowatchoutfor.com
Alison Bechdel is the one who inspired this entire blog post, because today I checked out her graphic novel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic from the library and it is so good. It's a memoir about her family and childhood and while I have enjoyed her strip Dykes to Watch Out For, which is a comedic look into feminist lesbian culture, Fun Home is a more serious (although still funny) piece that explores different issues (family relationships). It's an interesting side to Bechdel and I highly recommend it - and all of her other work!

Hothead Paisan by Diane DiMassa
hotheadpaisan.com
dianedimassa.com
It's not really possible to write about feminist comics without mentioning Diane DiMassa's Hothead Paisan Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist. It is best described by DiMassa herself: "Reading Hothead comics is guaranteed to give you a fleeting sense of empowerment while you laugh until you realize it's not funny and start crying." (Totally true.) It's very cathartic to vicariously release pent-up feminist rage and anger through Hothead's violent outbursts and rampages. Also, Chicken is my cartoon feline soulmate.

Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical comic, Persepolis, is about growing up female in Iran during the Islamic Revolution (1979). I learned a lot about the history of Iran while reading it. I thought it was beautiful how she portrayed her relationship with her religion and with god, and how she maintained that relationship as her culture became increasingly fundamentalist. Embroideries is another comic by Satrapi in which she is discussing sexuality with her female relatives (mother, grandmother, aunts, etc.). It's funny, cute and insightful.

Trina Robbins
trinarobbins.com
My introduction to the feminist comix world was Trina Robbins' beautiful and interesting book From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women in Comics. In it, she writes about the history of comics that were written for a female audience (as opposed to mainstream superhero comics that were marketed to boys). She discusses romance comics and Archie and all that nonsense (which, while being nonsense in my mind, was nonetheless interesting) but in the last two chapters she talks about feminist comics specifically, from the second wave feminist movement to "riot grrrl" and DIY comics of the 90's. It was through this book that Ms. Robbins informed me of the existence of the comic Love and Rockets, for which I will forever and always love her. Trina Robbins has also written A Century of Women Cartoonists and The Great Women Superheroes (among other nonfiction books), both of which are at my local library and which I intend on checking out sometime in the very near future. In the past she worked on It Ain't Me Babe and Wimmen's Comix, and also created the Go Girl comics.

Invincible Summer by Nicole Georges
nicolejgeorges.com
etsy.com/shop/spinstersummer
Nicole Georges draws the cute comic zine Invincible Summer (two anthologies have been published by Microcosm) and puts out the Invincible Summer Animal Calender every year. She has also toured with Sister Spit (sisterspit.com). Invincible Summer is one of my favorite zines ever!

Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
I don't know how accurately you can apply the feminist label to Ghost World (and I also don't know if it is important to consider that there are several rips on feminists and feminism in the (shitty ass piece of garbage) Ghost World movie) but it is a story about a close female friendship that I personally love and find beautiful and funny.

Locas by Jaime Hernandez
LOCAS IS MY FAVORITE COMIC EVER!!!!!!!!! Seriously! I wonder if I can even write about Locas coherently, it's that good. If you're not into comics, read Locas, and you will officially be INTO comics. I promise. Okay. So, Locas is a part of the Love and Rockets series that Jaime Hernandez does with his brothers (Gilbert's work is worth checking out too but it's not as good as Locas in my opinion) and it is about two punk rock chicks, Maggie and Hopey, whose relationship blurs the lines between best friends and lovers. If you read the comics from start to finish there is a very natural and profound progression in the characters' lives and personalities. It's subtle, like watching your friends grow up - they feel like the same character until you look back on the beginning of the story. The characterization is just incredible! Locas explores themes like sexuality, gender, race, the punk subculture, relationships and friendship. To my knowledge, Jaime Hernandez is not a (self-proclaimed) feminist, but his comics indisputably are.

Fly
flyspage.com
peops.org
Fly makes these cool zines called PEOPs. They are portraits of her friends and aquaintances, various artists, band members, activists, etc. and in the background of the illustration is a transcript of the things the subject was talking about as Fly drew them. A collection of some of her PEOPs drawings was published by Soft Skull Press. She also makes the comic Dog Dayz and Autonomedia published her book CHRON!ICRIOTS!PA!SM! which is "A collection of stories & comics & sketchbook pages about life in a squat in the lower east side of NYC & traveling the world."

Jessica Abel
jessicaabel.com
I haven't yet read any of Jessica Abel's work, but I just checked out her graphic novel La Perdida out of the library and it's looking good. I heard about her comic Artbabe from Trina Robbins' aforementioned book and would like to track it down soon. In her FAQ on her Web site, Jessica writes in response to the question "Are your comics feminist?":
"Short answer: Yes. Long answer: this is a really stupid question. Read them and figure it out. I mean, of course they are! But this question often seems to mean something more specific, i.e., do your comics have a specifically feminist agenda? To which the answer is no. I am a declared feminist, not afraid of the label, but I simply allow my view of the world to inform my writing, not dictate it. My comics are implicitly feminist (because I am), but not explicitly so (because that’s not what I’m interested in writing about). Why aren’t men asked this question?!"
I haven't read through it yet, but she also has this cool DIY section on her site: http://jessicaabel.com/learning_comics/index.php?s=diy

Joyce Farmer
Joyce Farmer was the co-creator of the feminist comics Tits 'N' Clits and Abortion Eve in the 70's and a contributor to Wimmen's Comix. She recently published a graphic novel called Special Exits about taking care of her aging parents that looks very good.

Stephanie McMillan
minimumsecurity.net
stephaniemcmillan.org/codegreen
Stephanie McMillan writes the comic Minimum Security, which is about radical environmentalists and their struggles against industrial capitalism. It's heavy stuff presented in a very cute and often funny way. I love it! She has co-authored a book with Derrick Jensen, As The World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial, and illustrated his children's book, Mischief in the Forest. She also makes the editorial comic Code Green.

Roberta Gregory
robertagregory.com
Roberta Gregory is the creator of Naughty Bits, featuring her character Bitchy Bitch: "a short-tempered, foul-mouthed middle-aged 'everywoman'.” Bitchy Bitch also has a lesbian counterpart, Bitchy Butch. Very funny.

Other comic artists I enjoy that don't really fall under the feminist or woman-made category are Harvey Pekar (American Splendor), John Porcellino (King Cat), Nate Powell, and Joe Sacco.

Who are your favorite comic book artists and graphic novelists?

2011

I'm a little apprehensive about 2011. I'm wondering if it will be as intense as the past two years of my life have been. I have no resolutions this time around, because I know now that the changes will come on their own, in unexpected and unpredictable ways.

I'm planning on taking a break from Syracuse New York and completing an apprenticeship through Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, which should prove to be intense and challenging, but perhaps less turbulent as the dramatic and traumatic personality upheavals I have undergone in the past as a result of interpersonal relationships.

I want to continue to grow as a person, but this year I guess I want to find healthier and more self-loving ways to do it. I don't regret 2009 or 2010; I don't regret the relationships, I don't regret moving out, I don't regret the drug and alcohol experimentation. But, although I feel so much stronger now, I think it's time to be more gentle with myself.

-jen