Film Analysis of Teeth by Mitchell Lichenstein - Essay Sample

All communities have a tale that relates to a horror, and in any film, the writer makes an attempt to bring out something that the viewers can relate with either realistically or mythically. It is in attempting to discover the sense and accuracy behind the myth of vagina dentata that teeth as a film get its place. The film undertakes a deep dive in a rather horrific subject with a comical approach and as the writer correctly puts it is indeed a black comedy. Teeth film deeply explores as brought out by the cross-cultural myth, vagina dentata, the fear of castration by male and feminine sexuality in general. The selection of cast by Mitchell is well thought out as the female protagonist, and Dawn perfectly assumes the role of not only a naive teenage girl but also a young woman full of determination and curious of making a discovery about her sexuality besides seeking for her freedom from the patriarchal society (Lichenstein, 2007). Dr. Godfrey is an actual embodiment of the male chauvinism and the question he as the female patient is all but geared towards establishing whether she is a ready prey for his unprofessional antics. Exploring the opening scene of the film, it is clear that the classroom scene was a perfect stage to explore the myth of vagina dentata since it is at this critical stage of teenage that most young people are faced with the challenge of self-realization and the different emotions are a great source of confusion as well demonstrated by Dawn and her members of the chastity movement who besides the vow, are not able to keep to their promise of remaining chaste until marriage (Lichenstein, 2007).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The fact that all human societies have a conception of the monstrous feminine or a given aspect about a woman that is scary makes Teeth a film that draws a great audience, and the avid presentation of the myth vagina dentata by the writer does not disappoint. By Dawns unique way of discovering herself, it is a more intelligent way of presenting this rather primitive mythology to a modern generation in an acceptable yet comical manner (Lichenstein, 2007).

Particular effort is evident in trying to bring out the male as patriarchal and figures of female oppression in the film. Dawns stepbrother has been portrayed as being insensitive to his ailing mother and is presented as always shouting to his girlfriend an indication of torture to the female, yet he appreciates the importance only for intimacy as he is seen locked in his bedroom with his girlfriend. The fact that Dawn feels the need to get away from home after the death of her mother amplifies the fact that among the remaining kins all of whom are male, none can be relied upon to help her in her efforts of self-discovery or in earning a living. The scenes in this film are reminiscent of what majority of women are going through in the modern world where they must compete for space with their male counterparts who have like in the literal society been given an edge by the writer. This gives the Teeth the downside as it would have been a perfect liberation narrative if the feminine was allowed to stand on her own and emerge victorious at the end of the narrative (Lichenstein, 2007).

Mitchell Lichtenstein's Teeth is a movie that gives sufficient delight to the viewer to the extent that a horror film about vagina dentata and castration can be of great delight. It is accurate to depict the movie as gruesome and exciting in equal measure, though, in my view, the film is more exciting than it is scary. Teeth film has a real horror of the 1980s even though it was made in 2007 and has a setting that is much present (Lichenstein, 2007). The film draws entirely to the horror films of the 1980s because that was the time and decade for the great horror films that addressed issues of socio-politico-sexual themes. A horror comedy is, in reality, a brilliant idea and Mitchells film could not have come at a better time. Women are literally or sometimes metaphorically seen castrating bitches perceived to be from hell and in the 1980s the subgenre of Carol Clover. The Teeth film has in comparison to these other films of the 1980s, a great difference, both because the point of horror is literalized vagina dentata and the focus that the film gives to the ambivalent feelings of the female protagonist who does not have an idea of what she has within her. The fact that the female protagonist does not know what is within her makes her both a subject for laughter and sympathy which is a rare aspect in most horror movies where the protagonist has a clearly defined monster that they are set to wrestle from the beginning. Teeth film is a horror that can be comparable to the Cronenbergs The Brood, but it is way ahead of Cronenbergs film when it comes to presenting ideas in a gentler way as opposed to the harsh and cruel manner (Kearney, 2012). The Teeth though a horror as well as a comedy, is devoid of those extreme scenes that are commonly characterized by severely mutilated bodies as well as paraded corpses which are scary to most viewers. This gives credit to Mitchell who has managed to present a topic which would have otherwise been presented by awry scenes in a much humorous and mature way without downplaying the place of these mythical horrors in the society.

The entire film Teeth revolves around a figure of Dawn acted by Weixler, a woman of high-school-age who is suddenly made anxious by the changes she notices in her body. She is unaware of the cause of the evident changes on her sexuality and the rush of feelings and desires that are speedily overcoming her (Kearney, 2012). At home, she has a rather unpleasant situation where she has to deal with the fact that her mother is dying, and the disturbing presence of a stepbrother who is most of the time locked in his bedroom with his girlfriend or out training his killer Rottweiler. The presence of a power plant next to the family house, spewing noxious fumes, is another problem that she has to contend with it. Her life seems to be surrounded by some challenges, yet she must fight on (Burnham, 2007).

On her first appearance, Dawn is an enthusiastic member of the teenage abstinence group, and she is a leading campaigner of chastity advocating for total abstinence before marriage. It is of particular interest to note that the target group of the abstinence campaign are teenagers of high-school level who are at a critical age where there is frequent temptation to engage in sex just for exploration. Every eye is therefore traded on these teenagers to find out if they can keep their promise of chastity until marriage. Dawn is evidently a vocal campaigner of this cause and a group leader for that matter. Her rallies which are mostly attended by white students are well received and the teenagers who attend voluntary take vow to abstain until marriage. The scene is prudently used by Mitchel not to emphasize abstinence but rather as a reflection of Dawns misperception at her own heaving hormones, and at our societys overall hitches with sexual expressions (Kearney, 2012). This stage brings, no doubt, in the life of any teenager mixed feelings and indecision. Dawn feels some attraction with a boy who coincidentally is also an enthusiastic member of the abstinence movement. The developing relationship between them makes it difficult to keep to the promise of abstaining until marriage. In this scene, there is a glaring theme of societal expectation in conflict with the reality. The expectation of the society as represented by the abstinence movement is for the teenagers and by extension, the youths, to abstain but little effort is made towards helping them understand the hormonal changes that they experience so vastly. Mitchell in his film gives us an opportunity to aptly compare the expectations of our societies against the reality undergone by different social classes represented here by the teenagers (Lichenstein, 2007). The relationship develops a keen interest as every person is curious in knowing how close to the edge, they can actually get without actually having sex. None of the characters has this line of thinking as they are both confused and torn between keeping the vow and overcoming the inward feelings of desire, fear, and absolute confusion. Finally, as it happens in the majority of similar circumstances today, they get too caught up and move beyond the safety line; the boy has gone too far, Dawn weakly resists, not strongly and not convincing enough to stop the boy, andshe loses her virginity. This scene is an anticlimax to advocate for morality, and from the beginning of this narrative, it was our expectation that Dawn, would stand out as a model. The fact that the writer allows her to fail in her course at an early stage leaves the audience with only one line of the story, that is to discover how the female protagonist overcomes her freight and deals with the myth, vagina dentata (Lichenstein, 2007).

The scene shows with great brilliance, the teens mixed emotions when they are caught up at the moment. It is also a perfect expression of how the traditional stereotypical, unequal gender relations come into play- most of the time it is the boy who insists, and then the girl resists to some extent. The gender roles played by these characters are typologies, and their actions are ultimately conforming to the societal normalcy. It is here that Teeth emerge the world of fiction to addressing issues as they are in the modern society (Lichenstein, 2007). From this perspective, the film conveys a feminist sense of how gender coding cannot be a moral or personal stance, but rather a socially subtle and ultimately produced framework within which we unconsciously act. The typical role played by Dawn as a protagonist female character is a clear example that remains relevant today about the position of a teenage girl at the height of confusion and with a strong need to make discovery, especially on their sexuality.

A clear point that is evident in the Teeth is that it views the effects of vagina dentatas action which is castration, from the perspective of Dawn and not the point of view of the actual victims.' The victims of vigina dentata are not given an opportunity to speak about their feeling and discovery but are simply portrayed as casualties and left to receive apathy and judgment from Dawn and the viewer. The film at this angle does not give us the cause of the victims action nor does it give them an opportunity to explain how they receive the effects of their action. After the first incident, Dawn is surprised, and she does not really understand why it has happened. Due to her confusion, she is incapable of controlling her emotions or even distinguishing between her pleasure and a sense of violation. She goes to see a rather crooked male gynecologist who is not of any help to her. The gynecologist does not offer either psychological or even physiological help, and out of his shameless bedside manners, he loses his fingers instead of his genital organ to the vigina dentata (Lichenstein, 2007). The experience Dawn goes through brings her to a mental awakening that by mere fact that one was a member of chastity movement is not sufficient to draw a sense of sexual awakening. After this realization, Dawn willingly has sex with, in her opinion, a much nicer boy who appropriately and intentionally seduce her. This time she has an orgasm, and she gets the feeling of great refreshment (Burnham, 2007). It is pleasing to her that this time, vagina dentata does not manifest itself but the unfolding events amaze her especially on realizing that the boy, who presented himself as reasonable and nice, had made a wager with another of his fellows that he would bed her. The events in this scene, clearly presented, depict an opportunistic societ...