- Joined
- Nov 27, 2001
- Messages
- 59
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How Hollywood/TV/the media portrays us:
Ever see The Dentist, The Dentist II, Little Shop of Horrors, Whole Nine Yards, Novocaine, Seinfeld, Three's Company, Friends etc. etc. Here is a collection of the characteristics of a movie/tv dentist: He's a middle-aged white male, a sadist, a fat balding sleazebag, a leech on society who makes too much money, is either divorced,cheating on his wife or is committing some sort of sexual indiscretion. In more forgiving portrayals he's avoiding the office to play golf or is an unassuming, ineffective but lovable klutz and/or a goofball who makes lame jokes.
I was watching a news magazine report and they did a piece on false advertising in breast enhancement cream/pill commercials. One of the ads used a 'doctor' to endorse the product. The reporter asked him about his degree...turns out he's a DMD. The reporter then looks at the camera and oh so sarcastically says, "Medical expert? A dentist?"
Charles Grodin did a piece on 60 minutes about new technologies at dental conventions. Every time he talked to a dentist, he seemed to be seething with condenscension. Maybe Grodin is this way all the time...but that doesn't help matters.
The Onion had an article (quite hilarious by the way) about prostitutes getting ready for the annual dental convention in Las Vegas. A prostitute was quoted as calling it the "biggest money-maker of the year"
And on and on and on....
Why and when did this happen? Can anyone recall any positive images of dentists in entertainment? My avatar- Hermey the elf who wanted to grow up to be a dentist is the only 'kind of' positive image I remember. But even so, he was considered such an oddball by the other elves.
I think most people can keep reality separate from TV but still...you know what they say..there's some truth to every stereotype I think part of the reason is that what we do is a little odd to the rest of society. We look in mouths all day for pete's sake!! But how we became so amoral and replusive is a mystery to me. It's both a little funny and a little sad.
Ever see The Dentist, The Dentist II, Little Shop of Horrors, Whole Nine Yards, Novocaine, Seinfeld, Three's Company, Friends etc. etc. Here is a collection of the characteristics of a movie/tv dentist: He's a middle-aged white male, a sadist, a fat balding sleazebag, a leech on society who makes too much money, is either divorced,cheating on his wife or is committing some sort of sexual indiscretion. In more forgiving portrayals he's avoiding the office to play golf or is an unassuming, ineffective but lovable klutz and/or a goofball who makes lame jokes.
I was watching a news magazine report and they did a piece on false advertising in breast enhancement cream/pill commercials. One of the ads used a 'doctor' to endorse the product. The reporter asked him about his degree...turns out he's a DMD. The reporter then looks at the camera and oh so sarcastically says, "Medical expert? A dentist?"
Charles Grodin did a piece on 60 minutes about new technologies at dental conventions. Every time he talked to a dentist, he seemed to be seething with condenscension. Maybe Grodin is this way all the time...but that doesn't help matters.
The Onion had an article (quite hilarious by the way) about prostitutes getting ready for the annual dental convention in Las Vegas. A prostitute was quoted as calling it the "biggest money-maker of the year"
And on and on and on....
Why and when did this happen? Can anyone recall any positive images of dentists in entertainment? My avatar- Hermey the elf who wanted to grow up to be a dentist is the only 'kind of' positive image I remember. But even so, he was considered such an oddball by the other elves.
I think most people can keep reality separate from TV but still...you know what they say..there's some truth to every stereotype I think part of the reason is that what we do is a little odd to the rest of society. We look in mouths all day for pete's sake!! But how we became so amoral and replusive is a mystery to me. It's both a little funny and a little sad.