Everything we learn in life comes from the way we are brought into the world, and how our parents teach us. From the accents we develop, to the language we use, to our emotional responses and our social behaviour towards others. It’s something that is inherently built into us from the moment we are birthed by our mothers into this world – something out of our control and inescapable. This upbringing into the world determines the person we will become once we reach adulthood, and how we will begin to look at the world and become a part of society. Which is why being a parent is one of the most powerful and dominating positions to be in.
In 2009, director Yorgos Lanthimos laboured his incestuous child into the world and called it Dogtooth. The strange and uncomfortable drama film was Lanthimos’ second feature film, and won the Prix Un Certain Regard in the same year at the Cannes Film Festival. Such an enticing piece of cinema that presents the audience with somewhat of a dark, surrealist and distressing family landscape. That portrays the importance of exposure to the outside world as a child, and how parents have a responsibility to ensure their children are brought up through the societal norms of parenthood.
Dogtooth centres around two daughters, a son and their parents, who keep them captivated within their isolated home which is completely cut off from the outside world. The mother and father have raised their children to believe that the outside world does not exist. And that they cannot leave the safe compound of their family dwelling units they lose their dogtooth.
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The parents have taught the children their own language which simply is a confusion of words attaining to objects. They make them believe they can only leave the house safely by car, and even then they must be blindfolded. And other strange teachings that have led the three children to behave extremely strangely.
This inclusive world built by the parents begins to break down when the eldest daughter grows tiresome of her siblings. And starts to become curious about what really lies behind the brick walls built up around them. As she matures and her sexuality becomes known to her, she realises that she does not reside in the perfect paradise, but some form of prison in which her parents have built for her to keep her oppressed from reality.
From the offset of Dogtooth, it’s clear to see that both of the parents, the father in particular, have complete dominance over their children’s lives, and feel they are within their right to control them how they see fit. This doesn’t mean that they do not care for their children, quite the opposite. It is some form of protection they have built to keep these perfect specimens of themselves contained against the dangers and perversions of the world.
In many ways this behaviour seems typical of all parents – they create these small humans filled with their DNA that will be the only living trace of their existence. And therefore have an instinctual behaviour to ensure that those part clones behave exactly as they would want them to.
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Ultimately our parents are responsible for everything we do until we become adults. And it is in the teenage years that most behavioural problems occur. Father and Mother take this protective stance throughout Lanthimos’ film, acting as if they are the protectors of their children and doing everything to make sure they are safe. But this overprotective nature becomes obsessive, controlling and hostile once the children, in particular, the eldest daughter, are exposed to a slither of the outside world and realise their parents may have a perturbed sense of best intentions.
When Father doesn’t have the family on all fours practicing their barks to warn off potential threats from the outside world – including cats as they have been taught they are one of the enemies – he lives a normal life outside of the compound he’s built for his children. His lies grow with intensity at every second, causing the eldest daughter to become more and more frustrated with an ever growing feeling that something isn’t quite right. Even though she has no true perception of the elements that could be causing this. Exposure to the potential of more than their controlled world becomes apparent when Christina, Father’s colleague whom he hires to have sex with his son to guarantee his male sexual urges are met, encourages the eldest daughter to perform cunninglingus on her in exchange for a headband.
From the culminating moment, the eldest daughter is aware of her frustrations; sexual, hormonal, behavioural, societal and most importantly, internal. Regardless of the lies her Father constantly presents to her, the eldest daughter has this inherited instinct that there is more to the world than she knows, and her desire for this grows ever more every day.
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When we become teenagers, we instinctively have this want to rebel against the groundwork our parents have laid out for us – even those with a perfect family, freedom and strong relationships develop this lust for anarchy. We grow tiresome of playing with our siblings, listening to the demands of our parents and doing what we’re supposed to do. The urge to hit a metaphorical big red button and cause chaos and destruction is almost inevitable as young adolescents, because we’re so close to independence and adulthood, but also so far away from it.
Eldest daughter begins to exhibit frustrated behaviour. She grows more violent with her brother during their endurance games and play fighting. She manipulates her sister into licking her for pleasure in exchange for goods. And uses Christina to inch closer to understanding the outside world.
Eldest daughter absorbs anything that represents the outside world and a sense of normality. She acquires some videotapes from Christina which open her eyes to a different use of language. An alien way of behaving and a glimmer of a life that she could only live if she escapes the confines of her controlling parents. Eldest daughter represents the desire for more in all of us, the knowledge that even though we are tied to our parents and they birthed us into the world, we must one day escape their clutches and become responsible for ourselves – to make our own decisions.
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These movie tapes provide eldest daughter with a glimmer of hope. The light at the end of the tunnel that there is so much more left to be discovered and she can become who she wants to be if she takes drastic actions. It is here we see how violent and oppressive Father is when it comes to outside influence. First he beats eldest daughter with the tape, and then he attacks Christina in her own home, exclaiming that he hopes her future children will be corrupted by bad influences.
Father’s words here remind the audience that although depraved and monstrous the way he treats his family, he believes he is keeping them pure and innocent from the horrors that the world has to offer. A sentiment that every parent can understand. But what he believes to be nurturing behaviour becomes a hindrance to the eldest daughter and forces her to become unruly and continuously seek a way out of the dystopian Hell he has forced upon her.
With Christina gone, Father must provide his son with an alternative solution to his sexual needs. Therefore offers the son to choose from both daughters which he would like to have sex with. With his eyes closed, he chooses the eldest daughter, much to her disdain. This disturbing incestuous act becomes the pinnacle for the eldest daughter. As even though they do not fully understand the concept of incest and how wrong it is, after having sex with her brother, eldest daughter naturally feels that something about the act was not pleasurable or right.
Even though eldest daughter may act differently and strangely compared to what we are typically used to, we empathise with her plight to be who she wants to be and act how she wants to be without facing punishment for her actions. Throughout the film it’s easy to toy with the concept that both Father and Mother are doing what they truly believe is the best for their children and protect them from harms way. But with forced incest, it becomes clear that they do not really have the interests of their children at mind, otherwise they would realise what they are doing is exceptionally damaging and could ruin their childrens’ lives forever.
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Dogtooth presents the audience with the ultimate dysfunctional family, and exacerbates every inch of frustration that we feel towards our parents and their decisions when growing up. Until we become of age – in this instance it is when the child loses their dogtooth – our entire existence is dictated by our parents and how they believe we should be living our lives. They project upon us their lost hopes and dreams, forcing us to do extracurricular activities we don’t want to, attend events that we don’t want to and generally do things that we don’t want to.
Even though every child loves their parent(s), we reach an adolescent stage where we become disillusioned with the lies they have told us over the years, the control they have put on our lives and their need to constantly protect us from the dangers of the world. Instinctually we have the genetic lust to break away from the bonds of our parents and find our own paths on this dangerous road. Becoming responsible for any corruption that could occur.
Dogtooth is a hyperbole of our teenage years; with our parents loving us so much they want to do everything to keep us safe and protected and the perfect specimens they think we should be. But ultimately if they do not allow us to flourish into the people we want to be, causing more damage than they realise. Coming from a dysfunctional family, it’s easy to resonate with the frustrations, fears and aspirations of the eldest daughter – that often disturbing need within us to completely abandon the people that brought us into the world just to become a free entity with no-one to answer to.
Even though it is a dark and disturbing film in the ways it presents family relationships, Dogtooth has a poignant message about the often powerful, controlling relationships we have with our family. And our understanding that even with the best intentions and worst results, our parents only ever do what they think is best for us.
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