Von Trier describes Antichrist, which he shot while in the midst of battling a severe bout of depression, in strange terms: it is a horror film, but not "a real horror film." He says it is about "the maximum of dying and living," the creations of God and the church of Satan. It is about a couple, grieving over the death of their son, who retreat into the wilderness in attempts to work through their loss. In a role that won her best actress at Cannes, Charlotte Gainsbourg plays a guilt-stricken mother, who blames herself for the accidental death of her child. Her husband, portrayed by Willem Dafoe, is a cognitive therapist who hopes that the woods will provide her with a safe space in which to heal. Instead, the forest becomes a horrible surreal landscape of "grisly death and feverish reproduction," complete with a self-cannibalizing, talking fox. The New York Times' Dave Kehr writes:

Seeing herself as another "bad mother," Ms. Gainsbourg's nameless character identifies with this nature, red in tooth and claw, and descends from depression to insanity. "Nature is Satan's church," she proclaims, before moving on to acts of worship that will have some viewers looking away from the screen (if not fleeing the theater).

We can only guess that the "acts of worship" are the same ones detailed in this article (spoiler). For those of you who don't want to be sickened by the New York Magazine description, here is the short version: Gainsbourg uses a hand drill on Dafoe's leg, mutilates his genitals, and jerks him off. She later does a similar number on her own parts in "an extreme closeup" that seems guaranteed to make every woman in the theater involuntarily cross their legs and/or vomit.

As for the charges of misogyny, von Trier brushes them off, saying that they arise from his "kind of romantic thing [he] had with Strindberg," a Scandinavian playwright famous for his troubled relationships with women. However, von Triers comments about Strindberg illustrate pretty clearly that he doesn't have a firm grasp on what constitutes misogynistic behavior:

"I do not hate women myself," Mr. von Trier said, "and I doubt that he did. Strindberg spent all his life fighting with his wives and pushing them down stairs and whatever he did, but in a strange way he was just a little ridiculous. Which you can say that this film might be also.

"But my problem is of course also that I'm the son of my mother, who was the feminist movement chairman of Denmark at a certain point. So I think that I made many of my films just to provoke her, even though she's dead."

After reading the synopsis of the film, I find von Trier's comments more disturbing than any cinematic gore. Dismissing domestic violence as a "little ridiculous" says a lot of von Trier's attitude toward the female sex. But Gainsbourg defends the director against these charges, claiming that he identifies with the evil he instill in his female characters. "He puts women on a pedestal and then pushes them off... I can see fear of women, but there's no hatred," she said. Famous last words.

Away From It All, In Satan's Church [New York Times]
So What Happens To Willem Dafoe's Genitals In Lars Von Trier's Antichrist, Anyway? [NY Mag]

• Men become less fertile after the age of 24 and a risk of bipolar disorder is increased in children who are fathered by a man age 55 or older. • A North Korean woman is on trial for allegedly sleeping with South Korean military officials in exchange for classified military information. • A sociologist from Canada says that single fathers should not be prevented from seeing their children, even in cases of incest or abuse, because normal contact will help the fathers cope. • A circuit court judge in Florida has ruled that the state's 31-year-old ban on openly gay men and women adopting children is unconstitutional. • Should we encourage senior citizens that are regulated to nursery homes to have sex with each other? Oh, why not. • Hurt in the line of duty! A Florida sheriff's deputy suffered a serious injury after a storm drain grate fell on his arm after he was done rescuing a kitten who was caught in the drain. • Round things that appear next to each other will be chronicled in a these-things-look-like-boobs book (aptly) called One-Track Mind. • A 16-year-old girl in India killed herself after she became consumed with fear that small-scale "Big Bang" experiments in Europe would cause the end of the world. • A man from Santa Clara, California has been authorized to drive around with a vanity plate reading "HIV POZ," showing other motorists that he shouldn't feel ashamed (or keep secret) his HIV status. • An Australian woman was fined yesterday after she sent letters to a convicted sex offender's neighbors telling them that he is a child molester. • The Royal College of Midwives in England is claiming that "freebirths," or births without any medical assistance, are on the rise in America. • Graeme Reeves, the Australian OB-GYN who assaulted and inflicted genital mutilation on his patients, has been arrested and charged with 17 offenses against 10 women, with more coming in. •

Filipino teachers are becoming more popular hires as school officials in Prince George County, MD see a shortage in staff. • Presented without comment: "A herpes virus is killing young oysters in France because they have spent too much energy developing their sexual organs rather than their natural defenses, an oyster crisis team has found." • Bacterial vaginosis, a common vaginal infection, can make women more likely to contract HIV, perhaps due to chemical changes in the vaginal canal. • Incarcerated women in Afghanistan find that keeping their children with them in prison, despite the health risks, is safer for the children than giving them to an orphanage. • Pregnant Australians are having a difficult time finding a job since many prospective employers view pregnancy a hinderance on their business. • Miss USA (you know, the one who fell this year) admits to having plastic surgery done to her but only advocates it to "enhance what you have." • Elissa Steamer won the gold medal for women's skateboarding at the 2008 X Games and is quickly becoming one of the top female street skaters around. • Tinkerbell will be given a starring role in a new DVD film from Disney as they begin to create a Fairies franchise similar to their Princess franchise.

• A journal for plastic surgery says that 98% of women who have breast reconstruction after an elective mastectomy are satisfied with their surgery. • Children conceived with a sperm donor should be told at age four about their origins to lighten anger and shock at their parents. • A Romanian court ordered that a surgeon pay a 33-year-old patient whose penis he had accidently severed during an operation $795,000. Yeah, that is a big "uh oh." • More Penii!: A Portuguese couple continue a tradition of manufacturing 2-foot penis-shaped ceramic bottles that is said to have dated back to the 19th century. • A baby's smile can create a "natural high" in the brains of mommies. • A South African woman with a "soft heart for animals and a tart tongue for most everyone else" runs an animal shelter in Abu Dhabi. • The General Synod, the governing body of the Church of England, is set to debate over the issue of appointing female bishops, sparking a debate between traditionalists and progressive members of the Church. • Swiss researchers suggest that same-sex transplants should be performed after they found an 8% chance of rejection when a male kidney was given to a woman. • The Monday after a three-day weekend always sucks, so here is a cute video of a bunny opening up an envelope with his own paper-nomming!

Oh yeah AUSTRALIA. Yeah, I don't get it. I don't get this either. Violent misogynists all over seem to be slipping by unnoticed! I think I am going to go back to sleep now and have some really nice dreams.

"I'm going to take your clitoris too."

Well, uh, no. Graeme Reeves does not appear to be in jail. And although he is clearly a sick sick sick sick sick sicko, hundreds of colleagues managed not to see or notice anything about this behavior or reputation or files or employment history that warranted a second look. What is that about? The "patriarchy" as one blogger ventured? Or a collective case of "I must have imagined that"? Can you even regain composure long enough to ask?

Look Away Now, For The Love Of God [The F Word]
Medical Rape Culture and collegiality [Hoyden About Town]
Who Watches The Doctors? [NineMSN]
Dr. Graeme Reeves [Australian Parliament Website]

That sentence comprises the first 45 of over a thousand words devoted to female circumcision in Sunday's NY Times. (Sorry guys, this is the last of our Blue Monday-type stories for today.) According to Lukman Hakim, a (male) chairman of an Indonesian foundation that sponsors mass circumcisions, the benefits include the "stabilization" of a female's libido and balancing "her psychology".

The article, written by Sara Corbett, also features a series of upsetting photographs by Stephanie Sinclair (a slideshow, including the newly-circumcised, teary 9-month old girl pictured above, can be found here). Asks Jezebel reader Elizabeth: "What kind of person can stand there and photograph little girls screaming while parts of their genitalia are removed? This isn't a question of religion, or yearning to understand another culture more  it's recording barbarity with an objective lens, which somehow makes it okay."

A Cutting Tradition [NY Times]
Inside A Female Circumcision Ceremony [NY Times]

Girls born with an enlarged and unslightly clitoris usually prefer to have it removed, for the sake of feminine appearance.

Uh, what the fuck??? We're aware that the 1960s weren't exactly known for tolerating freedom of expression or celebrating differences among, you know, blacks, gays, or women, but genital mutilation in the name of 'beauty'? We thought that was more 21st century!!!

The Female Penis (Jan. 1964) [ModernMechanix]
Earlier: For 2 Grand This Man Will Plump The Inside Of Your Pussy
Pimp My Vadge
Chlorine For Your Cooch

Patients who sought genitoplasty "uniformly" wanted their vulvas to be flat and with no protrusion, similar to the prepubescent look of girls in Western fashion ads, they found.

The fashion industry can be blamed for many crimes against women, but plastic vaginas? We don't think so. Unless, of course, designer Tom Ford has some sort of collaboration with Mattel in the works.

Top Medical Journal Blasts "Designer Vagina" Craze [Breitbart]
Designer Vagina Surgery Growing Because Of Porn [Bloomberg]
Earlier: Pimp My Vadge
Related: Prank Call To Barbie, Part 2 [Zug]