"I forgot to turn the rewind button towards the red line [and] "chewed"
the first part of the film... [Have] I damaged the delicate mechanisms
within the camera[?]"
Basically, you ripped the film perforations across the toothed wheels
that guide the film. Even a plastic camera is a lot less "delicate" than
the film. It's unlikely you damaged anything more than the film and your
self-esteem.
I've made the same mistake, but caught the error before I ripped the
film. If there's any lessson to be learned, it's "never force anything."
"I have an OM-2S and a T-20 flash. With no compensation, my indoor
pictures in dark places (restaurant/bars) make people's faces wash out,
or leave them with very little contrast at all."
Let's assume you're shooting print film (not slides). The automatic
printer looks at the big dark area _behind_ the subjects, assumes the
negative is underexposed, and holds back the print exposure. Hence the
light faces. Ask your photofinisher to reprint these shots.
(Although Kodak introduced their AutoClass printers 20 years ago, and
other companies have similar "evaluative" metering, it is still
incredible that we continue to get underexposed prints from such
negatives. A dark background is one of the easiest sorts of "subject
failure" to detect, but even modern printers keep goofing up on this.)
Another solution is to follow the advice that has appeared in the
instruction manual of every auto-exposure Polaroid camera ever produced:
"Place the subject near a light background."
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