On Community, On Choice
Each of us craves some sense of belonging, given the multifarious world we navigate day after day. The discovery of a community of like-minded people can play a welcome role in feeling confident in one’s own voice. Not only does this combat loneliness, but it creates a sense of camaraderie and alliance, and offers resources and support, as well as a mostly agreeable arena in which to discuss shared values.
But what happens when someone doesn’t fit in, and they’re indirectly left out or even directly ostracized or oppressed? A community can mutate into something scary – a swarm pointed against the few, which exacerbates isolation and fear, and intensifies a hunger for belonging.
Teeth is an irreverent, darkly funny, and tonally heightened new musical that follows Dawn, a bright and passionate teenager in a fictional town called Eden that is morally shepherded by her stepfather – who happens to be the church’s strict pastor, preaching premarital abstinence and threatening harsh consequences to those who disobey. So, the high schoolers in New Testament Village – the church in Eden – cling to extreme views as they do their best to avoid punishment. Dawn leads her female friends in a church group (Promise Keeper Girls) devoted to suppressing any sexual urge that might disrupt their purity, while her stepbrother Brad is lured into a misogynistic internet platform (Truthseeker) populated by similarly alienated guys. Everyone’s best bet is to dig their heels in and police themselves and others according to the rules and regulations, or in reaction to them.
Belonging to one of these two opposing camps – drawn along the lines of the traditional gender binary – provides a safe haven from the secret swirl of desire and shame that affects everyone in New Testament Village. And so the teenagers find some sort of safety in numbers by subscribing to either side of the binary. But no one is able to make their own choices and chart their own path. Because while a successful PKG lifestyle of sexual purity is free of societal consequences, what about bodily autonomy? A perfectly obedient PKG may not be punished, but her basic freedoms are restricted. What about personal preference and individual taste? Where does the repression end?
Teeth raises questions around the survivability of authentic self-expression within a culture where the idea of community bends towards unyielding morality and herd behavior. Sure, “safety in numbers” generally makes sense: alone, we are outnumbered; together, we are protected. But if “safety in numbers” is the only safety, the flip side to that coin is that there is danger in standing alone.
If the PKGs, the Truthseekers, and their religious leaders could come together to name what is holding them all down – an overriding fear of sexuality (albeit in different forms), delivered and perpetuated by Eden’s dominating power structures – could that fear turn into courage and free thought? Could they follow their own unique impulses, knowing that a mistake along the way wouldn’t destroy them? Instead of being driven by shame, could each independent thinker be empowered to consider an idea on their own terms, and decide for themself what to do next?
Community can provide a sense of belonging… or it can turn into a monster of itself, because of pressure and control by the power structures that are in place. When groupthink metastasizes, the lack of space for dissent is damaging, and foments wild rage. Personally, I feel great satisfaction and even take delight in the revenge fantasy portion of Teeth, when female power finally goes on a rampage against patriarchy. But ultimately, if female power simply emulates male power, has anything meaningfully changed? Or is it just a role reversal?
Anna and Michael make us wonder if our divisive political landscape, the terrifying fast evolution of the internet and social media, and perhaps even our current arts culture may sometimes value a toxic kind of community – one that can come at the cost of independent thinking and individual choice. That kind of community can morph into mob mentality, which doesn’t leave room for muddiness, or for the stuff that we’re simply still working through on our own terms.
