Strength of Numbers
There are many different ways to think about the word community. The list of synonyms are endless; society, body, association, fellowship, customs, assembly, kingdom, neighborhood, public, etc. But what is the structure of community? What makes community thrive? Even synonyms of community have a characteristic in common, and it is the structure in which they are founded. They all rely on the interaction of people. People talking, living, working, empathizing, and supporting each other.
This movie reflects the big idea of community and the importance of its structure. When people become part of a group, they are expected to pull their weight and work towards the greater good of the whole group. Individualism, therefore, is not a characteristic of a strong community. This fact is important to discuss with students who are often pressured in their individual academic achievement. When collaboration is labeled as cheating, and standardized testing stresses competition, how can students learn to effectively work together? Through this movie I would hope to raise awareness to the meaning of community and share the truth about their roles as a group.
I chose to film a game of Jenga because the set-up of the blocks reflected the structure of community. Together, the blocks are stacked in alternating directions and it creates a whole, sturdy tower. As blocks are removed, however, the tower acquires holes and loses its sense of solidity. Eventually the loss of blocks becomes too much and the tower can no longer support itself. As a result, it falls. The remaining blocks are thrown to the floor and there is no sense of structure or connection.
Metaphorically, each block represents an individual within a group and the tower itself reflects the community. In order for the community to stand, it needs the support of all the individuals. If people lose sight of the common goal, or fail to support others, they leave gaps in the network of relationships. Enough gaps will cause the community to weaken or fall. Therefore it is important that individuals reinforce the structure of their surroundings and continually support the values and people around them.
While the blocks are being removed, I am reading a poem entitled “In Community” by Sailing to Windward. The poem was chosen because it connects the Jenga blocks to the idea of community and its structure. Lines in the poem stress the importance and benefits of maintaining interactions with others as opposed to individualism. The final lines are read after the film has been reversed to portray the idea of community being used as a healing process. Even after difficult times have passed and left relationships broken, there is always the possibility of coming back together.
