Dogville (2003), a film directed and written by Lars von Trier, features Nicole Kidman as Grace Mulligan and utilizes stark minimalist set design to explore themes of exclusion and belonging.
Belonging and Exclusion: How the Arts Shape Our Place in the World
The Arts Transform Exclusion Into Belonging – How Do We Harness that Power?
Belonging is one of the most fundamental aspects of human behavior. And few forces shape our sense of inclusion (or exclusion) more profoundly than the arts.
Disciplines like sociology, psychology, anthropology, and political science have explored the question of why people join groups and what belonging means.
Belonging is a Fundamental Human Need
Psychologist Abraham Maslow placed belonging right in the middle of his hierarchy of needs, after safety and before esteem.
Evolutionary psychology goes further: our survival as a species depended on our ability to form and maintain group bonds.
Why Do People Join Groups?
Identity Formation
People often join groups to help construct or affirm their identity – religiously, politically, culturally, or socially.
- People categorize themselves and others into groups to understand the social world and boost self-esteem. “I am MAGA,” “I am a Democrat,” or “I am a season ticket holder” becomes part of who they are.
- Group membership provides distinctiveness and meaning in a complex world.
Shared Beliefs and Values
Shared beliefs give people a framework that makes things feel coherent and right.
- Churches and political movements offer a worldview that makes sense of confusion, suffering, or injustice.
- Gang membership can offer a code, especially when mainstream norms have failed.
Safety and Security
Joining can provide both emotional and physical protection.
- People in uncertain or threatening environments (e.g., adolescents in violent neighborhoods) may join gangs not primarily for violence but for protection, solidarity, and status.
- Religious, cultural, professional, or political groups may offer existential security – an antidote to fear, loneliness, or grief.
Social Connection
Humans are deeply social creatures.
- Belonging to a group means not being alone. People join churches or organizations primarily for fellowship, not doctrine or ideology.
- The loss of traditional community structures and the proliferation of virtual realities have made “belonging” a scarcity.
Status and Recognition
Groups can give people roles, titles, and a sense of being respected.
- Even small leadership roles (usher, docent, spokesperson) provide social esteem.
- Gangs and political groups often appeal to disempowered individuals by offering a path to respect or power.
Neuroscience of Belonging
Recent studies show that social rejection activates the same brain areas as physical pain. This biological fact helps explain what drives people to find, hold onto, and belong … even in harmful groups.
If exclusion activates the same brain regions as pain, then what role can creative expression play in healing this wound?
Big Takeaway
People don’t just join groups because they’re convinced of ideas – they join because they are seeking a place to be known, valued, and safe. Belonging is emotional before it is rational.
So…
Emotional rather than rational. Status and recognition. Social connection. Shared beliefs. Social inclusion. Respect. These seem to be ideal channels in which to deploy visual, performing, and literary arts.
The arts have the power to transform exclusion into connection.
How do we ensure that creativity strengthens the very foundations of belonging?
Randall White
Abbetuck
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