Bradley O'Keefe's display of Sexual Trauma throughout TEETH
TW: S/A and normal Teeth stuff
Additional Note: If you plan on reading the following, it'd be appreciated if read w/ an open mind. ^_^ I am not trying to blame Dawn for that happened as the whole idea of COCSA is that it's not any of their faults. But I still think it's IMPORTANT to talk about this since this is literally one defining trait of his character.
Brad as a child was COCSAED (Child-On-Child sexually assaulted). The event happened when him and Dawn were playing in a kiddie pool--in which, the aftermath ended with him crying as his dad comforted Dawn and yelled at him despite his injury.
It really isn't talked about much, but I do think it's pretty good to acknowledge it to see why exactly did he turn out the way he is. - The biggest thing is obvious, he feels pain when Dawn even slightly so gets close to him. He's frightened of what happened when they were little, he's scared when the pain hit him again after he tried his best to "suppress" it to make it numb. Not go away, not disappear- but numb. - Brad canonically stinks. Dawn even pointed that out by saying Becky was right, but why? The shorter answer would be depression, it's pretty clear that he would have it especially with his lifestyle (isolated, frequent panic attacks/breakdowns, abused, the norm). This could be a reason, but the other reason is how his assault happened within water. The root of everything that happened to him happened in water, not the mention the vulnerability aspects within showering. I'm not sure if Brad even likes to be exposed; he wears a long sleeved shirt that layers with a long sleeved jacket-alongside long pants. He's always covered up, it was only when HERO came in that he decided to show his legs and arms. - The idea that he was abused for it by his father ("When you tried to eat the fruit between Dawn's legs all those years ago, do you remember that?) (and something about "What I've been trying to teach you since that"). Leaning onto the New World Stages version-where the Truthseekers tried to explain it to Godfather, he set it off as one of his lessons that women can send a man so much into insanity that he'd harm himself. Using everything BUT the idea that he was (COC)SAED. I think this is commentary on how male victims are usually silenced despite them literally pouring everything out, a traditional mindset from a traditional church. - For me, the biggest sign was before the Truthseekers peer-pressured him SPECIFICALLY IN THE PLAYWRIGHTS VERSION (I am forever upset they removed this in NWS). They were discussing sexuality, but he couldn't even think about it without physically breaking down in tears because it just pained him that much. When he tried to open up about it to his Truthseekers- they simply joked about it which in return got him uncomfortable. Though it's the line- "I think It's a side-effect of what Dawn did to me." that specifically highlights what he truly felt about the situation. - His super broken voice saying "But that's not what happened! She's the one who started it!" when he got accused of trying to touch his sister. - Call me delusional, but I see HERO's possession of him to be some sort of resembling S/A again. He was forced into HERO's misogynistic mindset by the voices in his head, HERO describes the possession as Him killing Brad. Direct, straight to the point that He got rid of him. He was groomed into this mindset that killed him, the Godfather groomed him into this mindset which in turn caused delusions and him being possessed by a being like HERO. Okay I KNOWWW this is supposed to be for Brad but let's talk Dawn being possessed. One of the major reasons why I like Playwright better is because it displays that Dawn finally found her ministry even if it's in a fucked up way. She found a way to be the one in control after everything, to embrace the body she was so ashamed of. But then, like I said - possession in a musical where S/A is arguably one of the biggest themes can be interpreted in that manner. The way Dentata spoke about her body, it just felt so ODD BECAUSE DAWN DESERVED HER HAPPY ENDING. And that's the sickening truth for some stories, and I loved how they explored into that. But Godfather I think Dawn deserves her own happy ending even if she gets tad bit evil. I still am inlove with Dentata tho idcidc
