At least while you're isolated, you can access the truth. Oh, wait...
It turns out that human beings can be extremely gullible. Under the right conditions, almost anyone can be susceptible to cult influence. I find cults fascinating, so before we get into the streaming recommendations, let's talk about cult recruitment methods, and their disturbing similarities to our current administration's actions...
Research shows that the people who are most susceptible to cult recruitment are:
stressed
emotionally vulnerable
have few or tenuous social connections
or are living in adverse socioeconomic conditions
(Sound familiar?)
Once you have a pool of potential followers, what's next for an aspiring cult leader?
Step One: Pick a Target
Cults want relatively stable people who will contribute money and work towards established goals, so they tend to target relatively healthy people who are experiencing a great deal of stress.
The New York Times had a fantastic article titled "The Psychology of the Cult Experience," in which several specialists break down the recruitment and retention processes. Dr. John G. Clark Jr., an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Harvard University Medical School, explained that during the early stages, ''the mark is placed in a panicky, disoriented state, and an emotional crisis is manufactured by the recruiters.'' (Hello, Facebook feed...)
Step Two: Flood with Affection, Validation, Flattery
Dr. Clark refers to this next stage as "cult-conversion syndrome," a time when the recruiter acts like the target's best friend, while their brain loses the ability to function properly. He states: "The unending personalized attention given to recruits... works to overload the prospect's information processing capacity."
This reminds me of how Trump uses his Twitter account to speak to his supporters rather than traditional methods. Through social media, the president is able to address his followers directly as individuals, with unfiltered, spontaneous, emotional outbursts that feel directly person-to-person. The underlying emotion in his tweets translates to familiarity with his audience, as opposed to a rational, calculated press briefing that would seem distant.
Affection:
(To be fair, most of the affection he shows on Twitter seems to be directed to right wing journalists, writers, and politicians, or are retweeted from the White House twitter account.)
Validation:
Flattery:
Step Three: Isolation from Friends, Family, and Information
(Check. Check... And Check.)
In the same Times article, Dr. Stanley Cath, a psychoanalyst and associate professor of psychiatry at Tufts University stated that cult recruiters often, ''set up a we-they philosophy: We have the truth and you do not.'' There are plenty of examples of this practice on Trump's twitter feed, but I don't want any more on this page, since the repetition of his words only give them more power.
Communications expert Dr. Gail Fairhurst describes this process as one example of "framing," and Trump seems to be very good at it. He is, after all, a salesman. Dr. Fairhurst asserts that framing is one of the most powerful ways to sway perspective, through the very precise and strategic use of language. Another example is Trump's constant reinterpretation of criticism as "fake news," which diverts attention from the facts to his feelings about the matter.
Trump is fully aware of this; in his 1987 book The Art of the Deal, he describes the process of using hyperbole to suggest a "truth." Other examples of framing include diversion, deflection, repetition, strategic phrasing such as "witch hunt", and the use of CAPITAL LETTERS and EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!
Then there's the presidential advice which is in direct opposition to that of scientific experts...
But I'm just supposed to take hydroxychloroquine, drink some bleach, and expose myself to the sun until I turn orange... and everything will be fine, right?
Step Four: Maintain Control by Oscillating Between Terror & Love
Announce the dismissal of the coronavirus task force.
24 hours later, say it will operate indefinitely.
Regularly blame a new enemy like China, the W.H.O., or the Democrats.
Assert daily that everything is "terrific," "beautiful," and "wonderful."
Dr. Clark states that a typical conversion involves a vulnerable person who is enticed by some reward: companionship, peace of mind, or a place to stay... They are seeking comfort.
''Cult recruiters frequent bus stations, airports, campuses, libraries, rallies, anywhere that unattached persons are likely to be passing through... Then they narrow the attention of the recruit, in controlled social situations,'' Dr. Clark said. ''He or she is invited to attend a special function, or series of classes... Eventually they keep the mark involved in group-ecstatic activities... to maintain the mind in a constantly debilitated state.''
This month, the president visited two medical supply facilities in Arizona and Pennsylvania and a Ford ventilator factory in Michigan on Thursday in place of traditional campaign activities. But in the next five days, there are five virtual rallies listed on the Trump/Pence website (which has been true every day I checked over the past week...)
According to Politico, the president's 2020 team is eager to restart mega-rallies and is keeping a close eye on regional re-openings, despite the fact that many reopened states have not met federal guidelines for doing so. They want to get those "group-ecstatic activities" roaring in time for the election.
Ok...
With all that off my chest, let's look at some awesome streaming entertainment inspired by three honest-to-goodness American cults that existed in my lifetime.
#1 Wild Wild Country, 2018
Miniseries, 6 Episodes
Directors Chapman & Maclain Way
Starring: Ma Anand Sheela, Osho & Philip Toelkes
Wild Wild Country is a fascinating miniseries that explores the bizarre twists and turns of a pivotal moment for the separation of church and state in America. In the 1980s, a spiritual group called the Rajneesh movement fell into deep disfavor in India. Seeking a home free from religious discrimination, the group purchased 60,000 acres in the Oregon backcountry to create their version of paradise.
What follows is almost too strange to be true, and even stranger that it seems to have fallen out of the collective memory of our country. Through a combination of interviews and archival footage, we hear from two camps: the blissed out hippies and the god-fearing folks of Antelope, the adjacent, sleepy little town with a population of 40.
Over six binge-worthy episodes, the plot thickens with instances of biological warfare, automated weapons, megalomania, and raucous orgies. Some of the most fascinating moments are interviews with Ma Anand Sheela, currently living in Switzerland after serving 20 years in a federal prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder. Despite also being accused of the largest cases of immigration fraud and wire-tapping in the United States, I found myself drawn to her eloquence, perseverance, and efficiency.
Wild Wild Country will challenge you to decide where your heart lies on issues of xenophobia, imperialism, religious freedom, gentrification, and nationalism, while simultaneously serving up a warning about the power of charisma and blind belief.
Wild Wild Country is available to stream on Netflix
Of course... such events inspire parody...
#2 Documentary Now!, 2019
Season 3, Ep. 1 & 2 "Batshit Valley"
Director Alexander Buono
Starring Owen Wilson & Michael Keaton
"Batshit Valley," written by Seth Meyers and Alex Buono, is the triumphant opener of Documentary Now!'s third season, once again hosted by Helen Mirren. Michael Keaton stars as FBI agent Bill Doss, who fabricates a cult in order to study their methodology. He assigns a recently busted heath food/cocaine dealer the role as their leader, Father Ra-Shawbard (Wilson), and uses the Pittsburg Steelers as design inspiration.
The spoof manages to both celebrate and poke fun at it's source material, and is just another example of this show's excellent mockumentary work and dedicated team.
Documentary Now! is available to stream on Netflix, YouTubeTV, Fubo, and Filo
#3 Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, 2015
Directed by Alex Gibney
Starring Paul Haggis, Jason Beghe, Spanky Taylor
If you want to explore the dark and creepy side of cult mentality, check out HBO's spell-binding documentary: Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.
But should I even write this review? According to IMDB, "Many film critics who reviewed the documentary quickly received emails from the Church of Scientology asking for 'their side of the story' to be included in reviews of the film and warning them 'not to be the mouthpiece for Alex Gibney's propaganda.'"
As you'll learn in the documentary, the Church of Scientology is extraordinarily litigious... HBO's president of documentaries Sheila Nevins stated that the network had somewhere near 160 lawyers working with them to avoid litigation. Even quotes from the film are difficult to find online, as any unlicensed publication of the work has been removed from Google, due to anonymous complaints under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The film also explores the Church's belief system, rooted in the science fiction works of it's founder L. Ron Hubbard. Scientologists believe that human beings are vessels for unwanted, extraterrestrial, spiritual beings who must be expelled through vigorous "auditing sessions".
And speaking of audits... another running theme is Scientology's volatile relationship with the IRS, the only entity in the United States with the ability to determine if an organization qualifies as "religious" and therefore tax-exempt.
Really, you get the sense that the director is trying to cram as much as possible into this film, because there are just so many jaw-dropping moments that you just have to see and hear to believe. If it was Hollywood, it would be over the top, but this is reality.
Available to stream on Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBOgo
#GoingClear #Scientology #JohnTravolta #TomCruise #Documentary #Sundance #Cults #Crime #HBO #Hulu #AmazonPrime
#4 Waco, 2018
Miniseries, 6 Episodes
Created by Drew Dowdle, John Frick Dowdle
Starring Michael Shannon, Taylor Kitsch, Andrea Riseborough
While Going Clear made me feel wary of the power of cults, and Wild Wild Country exposed my own vulnerability to their allure, Waco has the scintillating dichotomy of leaving you feeling both sympathetic and repulsed by the Branch Davidians and their leader, David Koresh (Kitsch).
The six episode miniseries focuses on the violent 51day standoff between the Branch Davidians and the FBI in 1993, as well as the discord between the FBI and their Chief Negotiator. Law enforcement is primarily portrayed as incompetent, reactive, gun-slingers, while the Branch Davidians seem like good-hearted folks who just want the freedom of religious expression.
But where is the line for the government to step in? David Koresh owned a massive stockpile of firearms, claimed that he was the messiah, and asserted that he was the perfect mate for all female Davidians. He sought to create a new lineage of children with these wives that would one day rule the world.
Unfortunately, some of these wives were teenagers, which led to allegations of child abuse. But until 2017, Texas allowed marriages for those between the ages of 16 and 18 with parental consent, and there was no statutory age "floor," meaning that a judge could approve a child of any age to marry. This practice is still legal in many states, including New Hampshire, where minors can marry at age 13 with parental consent, and Massachusetts, at age 12.
The show's portrayal of the events in Texas evolved from two biographies: A Place Called Waco, by one of the few surviving Branch Davidians, David Thibodeau (Rory Culkin), and Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator, by FBI Special Agent in Charge of Negotiations, Gary Noesner (perfectly cast with Michael Shannon). The contrast in perspectives illustrates that in the Waco siege, no one was innocent.
Available to stream on Netflix
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Appreciate it. A lot of tremendous things are happening. The number of new positive cases continue to decline nationwide. Recent hotspots appear to be stabilizing. The hotspots are, in some cases. Very interesting what’s going on. And they’re going down; they’re going in the right direction. Cases in the Boston area are now declining. The Chicago curve appears to have flattened, which is terrific. And Detroit is past its peak.
These trends demonstrate that our aggressive strategy to battle the virus is working and that more states will soon be in a position to gradually and safely reopen. It’s very exciting. It was very exciting, even today, watching and seeing what’s happening. And people are getting ready and they’re all excited.
January 22, 2020
Source: whitehouse.gov
Sources/Further Reading
SAGE journals: "Psychological Reports--Factors Related to Susceptibility and Recruitment by Cults" by John M. Curtis and Mimi J. Curtis
Inside Higher Ed: "President Trump's Use of Social Media and Why We Can't Ignore It" by Maurice Hall
The Guardian: "Trump Has Turns Words into Weapons, And He's Winning the Linguistic War" by George P Lakoff and Gil Duran