Weekly Cult Roundup
Here's what I heard, read, & watched this week.
Read & Heard
I revisited Big Machine by Victor LaValle and I am so glad I did. This dark and funny novel follows Ricky Rice a suicide cult survivor and recovering heroin addict. While most of Rice’s memories about his time in the cult are told through flashbacks, we get a deeply revealing portrait of how his childhood experiences impacted him. I listened to the audiobook which is why this week I merged the read and heard categories. Btw, the audiobook is absolutely fantastic and I highly recommend you listen to this story.
Also, check out this interview with LaValle about how Obama, family, and religion influenced the novel.
Watched
I was still thinking about Ruth Norman and the Unariuns despite covering them in last week’s series. I am most fascinated by the incredibly detailed productions they put on, and Norman’s marketing prowess. In case you missed it, Norman recorded the group's shows and films and had them aired across the country. She utilized public access channels and VHS tapes to spread the Unariun mission throughout the U.S. Check out this really short documentary that features interviews with students and a peek at some of their creations.
P.S.
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