Weekly Cult Roundup
Here's what I watched & read this week.
This is a weekly roundup of all the culty media I consumed this week. Share Cult Community with friends so they don’t miss out.
Watched
A lot of people did come for the community, but I was so in love with him. I would have died for him. - Vera Chieffo
Holy Hell is an incredible documentary that follows the Buddhafield cult over 22 years. It is so fascinating because the director, a member the entire time, served as the group's documentarian. Director Will Allen shares rare footage of the group, their practices, and first-person experiences with “The Teacher.” Perhaps it is because the ex-members are being interviewed by their “brother” that they are so vulnerable and open about their experiences with Andreas/Michel/The Teacher. Full disclosure, the film opens with pretty innocuous and almost amusing memories of their guru in tiny speedos. However, once the discussions about Andreas’ obsession with their bodies and beauty begins the tone becomes dark.
Read
Essentially, then, it's a ticket to completely start again, but it’s also a social and spiritual abyss near-impossible to escape once inside. - Joanna Cresswell
In this interesting piece Alba Zari, visual artist and cult survivor, discusses the photographic project documenting the lives of other escapees. According to Zari, her mother and grandmother escaped the Children of God cult with her and never spoke of their experiences again. The void left behind by this silence inspired Zari to use the materials they did leave behind to build a photographic archive of their lives in the cult. She would later go on to visit the many countries her grandmother and mother lived in with other members, documenting the journeys of other women. This article offers incredible insight into the aftermath of escaping a cult across generations.
P.S.
Alba Zari’s archive of photos from the Children of God cult reminded me of how well documented the Unarius Academy of Science is. If you recall I did a short write up on the peaceful UFO cult here and here. Check them out if you’re in the mood to learn about the group’s creative output over the last few decades.
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