Would you join a cult?

 

    As I come to an end on my third Holy Hell (2016) rewatch I asked myself and you reading one question. Would you ever join a cult? Of course, the obvious answer is "no" but sometimes the answer isn't always that simple. When getting a deeper look into not only the Buddhafeild but cults as a whole you are sometimes able to see a pattern with its members. That being that they are usually vulnerable and in even more cases, they are usually women. 

    Pictured above is a still from the 2019 horror film Midsommar dir. Ari Aster. This film follows Dani, her boyfriend, and their friends on a trip to Sweden to visit their friend's annual Midsommar festival. There will be some slight spoilers for the movie, so watch it and come back! It is streaming on Prime Videos. It is revealed to us in the beginning that Dani's parents and sister have died in a murder-suicide. So we already know that Dani is in a very vulnerable state since she has just lost three of her closest relatives. You also get a look at her crumbling relationships through a scene that shows her boyfriend Christian and his friends discussing their relationship. With all his friends encouraging Christian to break up with Dani. Their conversation is only interrupted by a phone call from an inconsolable Dani who has just been told the news of her sister and parents' tragic deaths. As the film goes on and Dani accompanies them to Sweden you can see she's not emotionally ready to be making a trip like this. The trip quickly begins to spiral out of control as the pagan cult Pelle (their friend from Sweden) is a part of, begins manipulating Dani. The cult is able to take an emotionally damaged and vulnerable woman and turn her into one of them, just because they know they can. 

    Although Midsommar is only a film this is a very common occurrence that is seen with cults throughout history. It is seen in the Buddhafeild and even the Manson Family. As some of the members of both were very vulnerable, lonely, or looking for something greater. Yet there is something else that brings people to come and join them, and that is empty promises. In the case of the Buddhafeild, these people were promised spiritual healing from their past trauma. While in the Manson Family, Manson told his followers that bringing upon a "race war" through their crimes would lead to him being the ruler of the world. And his family would be leading right by his side. This type of manipulation is also seen in the world of MLMs or multilevel marketing schemes. 

    With MLMs, these everyday working women are recruited in the hopes of becoming rich. They are usually working under the person who recruited them and are always encouraged to recruit themselves. It is common for these women to quit their jobs and devote all their time to these MLMs. They are promised a lavish life with beautiful cars, clothes, and trips. And a lot of the time these women are left in debt and stuck with thousands of dollars worth of products they can't sell. All while the people above them keep making their millions. 

    Now, this is where I ask the question once more. If you found yourself at your lowest and someone came to you and offered you everything you wanted while making lavish promises to you, what would you do? In some of these cases, these people are unaware of what they're getting themselves into until it's almost too late or they are too deep. So I'll ask you again. Would you join a cult?