I'm not particularly a fan of true crime. That is to say, I think making media for entertainment purposes based off real people (notably ones who are still alive) has a high chance to be very iffy on the exploitation and insensitivity front. The worst offenders of this in my opinion, being movies that hit you with a "based on a true story!" at the end. They frustrate me to no end.
I do however, enjoy documentaries. Now, documentaries are absolutely filled with biases and misinformation, but they are at least attempting to convey information to me, generally, rather than just being a piece solely for entertainment. I suppose my preference is just a matter of taste.
My husband and I have been watching a lot of documentaries about cults recently. Not all of them were well done, but the interest became more about analyzing overall patterns rather than the details of each cult.
Orgasm Inc: The story of OneTaste, Escaping Twin Flames, Trust Me: The False Prophet, and Sins of Our Mother, to name a few.
A small disclaimer before I get further into it: This post is just for documenting my own thoughts and observations, and is in no way mean to be scientifically viable.
In the past month or so I watched a total of 10 documentaries and docu-series that were either directly about a cult, adjacently about a cult, or were about high control dynamics that I noticed similarities in. Because really, cults are about control, and abusive dynamics are also most frequently, about control. I like the term 'high control group'. It came up frequently in the cult documentaries. I like it because as accurate as it is in many cases, 'cult' has such specific stereotypes and assumptions linked to it that I think often it's much easier to dismiss. When your base idea of a cult is a bunch of spooky weirdos dressed in robes sacrificing animals to the devil in the woods it's very easy to dismiss anything that doesn't fit into that image.
But 'high control group' cuts right to what a cult truly is. A group based around control tactics and dynamics. Most often to the benefit of one or a very small group of people. How this control is achieved varies a fair amount. Money and religion are largely the most common motivators, but loneliness and health concerns also can play a part.
The key part to a thriving cult is the dynamics between the participants. And interestingly enough, I do not believe there needs to be a solidified cult in order for groups to fall into these sorts of dynamics. Groups who fall into high control dynamics do tend to be especially susceptible to becoming cults, or breaking off into cult-like groups. At its core, cult dynamics rely on it's members to self regulate. Every member becomes both victim and perpetrator. It's a system built upon abusing each other to keep each other in line. Every member becomes an attack dog that will turn on anyone who deviates even slightly from the designated norm. This dynamic is integral because it keeps people quiet. How do you report another person for abusing you, when you do the same thing to others? Who is the bad guy in that scenario? Who is the victim when you both are reasonably the victim and the abuser?
Putting aside how cults often have a level of control over members housing, money, jobs, family, community, and all other means to resources required to survive, simply the victim/abuser dynamic keeps most quiet. In order to even begin to unpack the abuse they face it requires accepting that they themselves participate in being an abuser themselves. This is an incredibly difficult thing to do when a feature of most cults is being punished for not participating in or even questioning the systems they have in place. Where do you begin, really? Imagine you somehow did have the resources to leave, you have the monetary means to just up and cut ties. What if your family is involved? Do you leave everyone you love, everyone you know? What if you lack knowledge in how to start? Another notable feature of high control groups is keeping the people uneducated. It's much easier to control people when their knowledge is limited to only what you tell them, after all.
The core components are all quite simple. But I think they're important to be aware of. High control groups can come from many many different backgrounds. Being educated and aware of the core elements I think would keep many from falling into cults and high control groups.
Those are my thoughts on the topic for the time being. I have many more but I did not take my ADHD medication this morning, and focus seems to be slipping from me. Cults are a fascinating topic, and a deeply tragic one. I would not mind doing further thinking and researching on the topic.