The lingering obsession with cults

Written by: Liyana (25-I3)

Designed: Angelica (26-U1)

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The rapid and massive production of true crime media has always been at the centre of controversy, mainly due to the intent behind such media and the impact it has on society. Do they educate audiences on possible crimes and give meaningful advice on how individuals can protect themselves? Or do they play to some malicious desire and obsession with dark and harmful content as forms of entertainment? Have they inadvertently led to the desensitisation of society, making us incapable of relating to the suffering of individuals who we are separated from only by a screen? While debate continues, and may forever continue, on the morality of the true crime media industry, this industry can be divided into different subgenres, specifically by the time of crimes that they cover. The ethics of media in these subgenres need to be examined separately, and not in relation with one another.

Recently, there has been a boom in the release of cult documentaries that began in 2018 and has been following a steady trend. Notable documentaries include “Dancing for the Devil: the 7M TikTok Cult” on Netflix which explores allegations held against 7M Films for practicing cult-like practices as well as “Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults”, a 2020 Hulu documentary that explored the infamous Heaven’s Gate Cult. This boom is surely a response to the high profits earned by previous cult based documentaries and caters to the high demands of audiences for more media on such topics. There are also a myriad of bite-sized YouTube videos and podcasts that cover a variety of dangerous cults and their practices, and they package this deep gruesome information into easily digestible formats that can be consumed on commutes and in between tasks in our busy lives. Having listened to about 60+ episodes of Parcast Networks’ podcast called ‘Cults’ in 2024 alone, I am no exception from the large audience that can’t pull their eyes away from these strange organisations. These forms of media, when consumed in such excess, can reduce the perceived severity of major crimes, as their large coverage on cases across the world throughout history normalises their occurrences. But why are we so willing to consume such content about cults to such extreme extents? 

I believe that the initial consumption of media on cults stem from basic skepticism and curiosity. To those unfamiliar with the mechanisms that lead to the establishment and functioning of a cult, those that join cults may seem foolish. Just put yourself in their position. If a pair had approached you, preaching about how if you shed your human body, you’d be able to adopt a form of an extraterrestrial being and ascend to a higher level, would you be inclined to believe them? It seems unlikely, yet in a similar fashion, many followed Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles into the Heaven’s Gate cult. This skepticism about how so many individuals could succumb to such insane ideologies is likely what influences individuals to click open a documentary, YouTube video, podcast or any other form of media covering cults. New viewers of media on cults all have this baseline level of curiosity, and consume these media to answer the basic question: why would anyone join a cult?

Once this question has been answered, a dam is opened, and a flood of further questions consumes the minds of the audience. Why would anyone want to be a cult leader? How does a cult work? Aren’t cults a thing of the past? Interestingly, consuming media on true crime and cults seems to spur audience’s curiosity, rather than satisfy it. Audiences fall into a rabbit hole of seemingly endless unanswered questions, and end up scouring various forms of media to answer them. Other than hooking individuals on the topic of cults, the media on this topic has found a way to package the information such that it sounds dramatic and exaggerated, almost like juicy gossip rather than a heinous crime. While most media do cover the violence of destructive cults, they are described in scandalous manners that forces audiences to continue watching, even if the contents of the media make their stomachs churn.

While curiosity leads to audiences opening media covering cults, which are purposely designed to instill further curiosity in audiences and get them hooked on the media, what causes excessive obsessions that leads to streaming platforms, YouTube channels and podcast networks spending hours churning episode after episode about even the most obscure of cults? From my experience, it is due to a sense of fear and dread. Many of such media forms try to establish early on that anyone is susceptible to being a victim of a crime or to falling into a cult. Cult propaganda is just like any other form of propaganda or advertisement. If an advertisement can influence you to buy a product, or if political campaigns can influence your voting decisions, similarly, cult propaganda can influence you to join a cult. Most ethical media covering cults express how followers of a cult join such movements when they are at low points in their lives and are most vulnerable. Even highly educated individuals such as scientists and scholars can tune into ideologies that seem nonsensical and can put their entire lives and work on a standstill for their cults. So, what makes you and me any different? If these individuals can fall into cults, so can you and me. If the cult leaders I had mentioned earlier had approached you when you were at your lowest and were desperate for hope and support, would you have changed your mind and followed them? I might have. Hence, in fearful audiences like me, these media serve to educate us about the various techniques cult leaders can employ, which have now turned into red flags that consumers have become aware of. Hence, certain audiences may be hyperfixated to learn about a variety of cults so that they can gain sufficient knowledge to protect themselves if they ever find themselves  in unusual situations.

Ultimately, this is not a comprehensive guide into the minds of individuals who consume media regarding cults or other true crime. These reasons stem from both personal experience and a little research, but are ultimately opinions. Each consumer has their own reason for consuming certain media, and whether it is ethical and justified or serves to satisfy a violent craving cannot be determined by those involved in the production of these media. Hence, while we may critique the proliferation of media regarding true crime that could reduce the gravity of serious injustices and desensitise us to such forms of cruelty, it is futile to do so as in our modern world, as creators are free to create whatever they want while consumers are free to consume whatever they want.