Cult Following: The Extreme Sects That Capture Our Imaginations - and Take Over Our Lives
by J. W. Ocker
Many thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Random House, and Quirk Books
for allowing me to preview J.W. Ocker’s latest book exploring subcultures and the
people who dedicate their lives to these strange and sometimes terrifying
groups. Ocker’s Cult
Following: The Extreme Sects That Capture Our Imaginations -and Take Over Our
Lives is a brief, but wide overview of some of the most infamous cults
(Branch Davidians, The People’s Temple, Aum Shinrikyo), as well as others that may
not be as well known (Ho No Hana Sanpogyo, The Seekers, Breatharianism). Having
recently read Ocker’s The
United States of Cryptids, a book that humorously explores cryptids and
other strange tales in each state, I was excited to read Ocker’s exploration of
cults, a topic that is fascinating to me. Ocker not only provides a history of
the cults, exploring how they formed and often providing some biographical
information about the cult leaders to try to gain more insight into their
motivations and desires for leading and sometimes exploiting others, but also
shares historical and contextual information that allows us to better
understand the social conditions that may also influence people’s susceptibility
to joining cults. Ocker’s background and contextualizing are often done in a
humorous way, like his book on Cryptids, although with some of the cults
involving abuse, exploitation, and murder, he seems to know when levity is
needed, and when to provide a more serious tone. Nevertheless, Ocker’s book is
not academic or technical, but he does provide information from psychological
concepts and researchers to further inform readers. I was glad to see that Ocker
cited Robert Jay Lifton, one of the most prominent researchers in cults and
group think, to give some key criteria for cults and cult leaders, helping to
differentiate them from religions as well as popular movements, something that
Amanda Montell also explored in her excellent book Cultish. I really
appreciated the humor and research that Ocker provided with these cults, especially
those that were not as well known. Furthermore, Ocker was able to provide more
insight and information for me about more well-known cults and the consequences
of their often devasting consequences. While it may seem like there are a lot
of books, documentaries, podcasts, and series on cults, Ocker’s book also
provides a great case for the need to constantly investigate and interrogate
these kinds of movements and groups that arise, frequently when social or
economic conditions deteriorate, and people are left searching for answers and
ideas. As Ocker explores the differences between cults before and after the
internet (and those like Heaven’s Gate that were early adopters), I was left
wondering whether technology makes us more or less likely to gravitate towards
more group think and embracing the kinds of beliefs and ideals that are like
cults. While most of the cults had unfortunate endings, it was interesting to
read about the Planetary Activation Organization, a UFO cult that mostly functioned
online, yet had no real negative outcomes for its members. This cult was the
exception though, and reading about the financial and sexual exploitation, as
well as the murder and suicides in many of these cults can be somewhat dark and
depressing. Ultimately, the book can serve as a kind of warning, since Ocker continuously
stresses how it’s not necessarily personality types that are more susceptible to
cults, but rather our emotional states and the kinds of experiences we are having.
It seemed like cult leaders frequently sought out those who were experiencing
problems, whether they were emotional, personal, or financial, and preyed on
those weaknesses. They also seemed to exploit our desire for understanding and
knowledge, or attempted to frighten followers into the idea of a nearing apocalypse.
However, the most common criteria that these cults shared was the general human
desire for fellowship or connection, and I can see how recent events like the
pandemic and social distancing might increase our desire for connection. Just
like The United States of Cryptids, I really enjoyed Ocker’s overview of
cults and learned a lot from his research and insights. As I mentioned, I find
this topic fascinating, and this was an easy, yet insightful book that examined
different elements of cults, cult leaders, and the kind of historical and psychological
contexts that help to usher in cults into society. The one thing I would have
liked to see more of with this book is a better organizational strategy for the
cults. It was hard to see how the presentations of the cults were organized. At
first, I thought the book would focus on UFO cults, but then it moved into some
other cults, like doomsday cults or self-improvement cults. I think that
finding some kind of organizational strategy to present the cults and then
comment on some common underlying connections would have strengthened the book.
Nevertheless, this was a great read, and
something I recommend for others who are interested in the study of human behavior
and cults.
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