#Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults

[haverwood]

Heaven's Gate The Exit: 1996-1997 J. Clay Tweel USA, 2020

[elliedearest]

Show Recommendations

1. Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults

So this is a docuseries with only 4 episodes. I've never been super familiar with cults. I've heard of some by name through crime shows, but I never really made an effort to learn more about them in detail.

Heaven's Gate is surprisingly one I did know in a general sense, but I honestly can't tell you where I learned it from. X-Files? Parks and Rec? South Park? I have no idea. Anyway, this documentary is fantastic, and I honestly feel such sympathy for the survivors and those that died.

It's easy to say that you would never fall for a cult, but a lot of these people were smart, college-educated, and had loved ones. They really weren't that different from you and me. What got them was their need to feel purposeful, for their lives to mean more than what they already had, to belong to something special. And that's definitely relatable.

2. CBS Ghosts

Hear me out. I know those who watched BBC Ghosts either don't like this show or don't want to give it a chance since they first heard about it. I was the same way. But then I got through the first two or three episodes, and I found that there was something special. This show isn't perfect, and sometimes the humor can be a little cringe. But the Ghosts and Livings are sweet and lovable, and they do care about each other. And as someone who is tired of media that is gritty and mean-spirited, it's really refreshing. So I definitely recommend watching it, but I suggest watching BBC Ghosts too.

3. Living Single

I loved everything about this show. The music, the fashion, the characters, the story arcs. I literally cried when I finished the show because I didn't want it to end. It's such a disappointment that they didn't get more seasons nor did the executives treat the actors the way they should have because of that the writing suffered a little towards the end. I truly recommend this show. It's so funny and the characters are all lovable. The first two episodes are a little rough because I don't think they knew who Kyle and Obie were yet, but once they do WOW. What a group of friends.

4. The Last of Us

I'm speaking to the few that didn't watch this show. Zombie-fatigue is real. And this is the very definition of gritty and heartbreak that i was talking about earlier.

HOWEVER!

This show is less about zombies and more about human relationships. Despite immense heartbreak and loss, you can still find love in all its many facets and attempts to live again. Also, my favorite thing is that it also shows you the lengths that you would go for a loved one. What's the point of morals in an apocalyptic world?

5. Jinny's Kitchen

So, normally, I don't watch these types of reality shows. Actually, I don't watch reality shows at all. But seeing as I'm a fan of BTS, I heard that Taehyung was on this cooking show, and for those of you that don't know he's not much of a cook. Like at all. Before this, I'm pretty sure the only thing he knew how to do really well was ramen lol. Anyway, the premise of the show is that these celebrities get together to open a pop-up Korean restaurant for a week in Mexico. It's hilarious, especially when the two interns (Wooshik and Taehyung) dream about quitting and going on vacation or starting their own union.

[shiftythrifting]

found at mckay’s in knoxville tn

[theexodvs]

“Cult” (n.) and “cultic” (adj.)

There is great confusion when describing certain groups and movements as "cultic." Since the most famous examples of cultic groups and movements in living memory include the Manson Family, People’s Temple, the Branch Davidians and Heaven’s Gate, the popular conception of a cult has become a centralized group with one leader with a type-A personality. This is not how most cultic groups take shape.

"Cultic" and "centralized" are not synonyms. They are entirely different concepts, and whether one group or movement is one has no bearing whatsoever on whether it is the other.

The United Pentecostal Church International and Pentecostal Assemblies of the World are both cults. They are part of the Oneness Pentecostal movement*. Note, the UPCI and PAW are not in fellowship with each other and have no official relations. This is because this movement is decentralized, encompassing various different groups that are united in few if any ways besides (some) similar teachings. Whatever leadership and governance model they have, shared or contrasting, is secondary, because Oneness Pentecostalism as a set of doctrines is itself cultic, meaning any group that espouses it is a cult by definition.

Christian Identity is a more pronounced example of a cultic movement that is decentralized. It is a white supremacist group that teaches that white people are the descendants of the ancient Israelites, and that "gentiles" (people who aren't white) can never be saved. Its footprint is almost entirely made of websites, prison gangs, and local congregations, which are not in fellowship with each other or with any larger group. I would hope any decent person would be opposed to this movement and its teachings, but an attempt to treat "cultic" and "centralized" as synonyms might keep one from recognizing CI as something that should be avoided.

Other decentralized movements that are cultic include the Word of Faith movement, the Men's Right Movement, dispensationalism, neurodiversity, the Sovereign Citizens movement, BDSM, the New IFB, kinism, and the Black Hebrew Israelites. Every group that is part of these is a cult, thought they may not be in fellowship with other groups within the same movement.

*The Oneness Pentecostal movement is not representative of Pentecostalism as a whole. Most of the world's Pentecostals belong to the Assemblies of God which has taught the Trinity for its entire existence. Pentecostalism is not necessarily cultic. Oneness Pentecostalism is.

[theersatzcowboy]

Heaven's Gate (Director's Cut), 1980

An infamously troubled production, butchered by the studio (and subsequently panned on release), this stunning, demythologizing masterpiece about American Western expansion is one of the last vestiges of the auteur-driven filmmaking of the 1970s, posthumously restored to greatness and reevaluated as a lost triumph of American filmmaking.

Director: Michael Cimino

Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond

Production Designer: Tambi Larsen

Starring: Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, Brad Dourif, Isabelle Huppert, Jeff Bridges, Joseph Cotten, Mickey Rourke, and Tom Noonan.

[lucifinaspissed]

[kosaciec]

Who up heavening they gate

[jisreal64]

Hey guys I have a question, is it wrong that I think that the Disney Hatedom is a cult akin to Trump’s MAGA? I just think that because it has a lot of cult-like beliefs and qualities; being supported by both liberals and conservatives, threatening and doxxing people who work for or with the company, and even going as far as to physically attack people, all because of shit like Star Wars, Nimona, Blue Sky Studios, and the Owl House? Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they’re all bad or evil, people like Don Bluth and Jeffery Katzenberg actually had valid reasons for hating the company imo, and people who genuinely don’t like most of the stuff they produce or the vibe they have are fine as well, I just hate the people who either hate it religiously or use the “I don’t hate the movies” excuse (to me that’s like a White American saying they can’t be held responsible for slavery because their ancestors were Irish immigrants, even though it’s actually about privilege and not about who’s ancestors did what). It’s gotten to the point where I have more respect for organized religious cults than them:

Although I do think a lot of them are just people who don’t know any better, I just feel like they done to both me and others to get away with it.

[cultsurvivorsafe]

From Occulted by Amy Rose and Ryan Estrada, illustrated by Jeongmin Lee

[sistersorrow]

Isekai where the MC doesn't get any OP abilities and starts from square one, but they do have one useful set of skills from his old life: they were a cult leader

[tilbageidanmark]

(All the other memes I made..)

[haverwood]

Heaven's Gate The Second Harvest: 1991-1995 J. Clay Tweel USA, 2020

[darlingandmreames]

I'm watching a documentary on the Heavens Gate cult and shout-out to the fucking sociology professor who went to one of the early recruitment meetings and then immediately left and called one of his grad students like "hey wanna undercover join a cult?" and then they just. fucking did that

they really don't make grad school research experiences anymore like they did in the 70s

[shiftythrifting]

[rubber-garage]

Cauliflower guy

[sweetface-the-dollbaby]

even the aliens don’t like religious fruitcakes who make cults about them