‘Midsommar’ Offers a Vision of What Awaits Us After Society Collapses
Ari Aster isn't a political filmmaker—but his films are all the more disturbing when considered as previews of what could emerge after a political or climatic breakdown.
Browsing Tag
Cults
6 posts
A Cult Expert Finds Familiar Patterns of Behavior in Trump’s GOP
What do you call an organization where total loyalty to a charismatic but volatile leader is strictly enforced?
How to Tell a Better Cult Story
How four recent works—two books and two television shows—are transforming how we talk about new religious movements.
Are Cult Members Insane?
A new study of cult murders in the U.S. suggests that even the deepest and most disturbing convictions are no proof of mental illness—nor, some argue, should they be.
Your Opinion of You
A brief history of personality tests—and how they lend themselves to cultish misdirection.
Cults and (Sub)cultures
Our week of talking about community, belief, enthusiasm, zeal, terror, and also basset hounds.