Today, there are over three-thousand cults in the United States alone. Only a handful has made it to the public’s attention. Maybe you can recall some of the more commonly referred to ones such as The Yearning for Zion ranch which made headlines last year when police removed 416 children from the remote Texas compound following a tip from a cult teenager who claimed she was being sexually assaulted by members of the group. In 1997 the thirty-seven members of the UFO cult known as Heaven’s Gate committed mass suicide with the belief that their souls would be transported to a waiting spaceship which coincided with the appearance of Comet Hale-Bob. Or maybe you recall some cult leaders in recent history, like the leader of the FLDS Church (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) Warren Jeffs, who, in 2006, appeared on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List, and was later found guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape an
d received a jail sentence of ten years to life. The leader of the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas, David Koresh, proclaimed himself the Son of God. In 1993, Fifty-four adults and twenty-one children were found dead after a siege by the FBI culminated in the burning of the compound. Or Jim Jones, leader of The People’s Temple, whose 909 followers, 276 of whom were children, drank a poisoned fruit punch laced with cyanide in order to, as Jones puts it “[protest] the conditions of an inhumane world.”
Michael Traveser says his group will never commit suicide.
There is a place in the remote deserts of New Mexico which calls itself Strong City, and in April 2007, National Geographic photographers were allowed inside their gates. The leader of the cult is Wayne Bent, though followers know him as Michael Traveser. Wayne Bent claims to be the Messiah. In an interview for the documentary, in which Bent is seated on, what almost appears to be, a makeshift throne and draped in white, Bent made this affirmation; “I am the embodiment of God. I am divinity and humanity combined….I swear it by the One who lives for ever and ever.” As of August 2007, Wayne Bent’s followers believed the world would come to an end at midnight, on the 31st of October 2007, and Michael Traveser is their only route to Heaven. Inside Strong City families and relationships have been dissolved; all emotional ties with anyone other than Michael are broken. There are no sexual relationships, except those in which God tells Michael he must “consummate” with one of the cult’s women; sex is sinful, and Strong City residents strive to life a life free of sin. Members do not work outsi
de the cult. They have no personal possessions and give Michael all there money, which includes any inheritance or social security they may receive. The children of Strong City do not attend public school; Michael feels it is a bad influence, but he lets them educate themselves by surfing the internet. Though, as 15 year old Matthew explains to the cameras, he finds learning things, such as learning about the planets of our solar system, useless. Thirty-one people have left Strong City. Some had to leave their children behind and come back later to remove them from the cult, often by force.
This is where Inside a Cult begins. An Albuquerque news station, KOAT, reports that a sixteen year old girl was taken from the Strong City compound by the state. The documentary then continues slowly and eerily from there. The simple musical score is prominent beneath a softly spoken and simply written narration. The combination of the two, layered with long, compelling shots is oddly captivating, and view
ers may find themselves immovable in their seats. Inside a Cult is a complex story which is simply told, and this simplicity makes it gripping. It almost seems as though the show was cut and pasted together in a hurry. Many of the interviews are raw footage, with little to no editing involved. Most of the camera work is hand-held, creating a shaky, unstable feeling throughout. However, unlike many documentary films which exist mostly to tell a unique, real-life story, Inside a Cult does not merely impart the tale. This occurrence is very subtle and unapparent, but it is there in the subtext, if you listen closely. This is an exposé. So while the residents of Strong City have let the photographers in on the pretext of spread the word of God, the producers had a different agenda, one in which uncovers the terrible reality of living Inside a Cult.
I first came across Inside a Cult after completing Carolyn Jessop’s memoir, Escape. Jessop was born into the FLDS and, at 18, forced to marry a man 32 years her senior. Jessop eventually escaped the cult, along with her eight children. Escape was a fascinating memoir and an eye-opening read. Inside a Cult, though it only briefly mentions the FLDS, created a good companion to the book. I recommend both completely.
My Rating:
Want to learn more?
-Inside a Cult Official Webpage: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/inside-a-cult-3401/Overview#tab-Overview
-Strong City's Webpage: http://strongcity.info/
-PBS Frontline: Waco-The Inside Story: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/
-Introduction to the Branch Davidians: http://www.fountain.btinternet.co.uk/koresh/index.html
-FLDS Directory: http://www.flds.com/
-Lifiting the Veil of Polygamy; Video Interviews with Cult Survivors: http://livinghopeutah.org/polygamy.htm
-TIME Q&A with Polygamy Survivor Carolyn Jessop: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1675126,00.html
-Heaven's Gate Official Website (left untouched after suicides): http://www.heavensgate.com/
-TruTV; Heaven's Gate: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/heavens_gate/1.html?sect=8
Watch Inside a Cult Here:
d received a jail sentence of ten years to life. The leader of the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas, David Koresh, proclaimed himself the Son of God. In 1993, Fifty-four adults and twenty-one children were found dead after a siege by the FBI culminated in the burning of the compound. Or Jim Jones, leader of The People’s Temple, whose 909 followers, 276 of whom were children, drank a poisoned fruit punch laced with cyanide in order to, as Jones puts it “[protest] the conditions of an inhumane world.”
Michael Traveser says his group will never commit suicide.
There is a place in the remote deserts of New Mexico which calls itself Strong City, and in April 2007, National Geographic photographers were allowed inside their gates. The leader of the cult is Wayne Bent, though followers know him as Michael Traveser. Wayne Bent claims to be the Messiah. In an interview for the documentary, in which Bent is seated on, what almost appears to be, a makeshift throne and draped in white, Bent made this affirmation; “I am the embodiment of God. I am divinity and humanity combined….I swear it by the One who lives for ever and ever.” As of August 2007, Wayne Bent’s followers believed the world would come to an end at midnight, on the 31st of October 2007, and Michael Traveser is their only route to Heaven. Inside Strong City families and relationships have been dissolved; all emotional ties with anyone other than Michael are broken. There are no sexual relationships, except those in which God tells Michael he must “consummate” with one of the cult’s women; sex is sinful, and Strong City residents strive to life a life free of sin. Members do not work outsi
de the cult. They have no personal possessions and give Michael all there money, which includes any inheritance or social security they may receive. The children of Strong City do not attend public school; Michael feels it is a bad influence, but he lets them educate themselves by surfing the internet. Though, as 15 year old Matthew explains to the cameras, he finds learning things, such as learning about the planets of our solar system, useless. Thirty-one people have left Strong City. Some had to leave their children behind and come back later to remove them from the cult, often by force.
This is where Inside a Cult begins. An Albuquerque news station, KOAT, reports that a sixteen year old girl was taken from the Strong City compound by the state. The documentary then continues slowly and eerily from there. The simple musical score is prominent beneath a softly spoken and simply written narration. The combination of the two, layered with long, compelling shots is oddly captivating, and view
ers may find themselves immovable in their seats. Inside a Cult is a complex story which is simply told, and this simplicity makes it gripping. It almost seems as though the show was cut and pasted together in a hurry. Many of the interviews are raw footage, with little to no editing involved. Most of the camera work is hand-held, creating a shaky, unstable feeling throughout. However, unlike many documentary films which exist mostly to tell a unique, real-life story, Inside a Cult does not merely impart the tale. This occurrence is very subtle and unapparent, but it is there in the subtext, if you listen closely. This is an exposé. So while the residents of Strong City have let the photographers in on the pretext of spread the word of God, the producers had a different agenda, one in which uncovers the terrible reality of living Inside a Cult.
I first came across Inside a Cult after completing Carolyn Jessop’s memoir, Escape. Jessop was born into the FLDS and, at 18, forced to marry a man 32 years her senior. Jessop eventually escaped the cult, along with her eight children. Escape was a fascinating memoir and an eye-opening read. Inside a Cult, though it only briefly mentions the FLDS, created a good companion to the book. I recommend both completely.
My Rating:
Want to learn more?
-Inside a Cult Official Webpage: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/inside-a-cult-3401/Overview#tab-Overview
-Strong City's Webpage: http://strongcity.info/
-PBS Frontline: Waco-The Inside Story: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/
-Introduction to the Branch Davidians: http://www.fountain.btinternet.co.uk/koresh/index.html
-FLDS Directory: http://www.flds.com/
-Lifiting the Veil of Polygamy; Video Interviews with Cult Survivors: http://livinghopeutah.org/polygamy.htm
-TIME Q&A with Polygamy Survivor Carolyn Jessop: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1675126,00.html
-Heaven's Gate Official Website (left untouched after suicides): http://www.heavensgate.com/
-TruTV; Heaven's Gate: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/heavens_gate/1.html?sect=8
Watch Inside a Cult Here:
Inside a Cult
Watch the Sequel Inside a Cult: Messiah on Trial to find out what happened to Wayne Bent and Strong City after the documentary aired:
Watch the Sequel Inside a Cult: Messiah on Trial to find out what happened to Wayne Bent and Strong City after the documentary aired:
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