Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism―Understanding the Social Science of Cult Influence
The author of the widely praised Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.
What makes "cults" so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we're looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join--and more importantly, stay in--extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell's argument is that, on some level, it already has . . .
Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague talk of "brainwashing." But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid. In Cultish, Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. In both positive ways and shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear--and are influenced by--every single day.
Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities "cultish," revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven's Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of "cultish" everywhere.
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Community Reviews
Montell brings a very interesting perspective to the world of cults, highlighting the use of language as a means of control, influence, and isolation within cult communities, as well as other communities that we see on the daily. She brings a lightheartedness to a subject that can be very dark, while still keeping a serious tone when discussing the more notorious suicide cults.
It was fascinating to see the relationship between language and leaders, whethere it be Jim Jones or a Peloton instructor. Having read this, I now have a better understanding of the signs to look for when engaging with companies and have a better understanding at just how meaningful language can be when in these situations.
My only qualm with this was that I don’t think enough time was spent on the subject of online activities, since that area within the book felt rushed. Living in a digital age as we do now, it’s important to understand just how meaningful caution is when engaging with online activites, especially when it comes to communities that rally behind conspiritorial ideaologies. While QANON was discussed, it would have been beneficial to have more examples, as there are much more communities that can be equally as dangerous as the latter.
Still, this was a very eye-opening read, one that I’m eager to eventually get to again, this time with a physical book so I can take notes, since this topic is one that you easily could run into on the daily. It’s certainly worthwhile for a read, even if you’re only interested in the suicide cults, since that section of the book was very interesting.
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