The Supernatural Fandom: Cult

For most shows, the LGBTQ characters either a) get written off, or b) fall into heteronormative gender ideals. When a writer does decide to add a queer character seen beyond the use of the “one time experiment” episode, these queer storylines that end up formulaic and lacking substance (Kessler, p.1). These queer characters are usually depicted as either Lesbian or Gay, thus leaving the Bisexual and Transgender characters much harder to come by. In most situations characters and audiences react to bisexual characters just as Erica Hahn did with Callie in season 5 when she said, “you can’t ‘kind of’ be a lesbian.” (GREY’S ANATOMY SEASON 5 EPISODE 7). These were some of the last words that doctor Erica ever said on the show. Ironically this was

Two of the last Heaven’s Gate followers “Telah” and “we” keep the Heaven’s Gate website online and promptly respond to any questions through email. March 23, 1997 was when the mass suicide known as Heaven’s Gate occurred in Rancho Santa Fe community of San Diego, California. Thirty-nine members were found dead neatly in bunk beds wearing Nike shoes, black sweat pants, and covered with a purple cloth. The cult started in 1997, when founders Marshall Applewhite, and Bonnie Nettles became “the Two” and gain followers. As the son of a Pastor, Applewhite always saw himself as a preacher, but never fit into mainstream religion due to his alleged homosexual tendencies. Furthermore, the development of Human Individual Metamorphosis (HIM), a New Age religion in which members believed the planet earth would be recycled in order to move to “next level” or heaven, humans give up all attachments to the

Still, in our society, there are certain insane cults in the name of religion but they don’t have any importance in the society. So, these are considered as the non-religious cults that won’t give any positive impacts in the society. Now, here are mentioned the 10 non-religious cults that would help you to get familiar with the real facts:

Cult development is fascinating phenomenon that occurs all around the world. Their membership growth is a complex interaction facilitated by conformity and manipulation. Cult membership can have a major impact on those who are involved. Leaving a cult can cause much distress for both the ex-member and their family. It is important to understand cult affiliation factors and the development of their membership in order to provide proper therapeutic intervention for those who leave cults.

Typically supernatural horrors are set in the home of the protagonist usually their homes as it is closest thing to them. All of the Paranormal activity films are based in the home of the individuals being haunted by the supernatural forces. The invasion of the supernatural forces on the character's home makes the situation even more terrifying as the forces are unwanted and it also makes it harder to escape as it is their home, they cannot exactly uproot their family and move to a different house, especially if it is a new house which is usually the case with Paranormal activity films

As there are no real statistics on sexuality among film producers, and not many statistics on sexuality in film period, there are not numbers to analyze, only facts and people. While Shonda Rhimes identifies as a straight woman, married to a man, and has children, there are other successful producers who identify differently. For example, Ellen DeGeneres is a very famous producer, who even has her own show. She openly identifies as a lesbian and has been married to Portia de Rossi since 2008, after California legalized unions between couples who identified as LGBT. Ellen is also a strong advocate for LGBT rights (“Ellen DeGeneres”). Shonda uses Grey’s Anatomy as a platform to help support the LGBT community. Two very important characters, Dr. Callie Torres and Dr. Arizona Robbins, identify as part of the LGBT community, Torres as bisexual who was married to a man, then later met Robbins, who identifies as a lesbian. LGBT issues have not been addressed much in the film industry until recent years, with shows and films showing the hardships and real life struggles of the LGBT community. As these issues are brought to light within society, for example the legalization of gay marriage in all 50 states, I believe that the film industry will become more transparent to these issues that affect an estimated 9 million people in the United States (Gates,

We have been living in the era of vampires and any other kinds of monsters for a while now. Vampires have always been relatable creatures, which allows fans to connect with vampire characters. They represent the attraction towards being a vampire and having eternal life and are presented to popular culture in a way that is attractive and relatable to the evolution of vampires (Del Toro and Hogan 37). Over the past years, vampires have jumped in popularity and pop culture appeal, taking over our television sets, the movie theaters and box offices and books from around the world. Around 2010, Hollywood released four vampire films along with a bunch of vampire DVD’s, and the immensely popular television series like the vampire diaries and true blood continued to air due to how popular those shows are. One monster I’d like to put as an example would be vampires “Blood Thirsty: Why are Vampires Ruling Pop Culture?" by Lindsay Bradshaw. They are the latest trends to appear on pop-culture`s radar, but this is not the first time its caught the publics eye. Vampires have been a constant presence in the literature and film world since the 1897`s publication of Bram Stoker`s “Dracula”, arguably the best vampire text of all time. The idea that vampires exist across the globe has been a subject of folk tale, superstition, and myth throughout the history of man. Even before the famous Dracula, the word vampires was originated in eastern European Folklore, terrorizing small communities in

Cults are the groups that exhibit intense and unquestioning devotion to a single cause. All the group members have a same goal or mission, and the group thinking helps the group members to stick on the same goal. For the Heaven Gate, their goal is to enter the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom level above human. The documentary of “Heaven Gate Cult” perfectly shows the four ways for the cult to promote their group thinking.

destructive cult is a rigidly structured absolutist group usually under an authoritarian, charismatic leader which isolates itself from established societal

A cult is defined as a social group or a social movement under one charismatic leader. It maintains a belief system, which includes a transformation of a group member. Members of the group have a high level of commitment to the leader, members, and beliefs (Lalich). An additional definition to consider is from the American Journal of Psychotherapy:

No one has ever been able to articulate just what makes a cult, and what makes a religion different. Yet most people, when listing mainstream religions, name Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, among others. These religions have existed for thousands of years and have millions of followers; they have thus earned a degree of respect even from outsiders. However, Mormonism—the tradition of the Latter Day Saints movement—is considered strange, and by some, a cult. In the modern age, many consider its very premise a hoax. Mark Twain criticized the Mormon holy scripture, calling it “chloroform in print” (Turner 229), and Jacob Weisberg (editor of the Washington Post) called Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, “an obvious con man” (Ostling xv). Yet

What effects -- if any -- do cults of personalities have on a culture and society? When we think of cults, we usually tend to think of a group who all follow one specific belief or leader. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a cult of personality is a situation in which a public figure (such as a political leader) is deliberately presented to the people of a country as a great person who should be admired and loved. Of course, there are many problems that may arise in this situation, one being that cults of personalities are a threat to a culture’s freedom because they directly target democracies and can extinguish a society’s liberties by elevating one person to such a point that they become god-like in the eyes of their followers.

A total of 74 members of Order of the Solar Temple died from various mass murder-suicides between 1994 and 1997 in Switzerland, Canada and France. The first known instance was the murder of Tony Dutroit and his wife and son. Dutroit was a member of the cult, but spoke out against it upon realising its hypocrisy and deception and left. Soon after, he, his wife Nicky and son Emmanuel were the victims of a grisly murder in Morin Heights, Québec, committed by members of the cult. It was believed that this was upon Di Mambro’s orders, apparently on the basis that Emmanuel was the Antichrist and had come to stop Di Mambro from doing his spiritual bidding, but evidence shows that it might be due to Dutoit’s unwarranted exposure of the cult’s

Within any culture lies an array of definitive demeanors and actions that are deemed socially adequate and inadequate. Depending on the distinguishing behavior of a given individual and the society that they live in, there are invisible “laws” that prevent people from acting a certain way. If the individual’s behavior is adverse to the superior, predominant norms of their society, the actions of that individual are considered to be deviant. Social deviance in shown in a variety of dissimilar faces: within physical appearance, actions done to oneself and others, and religious groups.

One of the most consequential misconceptions about the Gothic movement is of the religious affinity of those that believe themselves to be "Goth". Because of the false media portrayal of Goths, and the mistaken idea that Marilyn Manson is Goth, the public is lead to believe that all Goths are Satanic. Yet, in reality, "Many Goths reflect popular culture and are probably nominal or devout Christians. Atheism, Agnosticism, the New Age, Gnosticism, Shamanism, Wicca, other Neopagan traditions, and other minority faith groups are represented more frequently than in the general population" (Robinson). While it is true that many Goths wear the Christian Cross or the Egyptian Ankh, many times these religious symbols represent a satirical ideal, or are sometimes just for the sake of fashion. The gothic subculture is not a religious movement in any sense of the word, although its constituency is accepting of members from any religion.