#seduced inside the nxivm cult

[moratoirenoir]

[werewolvestolovers]

ok what lol I need these documentary recs please (I'm on a cults docu binge rn)

omg definitely!

Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults (solid, but the Heaven's Gate podcast is more thorough and totally worth a listen to)

Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult (solid, would watch after The Vow Part 1)

HBO's The Vow Part 1 and 2 (Made by people who were high up in the cult, so detailed but also a lot of 'definitely not my fault' energy)

The Keepers (fucked up, doc doesn't go into the other strange, unreliable claims of recovered memories)

Q: Into The Storm (great paired with NYT's Rabbit Hole podcast!)

Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence (part cult, part domestic violence, great explanation of coercive control)

The Burari Deaths (graphic images, part cult, part domestic violence)

Sins of Our Mother (part cult, part murder for hire)

Abducted in Plain Sight (not actually about cults, but only makes a modicum of sense once you find out they are Mormons)

Notes:

/r/cults has some excellent recs!

I tried Wild, Wild Country but it's extremely long and the first episode is not that engaging.

I haven't watched any of the Waco/Branch Davidians docs because I rather not wade through possible propaganda

I haven't watched any on Jonestown because there are several podcasts that have done fantastic deep dives like Casefile and Last Podcast on the Left. Expect graphic images and recordings of people dying if you do watch a doc on Jonestown tho.

Haven't had the stomach to watch a doc on the Children of God cult.

Drama, not documentary but Hulu's Under The Banner of Heaven with Andrew Garfield is a fantastic peek into Mormonism. I also like Last Podcast's Mormonism episodes.

Haven't seen yet, but on my watchlist:

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey

Going Clear: Scientology & The Prison of Belief

Holy Hell

Prophet's Prey

The Deep End

Aum: The Cult At The End of The World

[neonfeel]

Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult (2020)

[pascalepalaces]

"We Lock Lips" in Juked Magazine:

08.02.21

by Pascale Potvin

after Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult

That gripe of the city women with the men that tell them to smile—I do sympathize.

I’d accidentally joined a cult, at about nineteen. The members had claimed they’d help me find myself; I’d had no clue what ‘finding oneself’ might even entail, and so I’d figured I was the ideal candidate.

The company had created all of these personal development programs, and healthy lifestyle bootcamps, and all the more countless intensives. I had come to find, in the decade following, that finding oneself should be right down to the bone.

A similar sentiment was expressed to me, too, in more literal terms.

It would just be like digging into myself for gold, I thought; I knew I’d be happy if I was as thin as the others, that they were keeping me accountable in a way I couldn’t alone. I had paid a small debt, too, when I didn’t do my readings; my friends were only paving the roads on which I could push inward.

They did stop pretending, eventually, that the digital parts of my debt weren’t going up the ranks to the one man in the company—the only man, of course, that we’d ever need. Kenneth even broke the gap by texting me directly and often, asking for more pictures whenever he’d heard I’d eaten more than appropriate.

Though it was all innocent I was also all the way attracted to him, I will admit. How couldn’t I have been, knowing his mind, an aphrodisiac? Kenneth was playing Mozart by the age of six; he’d invented a new mathematics at just fourteen; he’d written books of philosophy in his twenties and boisterous prose. He knew he’d solve the hunger crisis as soon as he had the right influence; which teenaged girl wouldn’t worship such virtues no matter how aged?

So, like the others, I stared at every movement of his mouth as one would the Louvre’s latest.

Still, something was inexplicably wrong within me.

You don’t look too happy about it, Kenneth had responded to one November photo, just as I was turning back toward the road home. He had me stop in my tire tracks, again, to keep trying for a grin genuine enough for judgment.

I couldn’t understand why I kept screwing it all up, in the first place. I’d thought of him for so many miles of drives, had often rocked too far into the gas pedal; this task, for me, should’ve been easy. And yet ever since the start of our one-on-one classes I could only hold heat in my stomach.

Even once I managed an acceptable photo (good, but shave yourself when you get home, he’d reminded), I couldn’t feel the same indestructible that I had after his first teachings. The first part of myself I’d sent him had left me high, really believing maybe I could do anything;

It was devitalizing, not reaching something I’d once so easily held.

“So, did you finish your journal?” Alice asked when she found me loading the fridge.

“Yes. Almost,” I mustered for her.

“You know that I wanted it earlier.”

“Of course. But you asked me to fetch the groceries.”

“You know that making excuses only holds yourself back more,” she spoke, in almost a song. “I think I want you to get an early start tomorrow."

Early starts were always exactly four, inconsiderate of night classes prior.

“That isn’t really fair. I just couldn’t do it today," I retried.

But Alice no longer acknowledged me—and so I only put food away as she ate toast.

In a predictable pattern, I couldn’t enjoy my bath that evening either. My skin was still much hotter than the water surrounding me, my eyes still wetter.

Why couldn’t I get comfortable with anything? I had to wonder. What was I missing? Why was I not by some universe allowed to have what the other women had much more?

For months I had tried to tell Alice that I needed intervention—some extra guidance (please, I really needed it)—but she only ever told me I should work harder. I was the only one who could ultimately decide my own fate, with some help from Kenneth whenever he spared it.

After that, things had only seemed more hopeless.

Yet I started to think that if I acquired some proof that my concerns were solid, or a concrete example of how deeply my mind was wounded, then I’d only have to wait for our next family photo and then, she would see. (It was as I was moving my razor up my thigh that I had the quivering idea.)

Nothing happened, initially, when I moved the handle the wrong direction; I did it again just before the blood appeared, bringing with it a ringing pain. I gasped, the water around me.

I was on earth again, escaping.

A different panic came shortly, of course: there was no way Alice should see what I’d done. What an idiotic idea had overcome my idiot head, in its upset; now, everyone would come to see the cuts, and whether she would sympathize would depend on her mood.

Leaving the tub, I held some wet toilet paper against myself and searched the cabinet for some first aid. There was just one bottle of hydrogen peroxide, which bubbled and burned along with my stifling throat.

Later, I settled for toilet paper held up with tape.

There was no group photo for a few days thereafter, and so the first to see my marks was Kenneth at our next meeting. I was surprised to find he didn’t respond to my disrobing but to ask,

"What is it that you were punishing yourself for? Did it help?”

At that, I didn’t want to say anything wrong. “Not smiling well enough,” I mumbled. “And yes, I think it did.”

Kenneth nodded, and the most surprising part—the one that spread up from its cage in my chest through my neck—was when he lifted his head from its place between my legs and stood.

It was the first time I’d seen something in his pants, aroused.

I practically ran when he dismissed me, my vision all in swirls. He was supposed to be celibate beyond human capacity; he’d claimed he never took pleasure from the techniques. They were only for my benefit, meant to help me solve my issues with my body, with general vulnerability.

What had made his hardness too hard to conceal, this time? Was it my cuts? The idea that I’d bled? That I’d bled for him?

If it was just pain that made him bloody in one place, then, how could it be true he wanted us all to find joy?

Alice approached me the next morning, told me she’d like to go over my cuts with a cauterizing pen—to prevent infections, because of our minimalist healthcare, she justified—and I suspected she was making an excuse to brand me for him.

“You finally went out of your comfort zone this week. Let’s keep that rolling,” she was saying, with a coffee-stained sigh at my resistance. “If you get through this most intense pain, think about all the pain that’ll be so manageable in comparison.”

If I were to deny her request or, God forbid, leave entirely, I’d be more punished and my photos spread like spider legs. The cauterizing collateral. That video of me, forced to moan for my deceased father—it’d release like my body never could since the filming.

I had no choice but to take Alice’s advice, one way or another.

So, I accepted it not quite the way that she’d described.

I cut again, much more in the bath that night—this time all over the arms, again showing skin, finding myself in all of my blood and of course bone. Should I have gone even further?, I am wondering. Carved myself into the tiny thing of a woman Kenneth so desired?

Had he been taking secret pleasure, too, every time he’d kissed all of our cheeks and then our lips?

I went to the backyard before dawn and pushed my arms into the wet dirt, digging. I ran some blocks north, did the same in the garden of Blair and Beth and Jenny. I repeated and repeated. Digging for tetanic treasure. Looking for some lockjaw.

[rickchung]

Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult (prods. Cecilia Peck & Inbal B. Lessner).

Starz’s four-part true crime docuseries about the fallout of the NXIVM sex cult is laser focused on the victims’ point-of-view including India Oxenberg’s journey leaving it after its founder (and her master) Keith Raniere was arrested. Quickly, the documentary establishes just how evil and destructive its methods were in manipulation, trafficking, and abuse then rewinds to explain how its hazy MLM business training methods lured so many successful and privileged followers.

Oxenbering’s first-hand account and guidance over the dramatic rise and fall of the shady organizations crimes grounds the unbelievable true story of being seduced into a clearly strange cult step-by-step and the common tactics used to attract victims.

[dearly]

Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult

[thevampirearmandwrites]

2 minutes in and im already disgusted.

[nicollekidman]

The thing that upsets me is that people blame Tom Cruise for being in the cult. Like.

The one thing everyone should have walked away from Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult was that the people in the cult are victims and not in their right minds when it comes to the cult

obviously we can’t fully Get Into It but it is really infuriating and sad to me that like. it all gets reduced to either Tom Cruise Evil or Tom Cruise Big Joke when like. he got sucked into scientology because he fell in love and then even when he was estranged from them (for a decade!!!) he was surveilled, manipulated, spied on, and convinced to come back into the fold bc people he trusted were agents for the “church” and used every conversation as fodder to get him back….and even now that he’s moved to england and has managed to avoid all press outside of promoting his films and has said nothing about scientology for years, people still think of him as a Leader of the church and not like. their most prominent and thus most closely trapped victim. anyways.

[chavisory]

Oh my god, I’m watching SEDUCED: Inside the NXIVM Cult, and I’ve been to Silver Bay, where they did this “Vanguard Week” camp.

I’ve done a show in that auditorium.

It’s totally full of bats.

[deliberatepace]

SEEN, READ, PLAYED 2021

Once again taking a page from Steven Soderbergh and kept track of track of every movie (54), episode of television (1,239), play (4) and musical (4) seen, every book read (51), concert attended (2) and video game (10) finished (not to mention all of the scripts I read for work or podcast episodes I listened to, which were not included because enough is enough).

The extended pandemic has definitely had an effect on my media consumption, decreasing it in all areas (24 less movie, 4 less books, 1 less video game, and 110 fewer episodes of TV) save for live events -- even on plays, up 3 musicals, and up 2 concerts.

All caps, bold: MOVIE All caps: TV SERIES Italics: Book Bold Italics: Play/Musical/Concert Quotation marks: “Video Game”

- - - - - - - - - - - -

JANUARY

1/1 - Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical (online), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (7)

1/2 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1)

1/3 - BRIDGERTON (3), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

1/4 - BIG BOY (1)

1/5 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (2)

1/6 - PEAKY BLINDERS (1)

1/7 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST (1), MIRANDA (1), CALL ME KAT (1)

1/8 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: UNTUCKED (1), CALL ME KAT (1), MR. MAYOR (2), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1)

1/9 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1), DERRY GIRLS (4), NORMAL PEOPLE (1)

1/10 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), RAISED BY WOLVES (1), “Spider-Man: Miles Morales” (PS5)

1/11 - PRETEND IT’S A CITY (1), RAISED BY WOLVES (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

1/12 - PRETEND IT’S A CITY (1), RAISED BY WOLVES (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

1/13 - PEAKY BLINDERS (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

1/14 - SUITS (3), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), PRETEND IT’S A CITY (1), RAISED BY WOLVES (1)

1/15 - PRETEND IT’S A CITY (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

1/16 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: UNPLUGGED (1)

1/17 - “Astro’s Playroom” (PS5), PRETEND IT’S A CITY (1), RAISED BY WOLVES (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

1/18 - SUITS (4), “Raji: An Ancient Epic” (Nintendo Switch), RAISED BY WOLVES (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

1/19 - RAISED BY WOLVES (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

1/20 - PEAKY BLINDERS (1), RAISED BY WOLVES (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

1/21 - SEDUCED: INSIDE THE NXIVM CULT (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

1/22 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), THE NIGHT STALKER: THE HUNT FOR A SERIAL KILLER (2)

1/23 - THE NIGHT STALKER: THE HUNT FOR A SERIAL KILLER (2), RAISED BY WOLVES (2), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

1/24 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (2), PRETEND IT’S A CITY (1), The Hours by Michael Cunningham

1/26 - 

1/27 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1), PEAKY BLINDERS (1)

1/28 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), WANDAVISION (3), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1)

1/29 - SUITS (1), WANDAVISION (1)

1/30 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), MR. MAYOR (3), SUPERSTORE (2)

1/31 - SUPERSTORE (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: UNTUCKED (3), ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST (3)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

FEBRUARY

2/1 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

2/2 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (2)

2/3 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (2)

2/4 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1)

2/5 - SUITS (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), WANDAVISION (1)

2/6 - SUITS (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (3)

2/7 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), LOCKED DOWN

2/8 - SUITS (2) THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

2/9 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (2)

2/10 - PEAKY BLINDERS (1)

2/11 - EUPHORIA (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1)

2/12 - SUITS (2), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UNTUCKED (1), WANDAVISION (1)

2/13 - IN & OF ITSELF, SUPERSTORE (1)

2/14 - LAST WEEK TONIGHT (1)

2/15 - SUITS (12)

2/16 - SUITS (1)

2/17 - SUITS (1)

2/18 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1)

2/19 - SUITS (1), WANDAVISION (1), I CARE A LOT

2/21 - SUITS (1), BEHIND HER EYES (6)

2/22 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), SUITS (2), DEFENDING THE GUILTY (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: UNTUCKED (2) 

2/23 - SEX EDUCATION (5), SUITS (1)

2/24 - PEAKY BLINDERS (1), SEX EDUCATION (7)

2/25 - LAST WEEK TONIGHT (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1), CALL ME KAT (1), SEX EDUCATION (4)

2/26 - SUITS (4), WANDAVISION (1)

2/27 - SUITS (7), “God Of War” (PS5)

2/28 - SUITS (5)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

MARCH

3/2 - ANTEBELLUM, LAST WEEK TONIGHT (1), PRISONERS

3/3 - PEARSON (1), GINNY & GEORGIA (3)

3/4 - COMING TO AMERICA, COMING 2 AMERICA, GINNY & GEORGIA (1)

3/5 - MOXIE, WANDAVISION (1), GINNY & GEORGIA (2)

3/6 - GINNY & GEORGIA (4)

3/7 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: UNTUCKED (1), DEFENDING THE GUILTY (1), LOVE & MONSTERS 

3/8 - CBS PRESENTS OPRAH WITH MEGHAN AND HARRY, PEARSON (4)

3/9 - PEARSON (4), RED RIDING: THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1974

3/10 - RED RIDING: THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1980, RED RIDING: THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1983

3/11 - THE REAL WORLD (2)

3/12 - THE REAL WORLD (2)

3/13 - NOMADLAND, RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: UNTUCKED (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK (1)

3/14 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK (1), IT’S A SIN (4)

3/15 - IT’S A SIN (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK (1)

3/16 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK (1)

3/17 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK (1), PEAKY BLINDERS (1), THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY (1)

3/18 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK (2)

3/19 - FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER (1)

3/20 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK (3), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: UNTUCKED (1)

3/21 - HAPPILY, THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY (8), SUPERSTORE (5)

3/22 -  MR. MAYOR (2), THE EXPANSE (2), THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY (5)

3/23 - THE EXPANSE (8), MR. MAYOR (2), BREEDERS (2)

3/24 - DERRY GIRLS (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

3/25 - SUPERSTORE (2), SEARCH PARTY (3), ATTACK ON TITAN (3)

3/26 - SEARCH PARTY (1)

3/27 - ATTACK ON TITAN (10), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: UNTUCKED (1)

3/28 - ATTACK ON TITAN (3), SEARCH PARTY (5), 

3/29 - ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST (2)

3/30 - ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST (1), BREEDERS (1), Luster by Raven Leilani

3/31 - KIPO & THE AGE OF WONDERBEASTS (2), PRETEND IT’S A CITY (1)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

APRIL

4/1 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), PEAKY BLINDERS (1)

4/2 - TOP CHEF (1), KIPO & THE AGE OF WONDERBEASTS (2), Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo, Q: INTO THE STORM (4)

4/3 - THE FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

4/4 - KIPO & THE AGE OF WONDERBEASTS (2), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

4/5 - Q: INTO THE STORM (2), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

4/6 - LAST WEEK TONIGHT (4), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (2)

4/7 - THE MAGICIANS (7), THE BIRCH (2), KIPO & THE AGE OF WONDERBEASTS (3), ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST (1)

4/8 - THE MAGICIANS (4), GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS, GODZILLA VS. KONG, PEAKY BLINDERS (1)

4/9 - TOP CHEF (1), TOP CHEF: LAST CHANCE KITCHEN (1)

4/10 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1), SELLING SUNSET (2), BREEDERS (1), HOME ECONOMICS (1), Siege & Storm by Leigh Bardugo 

4/11 - THE FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER (1), THE NEVERS (1)

4/12 - MARCELLA (1), ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST (1), SELLING SUNSET (2), DERRY GIRLS (2)

4/13 - THE WILDS (1), SELLING SUNSET (2), MARCELLA (2), BREEDERS (2)

4/14 - SELLING SUNSET (2), THE REAL WORLD (4)

4/15 - THE WILDS (1), SELLING SUNSET (1), HOME ECONOMICS (1)

4/16 - THE WILDS (1), SELLING SUNSET (1)

4/17 - TOP CHEF (1), TOP CHEF: LAST CHANCE KITCHEN (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1)

4/18 - THE WILDS (1), SELLING SUNSET (1), MARE OF EASTTOWN (1) 

4/19 - THE REAL WORLD (3), SELLING SUNSET (1), ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST (1) 

4/20 - BREEDERS (1), SELLING SUNSET (1), THE WILDS (1)

4/21 - SELLING SUNSET (1), THE WILDS (1), THE REAL WORLD (2), THE REAL WORLD HOMECOMING: NEW YORK (2)

4/22 - THE WILDS (1), THE REAL WORLD HOMECOMING: NEW YORK (1), SELLING SUNSET (1), HOME ECONOMICS (1)

4/24 - SELLING SUNSET (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (1)

4/25 - THE WILDS (2), SELLING SUNSET (1), THE FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER (2), MARE OF EASTTOWN (1)

4/26 - THE WILDS (1), SELLING SUNSET (1), TOP CHEF (1), TOP CHEF: LAST CHANCE KITCHEN (1), THE REAL WORLD HOMECOMING: NEW YORK (1)

4/27 - SELLING SUNSET (1), THE REAL WORLD HOMECOMING: NEW YORK (1), MARCELLA (8), BREEDERS (1), THE NEVERS (1)

4/28 - MARCELLA (4), SELLING SUNSET (1), THE HANDMAID’S TALE (1), YOUNGER (1)

4/29 - THE HANDMAID’S TALE (1), YOUNGER (1), HOME ECONOMICS (1)

4/30 - SELLING SUNSET (1), YOUNGER (1), MARCELLA (2)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

MAY

5/1 - TENET, SELLING SUNSET (1), MARCELLA (6)

5/2 - SELLING SUNSET (2)

5/3 - THE HANDMAID’S TALE (1), CRIMINAL: UK (2)

5/4 - CRIMINAL: UK (1), THE HANDMAID’S TALE (1), TOP CHEF (1), TOP CHEF: LAST CHANCE KITCHEN (1)

5/5 - BREEDERS (1), ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST (1)

5/6 - HOME ECONOMICS (1), LEGENDARY (1), MARE OF EASTTOWN (1)

5/7 - TOP CHEF (1), TOP CHEF: LAST CHANCE KITCHEN (2)

5/8 - NOBODY

5/9 - MARE OF EASTTOWN (1), THE NEVERS (1)

5/10 - THE NEVERS (1), GIRLS5EVA (3)

5/11 - GIRLS5EVA (2)

5/12 - GIRLS5EVA (1)

5/13 - GIRLS5EVA (2), THE HANDMAID’S TALE (1)

5/14 - TOP CHEF (1), TOP CHEF: LAST CHANCE KITCHEN (1)

5/16 - HACKS (2), MARE OF EASTTOWN (1), THE NEVERS (1)

5/17 -  THE PURSUIT OF LOVE (1)

5/18 - ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST (1)

5/19 - THE HANDMAID’S TALE (1)

5/20 - LIMITLESS (1), HACKS (2), HOME ECONOMICS (1), All Things Cease To Appear by Elizabeth Brundage, THINGS HEARD & SEEN

5/21 - LAST WEEK TONIGHT (3)

5/22 - Ruin & Rising by Leigh Bardugo, LAST WEEK TONIGHT (3)

5/25 - MARE OF EASTTOWN (1)

5/29 - SIGNS, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, SHADOW & BONE (1)

5/30 - A QUIET PLACE PART II, TOP CHEF (1), TOP CHEF: LAST CHANCE KITCHEN (1), HACKS (2), MARE OF EASTTOWN (1), 100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell

5/31 - COUPLE’S THERAPY (1), ZIWE (3)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

JUNE

6/1 - TOP CHEF (1), TOP CHEF: LAST CHANCE KITCHEN (1), SHADOW & BONE (1)

6/2 - BREEDERS (2), COUPLE’S THERAPY (1)

6/3 - HACKS (2), THE HANDMAID’S TALE (1), HOME ECONOMICS (1)

6/4 - WE ARE LADY PARTS (1), LAST WEEK TONIGHT (1)

6/5 - TOP CHEF (1), TOP CHEF: LAST CHANCE KITCHEN (2)

6/6 - A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet, THE BOLD TYPE (1), THE HANDMAID’S TALE (1), CRUEL SUMMER (1), “It Takes Two” (PS5)

6/7 - THE OUTSIDER (5)

6/8 - THE OUTSIDER (2), LAST WEEK TONIGHT (1), SILICON VALLEY (3)

6/9 - SINGLE PARENTS (2), SILICON VALLEY (4)

6/10 - BLACK NARCISSUS (3), CRUEL SUMMER (1), THE BOLD TYPE (1)

6/11 - HONOUR (2)

6/13 - IN THE HEIGHTS, HACKS (2)

6/14 - LOKI (1), TOP CHEF (1), THE BOYS (3)

6/15 - THE BOYS (2), KEVIN CAN F*** HIMSELF (1), THE BOLD TYPE (1), CRUEL SUMMER (1)

6/16 - THE BOYS (6), THE HANDMAID’S TALE (1), COUPLE’S THERAPY (2)

6/17 - THE BOYS (6), ZIWE (1), CRUEL SUMMER (1)

6/21 - BO BURNHAM: NSIDE

6/22 - EVIL (1), WE ARE LADY PARTS (1)

6/23 - WE ARE LADY PARTS (2), Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, SHADOW & BONE (1)

6/24 - LAST WEEK TONIGHT (2), DERRY GIRLS (3), THE TERROR (1)

6/25 - TOP CHEF (2), THE TERROR (3)

6/27 - RUTHERFORD FALLS (2), CRUEL SUMMER (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1)

6/28 - CRUEL SUMMER (1), HANNAH GADSBY: ANETTE, SHADOW & BONE (1)

6/29 - CRUEL SUMMER (1)

6/30 - THE TERROR (1), SHADOW & BONE (4), CRUEL SUMMER (2)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

JULY

7/1 - CRUEL SUMMER (1), BROADCHURCH (6), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1), THE GOOD FIGHT (1)

7/2 - BROADCHURCH (2), ZOLA, TOP CHEF (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1)

7/3 - STARSTRUCK (4)

7/4 - FEAR STREET: 1994

7/5 - STARSTRUCK (2), EVIL (2)

7/6 - BROADCHURCH (4)

7/7 - BROADCHURCH (4)

7/8 - THE BITE (1), HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (1), GOSSIP GIRL (1)

7/9 - HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (3)

7/10 - THE GOOD FIGHT (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1), HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (4)

7/11 - HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (1)

7/12 - HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (3), BLACK WIDOW

7/13 - HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (4), LOKI (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

7/14 - HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (3), LOKI (2)

7/15 - HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (1)

7/17 - Christina Aguilera & the LA Philharmonic (Hollywood Bowl), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1), THE GOOD FIGHT (1), Family Tree Vol. 1: Sapling by Jeff Lemire, Family Tree Vol. 2: Seeds by Jeff Lemire

7/18 - EVIL (1), THE WHITE LOTUS (1)

7/19 - HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (5), The Octoroon (The Fountain Theatre)

7/20 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), THE WHITE LOTUS (1), HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (5)

7/21 - EVIL (1), ROADKILL (1),  THE PURSUIT OF LOVE (1)

7/22 - ROADKILL (1), THE GOOD FIGHT (1), GOSSIP GIRL (1)

7/23 - HOW I MET YOUR DAD (1), YOUNGER (1), ROADKILL (1), TED LASSO (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1), Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam 

7/24 - FEAR STREET: 1978, FEAR STREET: 1666

7/25 - CHAOS WALKING, THE WHITE LOTUS (1), YOUNGER (1)

7/26 - THE TOMORROW WAR, THE WALKING DEAD (2), GOSSIP GIRL (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

7/27 - THE WALKING DEAD (1), YOUNGER (6), EVIL (1), MAKING THE CUT (2)

7/28 - MAKING THE CUT (2)

7/29 - YOUNGER (1), MAKING THE CUT (2), THE GOOD FIGHT (1), TED LASSO (1)

7/30 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

AUGUST

8/1 - Ascender Vol. 3: The Digital Mage by Jeff Lemire, Tales from the Umbrella Academy: You Look Like Death by Gerard Way, MAKING THE CUT (2), NEVER HAVE I EVER (1), THE WALKING DEAD (2)

8/2 - THE WALKING DEAD (4), THE WHITE LOTUS (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

8/3 - THE WALKING DEAD (3), THE BOLD TYPE (1), East of West Vol. 10 by Jonathan Hickman

8/4 - THE WALKING DEAD (3), FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (1), THE BOLD TYPE (2)

8/5 - FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (7), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1), THE GOOD FIGHT (1), TED LASSO (1), “Hades” (Nintendo Switch)

8/6 - FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (8)

8/7 - MAKING THE CUT (2), THE WALKING DEAD (8)

8/8 - THE WALKING DEAD (8), FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (4), THE WHITE LOTUS (1)

8/9 - FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (6), GOSSIP GIRL (1)

8/10 - FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (1), SUPERNOVA, MONSTER HUNTER

8/12 - BROCKMIRE (3), ROADKILL (1), STRANGERS WITH CANDY (1)

8/15 - In The Woods by Tana French

8/16 - Later by Stephen King, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON

8/17 - FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (5), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1), THE WALKING DEAD (3)

8/18 - THE WALKING DEAD (3), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), THE GOOD FIGHT (1)

8/19 - RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1), THE GOOD FIGHT (1), TED LASSO (1)

8/20 - THE WALKING DEAD (10), TED LASSO (1), FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (2)

8/21 - FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (3), GOSSIP GIRL (1)

8/22 - FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (3), THIS WAY UP (2), SWEET TOOTH (1)

8/23 - WHAT IF…? (2), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO (1)

8/24 - FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (8), THIS WAY UP (1)

8/25 - THE WALKING DEAD (12)

8/26 - THE WALKING DEAD (4), THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND (2), FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (1) RUAPUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1), THE OTHER TWO (2), THE GOOD FIGHT (1)

8/27 - THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND (2), FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (2)

8/28 - “Bowser’s Fury” (Nintendo Switch)

8/29 - FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (4), THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND (7) THE WALKING DEAD (3)

8/30 - THE WALKING DEAD (3), FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (1)

8/31 - FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (7), THE WALKING DEAD (3) 

- - - - - - - - - - - -

SEPTEMBER

9/1 - BIG SKY (7)

9/2 - BIG SKY (3)

9/3 - Unearth: Vol. 1 by Cullen Bunn, REMINISCENCE

9/4 - Unearth: Vol. 2 by Cullen Bunn

9/5 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), THE OTHER TWO (2), The Likeness by Tana French

9/6 - Something Is Killing The Children: Vol. 2 by James Tynion IV,  Something Is Killing The Children: Vol. 3 by James Tynion IV, TED LASSO (1), RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (1), Sentient by Jeff Lemire, THE WALKING DEAD (1)

9/7 - My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix, BIG SKY (1)

9/8 - BIG SKY (5), YOU (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

9/9 - The Story by A’Ziah King, YOU (5), THE OTHER TWO (2), TED LASSO (1)

9/10 - YOU (4),  THE SINNER (3), MALIGNANT

9/11 - THE SINNER (5), STAR-CROSSED: THE FILM

9/12 - THIS WAY UP (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1)

9/13 - THE SINNER (1), Y: THE LAST MAN (1), AMERICAN CRIME STORY: IMPEACHMENT (1)

9/14 - THE SINNER (2), Y: THE LAST MAN (2), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

9/15 - THE WALKING DEAD (1), THE SINNER (1), THE PURSUIT OF LOVE (1)

9/16 - THE SINNER (4)

9/17 - DUBLIN MURDERS (1), THE OTHER TWO (1)

9/18 - THE OTHER TWO (1), TED LASSO (1), THE MORNING SHOW (1), Faithful Place by Tana French 

9/19 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1)

9/20 - DUBLIN MURDERS (1), THE WALKING DEAD (1)

9/21 - DUBLIN MURDERS (2), Y: THE LAST MAN (1), AMERICAN CRIME STORY: IMPEACHMENT (1)

9/22 - SURVIVOR (1)

9/23 - DUBLIN MURDERS (1), AMERICAN CRIME STORY: IMPEACHMENT (1), THE OTHER TWO (2)

9/24 - Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, MAD DETECTIVE, DUBLIN MURDERS (1), 

9/25 - TED LASSO (1), THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF (1)

9/26 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1), THIS WAY UP (1)

9/27 - SEX EDUCATION (8), DUBLIN MURDERS (2), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

9/28 - Y: THE LAST MAN (1), MIDNIGHT MASS (4), THIS WAY UP (1), PEN15 (1)

9/29 - MIDNIGHT MASS (3), SURVIVOR (1), WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (1) 

- - - - - - - - - - - -

OCTOBER

10/1 - TED LASSO (1), THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF (1), THE WALKING DEAD (1), THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND (1)

10/2 - THE MORNING SHOW (2)

10/3 - SQUID GAME (2), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

10/4 - THE WALKING DEAD (1), THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND (1), STATION 19 (1), GREY’S ANATOMY (1), Y: THE LAST MAN (1), SQUID GAME (1)

10/5 - STATION 19 (1), GREY’S ANATOMY (1), Alanis Morissette with Garbage and Cat Power (Hollywood Bowl)

10/6 - SURVIVOR (1)

10/11 - STATION 19 (3), GREY’S ANATOMY (2)

10/12 - GREY’S ANATOMY (3), STATION 19 (3), WE’RE HERE (1), TED LASSO (1)

10/13 - Y THE LAST MAN (1), SQUID GAME (1)

10/14 - SURVIVOR (1)

10/15 - NO TIME TO DIE

10/17 - GREY’S ANATOMY (3), SQUID GAME (2)

10/18 - GREY’S ANATOMY (3)

10/19 - GREY’S ANATOMY (5), STATION 19 (2), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (2)

10/20 - STATION 19 (3), GREY’S ANATOMY (2)

10/21 - GREY’S ANATOMY (1)

10/22 - SURVIVOR (1)

10/24 - INSECURE (1)

10/25 - STATION 19 (1), SQUID GAME (1)

10/27 - STATION 19 (1), GREY’S ANATOMY (2)

10/28 - STATION 19 (2), GREY’S ANATOMY (2)

10/29 - STATION 19 (1), GREY’S ANATOMY (1), DUNE

10/30 - SQUID GAME (1)

10/31 - LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1), “Doctor Mario World” (iOS)

- - - - - - - - - - - -

NOVEMBER

11/2 - Broken Harbor by Tana French, Caroline Or Change (Broadway)

11/3 - Girl From The North Country (Broadway), Clyde’s (Broadway)

11/4 - Is This A Room? (Broadway), SURVIVOR (1)

11/8 - Last Call by Elon Green, GREY’S ANATOMY (1), STATION 19 (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (3)

11/9 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

11/10 - STATION 19 (2), GREY’S ANATOMY (2)

11/11 - SQUID GAME (1)

11/12 - ETERNALS

11/15 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1), GREY’S ANATOMY (2), STATION 19 (2)

11/16 - THE ENGLISH GAME (1), STATION 19 (4)

11/17 - SURVIVOR (1), STATION 19 (1)

11/18 - GREY’S ANATOMY (4), STATION 19 (3)

11/19 - GREY’S ANATOMY (2), STATION 19 (2)

11/20 - THE WAY DOWN (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (2)

11/21 - Clean Room Vol. 1: Immaculate Conception by Gail Simone

11/22 - The Banks by Roxane Gay

11/23 - GREY’S ANATOMY (2), STATION 19 (1), Come From Away (Apple+), THE LAST DUEL

11/24 - STATION 19 (1), GREY’S ANATOMY (1), JUSTIFIED (1)

11/25 - SURVIVOR (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1)

11/26 - SIX BY SONDHEIM

11/27 - THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (2), TICK, TICK… BOOM! 

11/28 - THE HOUSE OF GUCCI, SELLING SUNSET (2), INSECURE (1)

11/29 - STATION 19 (1), SELLING SUNSET (1), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC (1)

11/30 - GREY’S ANATOMY (1), STATION 19 (1), SELLING SUNSET (1), INSECURE (1), Clean Room Vol. 2: Exile by Gail Simone, Clean Room Vol. 3: Waiting For The Stars To Fall by Gail Simone

- - - - - - - - - - - -

DECEMBER

12/1 - STATON 19 (1), GREY’S ANATOMY (1), Misfits: A Personal Manifesto by Michaela Coel

12/2 - STATION 19 (3), GREY’S ANATOMY (2), SURVIVOR (1), Family Tree Vol. 3: Forest by Jeff Lemire

12/3 - STATION 19 (3), GREY’S ANATOMY (3), GRACE & FRANKIE (3), SELLING SUNSET (2)

12/6 - GRACE & FRANKIE (1), IN MY SKIN (3), THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY (1)

12/7 - IN MY SKIN (2), RESERVATION DOGS (1), YELLOWJACKETS (1), SELLING SUNSET (1)

12/ 8 - RESERVATION DOGS (4), SURVIVOR (1), SELLING SUNSET (1)

12/9 - A Christmas Carol (Ahmanson Theatre)

12/10 - RESERVATION DOGS (1), WEST SIDE STORY

12/11 - THE WAY DOWN (2), SELLING SUNSET (2), The Department of Truth Vol. 1: The End of the World by James Tynion IV

12/12 - SELLING SUNSET (1), YELLOWJACKETS (1), INSECURE (1)

12/13 - THE COMEY RULE (2), RESERVATION DOGS (2), THE POWER OF THE DOG, THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD (2), The Woods Yearbook Edition Book One by James Tynion IV

12/14 - THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD (6)

12/15 - SURVIVOR (1)

12/16 - STATION ELEVEN (1), SAVED BY THE BELL (1)

12/17 - SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

12/19 - INSECURE (1), YELLOWJACKETS (1), THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF (1)

12/21 - THE MATRIX

12/22 - DICKINSON (1)

12/23 - YOU (5), The Old Guard: Tales Through Time Vol. 1 by Greg Rucka, Die Vol. 4: Bleed by Kieron Gillen, 

12/24 - YOU (2)

12/26 - YOU (3), THE MORNING SHOW (2), INSECURE (1), THE MATRIX RELOADED

12/27 - THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS

12/28 - YELLOWJACKETS (4)

12/29 - DON’T LOOK UP, HAWKEYE (3)

12/31 - The Trespasser by Tana French

[lesbianmariuspontmercy]

from seduced: inside the nxivm cult.

a lot of you who joke about cults and call your friend groups cults need to hear this.

[kmp78]

"Cult leader Leto" Oh, that kooky man! But on a serious note he produced a documentary called Holy Hell. It's actually really good. I would recommend it. I usually find the cult stuff boring but this was very interesting.

Yep that's a good one. I remember watching it when it came out.

If you're interested in that subject matter, you might also enjoy this documentary:

Oh man... 😳

Absolutely crazy how people fell for that man's obvious bs! 👀

I binged that in one go! Very much recommended!

(And I did recognize many of the same characteristics in Ranieri and his followers as we come across in JL and his diciples... 😬)

[jadelotusflower]

November Roundup

Some writing success this month - I finished and posted a new chapter for Against the Dying of the Light, and made progress on The Lady of the Lake and Turn Your Face to the Sun. I didn’t work much on my novel, but I did do some editing on the first third so that’s progress.

Words written this month: 6647

Total this year: 67,514

November books

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo - joint winner of the 2019 Booker Prize (with The Testaments by Margaret Atwood) this was an engrossing and interesting read. Stylistically unusual formatting and scant use of punctuation that is a bit jarring at first, but you quickly adapt as you read. There’s no plot as such - instead the story is formed by vignettes of twelve black women and their disparate yet interconnected lives. We have mothers and daughters, close friends, teachers and students, although the connections aren’t always obvious at first - we can be exposed to a character briefly in the story of another with no idea that she will be a focus later on. It’s very skillfully done, to the point whereupon finishing I wanted immediately to re-read (but alas, it was already overdue back to the library). There is so much ground covered that we are really only given a glimpse into the characters lives, but there is a diversity of intergenerational perspectives of the African diaspora in the UK, and I highly recommend.

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett - after finishing The Pillars of the Earth I had intended to read the sequel, but this was available on the library shelf and I had to place a hold on World Without End, so the prequel came first. Set sixty years before the Conquest (150 before Pillars) it primarily addresses the growth of the hamlet of Dreng’s Ferry into the town of Kingsbridge, through the lives of a monk with a strong moral code, a clever and beautiful noblewoman, and a skilled builder, working against the machinations of an evil bishop. Sound familiar? This is Follet’s most recent work, and I do wonder if he’s running out of ideas as this covers very similar thematic ground.

Ragna is a compelling female character, but once again the romance-that-cannot-be with Edgar is tepid, Aldred is a very watered down version of Prior Philip, and there’s no grand framing device such as building the cathedral to really tie to all together (although things do Get Built, and it’s interesting but not on the level of Pillars). This is the tail end of the Dark Ages and it shows - Viking raids, slavery, infanticide - and while it seems Follett’s style is to put his characters through much tragedy and tribulation before their happy ending, I wish writers would stop going to the rape well so readily. But at least the sexual violence isn’t as...lasciviously written as in Pillars? Scant praise, I know. But Follett’s strength in drawing the reader into the world and time period is on display, made even more interesting in this era about which we know very little.

Women and Leadership by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - I have a great deal of respect for Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female Prime Minister who was treated utterly shamefully during her tenure and never got the credit she deserved, perhaps excepting the reaction to her iconic “misogny speech” whichyou can enjoy in full here:

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was the first woman to be Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs in Nigeria, was also the former Managing Director of the World Bank, and currently a candidate for Director-General of the WTO.

This is an interesting examination of women in leadership roles, comparing and contrasting the lives and experiences of a select few including (those I found the most interesting) Ellen Sirleaf, the first female President of Liberia, Joyce Banda, the first female President of Malawi, New Zealand’s current Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and of course, Gillard and Okonjo-Iweala themselves.

November shows/movies

The Vow and Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult - I’ve been following the NXIVM case for a while now, when the news broke in 2017 I was surprised and intrigued that it involved actresses from some of my fandom interests - Alison Mack (Smallville), Grace Park and Nikki Clyne (Battlestar Galactica), and Bonnie Piasse (Star Wars). Uncovered: Escaping NXIVM is an excellent podcast from that point in time that’s well worth a listen. There’s been a lot of discussion comparing these two documentaries and which one is better, but I feel they’re both worthwhile.

The Vow gives a primer of NXIVM as a predatory “self improvement” pyramid scheme/cult run by human garbage Keith Reniere, from the perspective of former members turned whistleblowers Bonnie Piasse, who first suspected things were wrong, her husband Mark Vicente who was high up in the organisation, and Sarah Edmondson who was a member of DOS, the secret group within NXIVM that involved branding and sex trafficking. Seduced gives more insight into the depravity and criminality of DOS from the pov of India Oxenburg, just 19 when she joined the group and who became Alison Mack’s “slave” in DOS - she was required to give monthly “collateral” in the form of explicit photographs or incriminating information about herself or her family, had to ask Mack’s permission before eating anything (only 500 calories allowed per day), was ordered to have sex with Reniere, and other horrific treatment - Mack herself was slave to Reniere (as was Nikki Clyne) and there were even more horrific crimes including rape and imprisonments of underage girls.

Of course each show has an interest in portraying its subjects as less culpable than perhaps they were (there were people above and below them all in the pyramid after all) - Vicente and Edmondson in The Vow and Oxenburg in Seduced, but what I did appreciate about Seduced was the multiple experts to explain how and why people were indoctrinated into this cult, and why it was so difficult to break free from it. This is a story of victims who were also victimisers and all the complications that come along with that, although I’m not sure any of these people are in the place yet to really reckon with what happened and all need a lot of therapy.

Focusing on individual journeys also narrows the scope - there are other NXIVM members interviewed I would have liked to have heard a lot more from. There is also a lot of jumping back and forth in time in both docos so the timeline is never quite clear unless you do further research. I would actually like to see another documentary one day a bit further removed from events dealing with the whole thing from start to finish from a neutral perspective. The good news is that Reniere was recently sentenced to 120 years in prison so he can rot.

I saw value in both, but you’re only going to watch one of these, I would say go for Seduced - if you’re interested in as much information as possible, watch The Vow first to get a primer on all the main players and then Seduced for the full(er) story.

The Crown (season 4) - While I love absolutely everything Olivia Coleman does, I thought it took a while for her to settle in as the Queen last season and it’s almost sad that she really nailed it this season, just in time for the next cast changeover (but I also love everything Imelda Staunton does so...) This may be an unpopular opinion, but I wasn’t completely sold on Gillian Anderson as Thatcher - yes I know she sounded somewhat Like That, but for me the performance was a little too...affected? (and someone get her a cough drop, please!) 

It is also an almost sympathetic portrayal of Thatcher - even though it does demonstrate her classism and internalised misogyny, it doesn’t really explore the full impact of Thatcherism, why she was such a polarising figure to the extent that some would react like this to her death:

But I suppose it’s called The Crown, not The PM.

Emma Corrin is wonderful as Diana, and boy do they take no prisoners with Charles (or the other male spawn). I was actually surprised at how terrible they made Charles seem rather than both sidesing it as I had expected (but perhaps that’s being saved for season 5). It does hammer home just how young Diana was when they were married (19 to Charles’ 32), how incompatible they were and the toxicity of their marriage (standard disclaimer yes it’s all fictionalised blah blah). The performances are exceptional across the board - Tobias Menzies and Josh O’Conner were also standouts and it’s a shame to see them go.

I was however disappointed to see that the episode covering Charles and Di’s tour of Australia was not only called “Terra Nullius” but the term was used as a very tone deaf metephor that modern Australia was no longer “nobody’s land/country”. For those who aren’t aware, terra nullius was the disgraceful legal justification for British invasion/colonisation of Australia despite the fact that the Indigenous people had inhabited the continent for 50,000 years or more. While the tour was pre-Mabo (the decision that overturned the doctrine of terra nullius and acknowledged native title), there was no need to use this to make the point, especially when there was no mention at all of the true meaning/implication of the term.

The Spanish Princess (season 2, episodes 4-8)- Sigh. I guess I’m more annoyed at the squandered potential of this show, since the purpose ostensibly was to focus on the time before The Great Matter and give Katherine “her due” - and instead they went and made her the most unsympathetic, unlikeable character in the whole damn show. (Spoilers) She literally rips Bessie Blount’s baby from her body and, heedless to a mother’s pleas to hold her child, runs off to Henry so she can present him with “a son”. I mean, what the actual fuck?

I’m not a stickler for historical accuracy so long as it’s accurate to the spirit of history (The Tudors had its flaws, but it threaded this needle most of the time), but this Katherine isn’t even a shadow of her historical figure - she’s not a troubled heroine, she’s cruel and vindictive, Margaret Pole is a sanctimonious prig, and Margaret Tudor does little but sneer and shout - the only one who comes out unscathed is Mary Tudor (the elder), and it’s only because she’s barely in it at all. It’s a shame because I like all of these actresses (especially Georgie Henley and Laura Carmichael) but they are just given dreck to work with.

This is not an issue with flawed characters, it’s the bizarre presentation of these characters that seems to want to be girl power rah rah, and yet at the same time feels utterly misogynistic by pitting the women against each other or making them spiteful, stupid, or crazy for The Drama. I realise this is based on Gregory so par for the course, but it feels particularly egregious here. (Spoilers) At one point Margaret Pole is banished from court by Henry, and because Katherine won’t help her (because she cant!) she decides to spill the beans about Katherine’s non-virginity. Yes, her revenge against the hated Tudors is...to give Henry exactly what he wants? Even though it will result in young Mary, who she loves and cares for, being disinherited? Girlboss!

This season also missed the opportunity to build on its predecessors The White Queen/Princess and show why it was so important to Henry to have a male heir - the Tudor reign wasn’t built on the firmest foundations and so needed uncontested transfer of power, at the time there was historic precedent that passing the throne to a daughter led to Anarchy, and wars of succession were very recent in everyone’s memory. At least no one was bleating about The Curse this time, which is actually kind of surprising, because the point of the stupid curse is the Tudor dynasty drama.

But it’s not all terrible. Lina and Oviedo are the best part of the show, and (spoilers) thankfully make it out alive. Both are a delight to watch and I wish the show had been just about them.

Oh well. One day maybe we’ll get the Katherine of Aragon show we deserve - at least I can say that the costumes were pretty, small consolation though it is.

[theunderdogwrites]

Why I’d Make A Terrible Cult Member

In case you didn’t hear NXIVM founder and Ryan Gosling look-a-like, Keith Raniere, 

was sentenced to 120 years in prison after being convicted of sex trafficking, racketeering and conspiracy after testimony that he had created a harem of sexual “slaves,” branded with his initials and kept in line with blackmail. There are currently two docu-series running right now (SEDUCED: INSIDE THE NXIVM CULT and THE VOW) that give you a chilling look into this cult. Both series are palatable and will have you saying – “How the hell did these people get pulled into a cult? Because from my couch I can tell you that would never happen to me!”

There is so much information out there about the NXIVM cult that I don’t feel the need to educate you on all their dastardly deeds. Instead, I want to ramble on about how the majority of us probably feel we could never be drawn in and held captive by a cult. Plus, after that election in the United States we could all use a wee laugh.

First…

The TOP FIVE Reasons WHY I’d Make A Terrible Cult Member

5. Terrible with Crowds

Does anyone really like crowds? Hoards of people gathering is a whole lot of stupid I just don’t want anywhere near me. Cults can’t survive without people. I suppose you could be a cult of one. If that is allowed, I want that. I brain-wash myself on a daily basis as is (‘Today is going to be awesome!’ ‘You absolutely do deserve a donut!’ ‘Drinking wine from a mug is considered sophisticated!’) so I feel I could make this work. Gym clothes are required clothing but will make an exception for all-day PJ’s on the rare Friday when I ‘just can’t even’.

4. Blindly Following Directions is Not My Strongest Quality

I am not a wanton rebel but I do fail (succeed) at being a part of a collective consciousness, especially where one person places themselves in charge of everyone else. While I don’t require for you to have degrees or letters of recommendations from heads of state, I must insist that you’re not a fascistic idiot. Also, you need to be a good person. Not just on the outside where you’re putting on a show for others, but on the inside where it really counts and shines through without you having to promote your intentions. There is just no way I am able to blindly follow directions from a person who I do not respect. And typically, I don’t respect anyone who craves and NEEDS control over a group of people, no matter the size, to make themselves whole. The bottom line here is: if you are this type of person and you attempt to snare me into your cult, I promise you I will be your problem child.

3. Isolation? Yes Please!

Cults wish to isolate you from your family and friends because then it becomes easier to indoctrinate you without any outside voices cluttering up your mind. Instead of isolating me from family and friends (who, I assure you would appreciate the break) it would be much more effective to separate me from my inside voices, of which there are many. Obviously, I am more attached to those voices than my family and friends and I bet my inside voices would eat your inside voices for breakfast, so if your intention is to try and control me you better be prepared for a fight similar to that of the Game of Thrones Battle of the Bastards. But seriously, I’m begging you… please isolate me from my inside voices. I could use some peace and quiet. This is a cry for help people!

2. Refusal to Have My Food Intake Monitored

The NXIVM cult preyed on women by forcing them to go to extreme measures in order to lose weight. They often had to take pictures of their food (counted and weighed on a scale) and ask permission to eat. Right away I’d have a serious problem with this bullshit. If I want a donut. I am going to eat a fucking donut. You want a picture of it? Ok, knock yourself out:

I’m eating this no matter your opinion.

I understand that withholding / limiting food (valuable protein, nutrients etc.) makes it easier to break someone down but just how far gone do you have to be to allow someone else to monitor and approve BY TEXT MESSAGE what you eat? I guess if we want to pull at this thread we can say organizations like WW, Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem “approve of” and even provide you with what they want you to eat in order to be successful if using their programs… and if I wanted to rip into them some more I could claim they are somewhat “cult-like”, but at least they don’t require naked, compromising photos of yourself just in case you fail to lose weight and they want to keep you accountable.

Confession time: when I go to a restaurant with friends and they want to “share” plates, I am not amused. Who the hell came up with this concept of “sharable plates”? If I want to order some crab cakes (usually two to a order) what makes you think I want to give you one in exchange for some of your fries? If I want fries, I will fucking order my own fries. Now that this secret is out… sorry to my friends who have politely forced me to share my food with them.

1. I Can’t Be Any More Brain-Washed Than I Already Am

BRAINWASHING: any method of controlled systematic indoctrination, especially one based on repetition or confusion.

Here’s a thought – we brainwash ourselves.

Well, first it’s our parents. And we don’t have much control over that for a long time. In that mix of original brainwashers is television with it’s cleverly made and repetitive commercials. We are being advertised AT from an early age and it’s a process that continues for our entire life. You don’t watch TV? Doesn’t matter if you own a cell phone or surf the web or have a pair of working eyes. It’s everywhere. You’re being convinced you need stuff. Or persuaded to believe in the magical powers that alcohol will give you (which through experience is NOT charm, grace or coordination). Just last week I realized I’ve been programmed to not give a flying fuck whenever I see a Kardashian. Or Mariah Carey. Or emails from Christian Mingle (please stop contacting me, you really don’t want this).

We brainwash ourselves into believing certain untruths in exchange for temporary happiness. I believe we all fall into this trap. Let’s be real and admit that life is fucking hard. Our collective goal is to be happy and to survive. If you need to convince yourself of some untruths for a short while in order to get through, you go right ahead. Just don’t let the lie take over your reality. It’s destructive. And you’ll miss out on how beautiful life can be if you don’t pull your head out of your own shit.

These two NXIVM documentaries really had me shaking my head in disbelief over just how these seemingly intelligent men and women fell for such a gigantic load of crap. To listen to this Keith Raniere speak and think to yourself “yes, here is a stable human being I want to follow who just happens to talk about how it would feel to rape a baby (it feels like nothing apparently) and requires us to kiss him on the lips when we say hello and goodbye” seriously puts your mental health into question. Am I right? Because I don’t actually know. Am I sitting in judgement of these cult members? Maybe just a little and that is simply because I believe myself to be… not smart, but not a total moron. Now having said that, I know that everyone is searching for spaces where they can belong. Where they feel comfortable enough to be themselves. Spaces that speak to them and people who mirror their desire to be better, do better. Their tribe, if you will.

If you were brand new to this planet and I told you about this activity that millions of people took part in, in some capacity, where they used a curved stick to chase around a hard rubber object on frozen water while wearing steel blades, you might give me a curious, tilted head look. You know, the one you give someone when you’re trying to determine whether or not they’re insane. Sports teams and especially their fans could be considered cult-like. Some people will shell out big $$$$ to attend the Super Bowl dressed head to toe in their team’s colors. Soccer fans in Europe have killed referees over what they felt was a bad call.  

Look at this line-up:

This was for the release of the latest iPhone (12). All these people brought together by an inanimate object with the technology to make/receive phone calls, take photos, listen to your conversations and advertise to you across all your social media platforms. Oh, and it can tell you the time.

If you dig far enough into the NXIVM cult (beyond the “ring leaders” who profited financially and at the same time fed their perverted yearning for supremacy over others) you will inevitability come across people who were at their very core – lost. Lost and looking for purpose. Lost and looking for a place where they could belong. Lost and looking for something special. I don’t know about you, but when I am feeling lost and low on hope, I don’t always make the best decisions.

Time to go eat all the donuts.

And if you’re interested in making me a member of your cult, please PM me. I come with impeccable references as long as you don’t believe a word of what they’ll say. I really am a constant fucking delight.

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

One nation under influence

Chico News Review     By Evan Tuchinsky    October 16, 2020    

Chico State Professor Emerita of Sociology, and cult expert, Janja Lalich

Since teaching her last class at Chico State in June 2018, Janja Lalich—professor emerita of sociology and a preeminent expert on cults—has not eased her way into retirement.

...

Her work getting the most attention now: two documentaries on NXIVM (pronounced NEX-ee-um)—an ostensible self-help organization that masked the sex-slave group DOS at its core. The Vow wraps with its ninth episode Sunday (Oct. 18) on HBO (though it has a greenlight for a second season), and Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult debuts the same night on Starz with the first of four episodes.

Producers of both projects consulted Lalich. She attended the last two weeks of the trial where, in June 2019, cult head Keith Raniere was convicted on seven criminal counts including racketeering and sex trafficking. Members of his inner circle, including actress Allison Mack of Smallville fame and Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman, pled guilty and also face jail time.

...

Are you watching The Vow now, or did you already see it during the editing or production phase? No, I didn’t see any of it before, because they’re in New York and I’m obviously out in California—so I’ve only been watching it like everybody else.

What’s been your reaction? The two documentaries are really quite different and complement each other. What’s most amazing to me in the The Vow is the amount of real-time footage that they have of things inside the group: of Keith Raniere speaking, of people being inside various workshops. So you’re kind of following the stories of [whistleblower couples] Mark [Vicente] and Bonnie [Piesse] and Sarah [Edmondson] and Nippy [Ames]; also you really see the manipulative dynamic that goes on because they have so much original footage. …

The one coming out this week focuses more on Catherine trying to get her daughter out, everything she did, and India actually coming out of the group and talking about her experience. It’s really quite moving.

They’re very different in their technique and their approaches, and they’re both very powerful. I think it’s so great that these documentaries are coming out now to help educate the public about these groups.

What do you hope people take away from watching these documentaries? Several things. I’m hoping that, for one, viewers will begin to have a better understanding of who joins these groups. I think there’s always been a feeling that Oh, it’s just “stupid people,” “crazy people” or “weak people” who get into these groups. You can see from these documentaries—and many of the others that have come out recently—that’s not who cults recruit. Cults recruit smart people, A-type personalities; they want people who can run their businesses and keep the thing going and recruit and bring in celebrities and bring legitimacy to the group. I hope the public will see these are decent, good people who join these groups, and if there’s any common denominator, it’s idealism: people who want to create a better world or do something better for their families. That’s what cults prey on.

Then, I also hope people will see how easy it is to get manipulated, to have this kind of gaslighting happen, where in many ways you’re very subtly coerced into joining and doing things you wouldn’t normally do. Membership in these groups tends to change your moral compass and your value structure—that takes determination on the part of the cult, and it takes indoctrination. I’m hoping these two documentaries will help the public understand how easily that happens and how deeply it harms people, how deeply it affects victims of that kind of cult regime.

We hear about gaslighting with how the public is being manipulated by politicians, and terms like Trump Derangement Syndrome and the Trump Cult. Are there parallels you see to your work? At least from my point of view, Trump has really done an excellent job of turning people away from reality. And he’s created his own version of reality. This whole focus on not believing in science, resisting that there’s any kind of climate change, insisting that “oh, the coronavirus really isn’t all that bad”—all these things over the last four years have appealed to certain people who have then become this frenzied 40 percent as they’ve become referred to, “the 40 percent,” who will, as we’ve seen, even put their lives at risk to attend these Trump rallies.

For me, what I feel I’m witnessing is the same close-mindedness that I see when I study cults: that the members are kind of shut into this bubble world and they’re very hard to speak to rationally and they don’t want to entertain any ideas that conflict with what they believe in. I think we’re seeing that a lot right now. And also with the QAnon movement that’s become so popular, we’re seeing families that have been completely disrupted by people who have become so closed in their thinking.

The dangers I see, especially with QAnon and even some of the things Trump has said, is violence that can so easily erupt among that population. To me, that’s what’s troubling. Most cults are insular and do harm among their members, but most cults don’t act outward. Surely some cults have, like Charlie Manson, over the years, but most cults don’t do that. What’s different now with QAnon and some of the white supremacist groups and some of that extremism is the acting out: walking around with guns, threatening to kidnap governors. That has been given license by some of the rhetoric from the administration.

Is there any antidote? We can never give up hope. There certainly is no magic bullet; with every individual and family situation, it’s going to be different. But I think some of the actions that are happening now with Facebook and Twitter, some of these social media outlets that are shutting down some of the disinformation that QAnon has been putting out, hopefully dampens some of the enthusiasm and it won’t be available to so many people to latch onto.

It’s difficult, because our country is in a very unsettling time right now. People don’t know what’s going on. Sometimes it feels like everything’s coming apart, right? Sometimes I even feel that way! When societies are in that unsettling kind of environment, that’s when cults can recruit; that’s when people tend to grasp at things that offer them some framework, offer them some answers, provide them some calm, some way to understand what’s going on. Until we can settle out the environment in America, we’re going to see a lot of this happening. Perhaps with a change in administration, we can begin to settle some of these crisis areas.

extracted from:

https://chico.newsreview.com/2020/10/16/one-nation-under-influence/

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The forgotten figure who explains how Trump got almost 74 million votes

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