Cultish
Ratings27
Average rating3.9
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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Wow, this book was addicting and insightful all at once. Montell dives deeply into the words used to trap people in cults and keep them there, and she's clearly researched the subject well. Coming out of a nonfic. having learned a lot with a lot of “aha” moments + enjoying the book too is just awesome, and on that front Montell delivers.
This book gave me a better perspective on how cults and cults groups (MLM's, SoulCycle, and other intense groups and organizations) use language to keep you in. I enjoyed exploring the different dialects of cultish language that was explored throughout the book, and especially gaining so insight into how politicians and those involved in our government can use the word cult as a tool. I will likely read this again one day.
This book functions as an overview of cults and let's say cult adjacent communities and how they use language to entice and then insulate followers.
Its worth three stars alone for introducing me to the concept of “thought terminating cliches” which the author did not first identify but the naming of them is new to me nonetheless. One of the things that's fascinated me about talking to people who don't share the same belief system is you is how quickly they'll throw one of these bombs out to destroy a conversation. “Well everything happens for a reason.” “No one wants to work anymore.” “Someone has it worse than you.” It kills discourse and silences the person who asks why.
But this concept has of course existed and was posited by other scholars earlier and the book is actually kind of a mess.
I'd read it if you've never read anything about a cult before. But I have because I have a small obsession, lol.
