37yo watches Simpsons for 1st time s9e13

THE JOY OF SECT

oh folks have mentioned this one.

Oh look, scientologists.

Wow, that crowd sure hated that team?

I was just about to mention time shares and then Homer beat me to it.

I have read several Ex Scientologist memoirs. They're wild. Also learned a lot about NXIVM. And other cults. Wrote several papers on it in grad school, it's a... Hobby.

So this is a gag on the Heaven's Gate cult I imagine. Their website is still active BTW.

Wow these chants suck.

If you have not done a deep dive on cult psychology, it is totally worth it. There are tons of podcasts and documentary series I could recommend.

Covered in the dust of the leader as a sign of status lol. 👌

Special K and a Mickey hat 😅

"where do thunder and lightning come from?" the leader. Remind me to post a picture of the Abeka Book science curriculum from my childhood about electricity and the moon.

Cult deprogrammers do exist. I recommend therapy.

The cult gags are all blatant, they aren't subtle or particularly clever, but they are funny. So I don't have any particular comments, but I do have some FUN CULT FACTS.

1. The most famous model to determine cult intensity is the BITE model. Cults control Behavior, Information, Thoughts, and Emotions.

2. Tons of organizations have cult like properties, not just religious groups. Political groups, activist orgs, even businesses and fitness centers.

3. Cults isolate members from the outside world by unique vocabulary, punishing disagreement, unquestionable loyalty, and thought stopping cliches.

4. in many cases, members can be educated and intelligent.

5. Studies have found that, much like Springfield, humans have a MASSIVE bias for group think.

The cult leader is Snakes VA. 😁

Promise Keepers. Oof. Yeah I grew going to their rallies.

Okay so going on humor alone that episode wasn't that funny. But obvs this is a subject matter I take a ton of personal and professional interest in. So for that reason I give it 4.5 UFOs.

🛸 🛸 🛸 🛸.5