Dear readers,
What makes a cult? We’ve all heard the term, whether in the joke “drinking the Kool-Aid” in reference to the Jonestown Peoples Temple movement, talking about a passionate sports team or discussing an irreverent movie that fans know by heart. “Cult” is something that has both positive and negative connotations and a complicated history as well as an unknown future. It’s a complicated and multifaceted term that we decided to explore for this, our final edition of the 2023-24 school year.
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The staff of The Collegian have compiled an edition centered on cults for your consumption. With stories ranging in seriousness and intent, we have chosen to approach this idea of cults with and open and nuanced mindset. While the word “cult” may feel harsh, it actually is inherent of our culture — pun absolutely intended. There is an solemnity to defining a cult.
In one sense, it is a control group with a leader, a space where lifestyles are limited and a set of severe social consequences for not adhering to the rules of the group.
Cults like Love Has Won have garnered national attention for the ways they manipulated the lives of their members. The severity of this should not be ignored, and while the stories that come from these situations may be intriguing, they should be told with the utmost respect for those whose lives were turned upside down by these organizations.
The strange duality of the word “cult” means that it can mean both a controlling and abusive organization as well an aggressively passionate in-group that thrives on specific social symbols. Sports fans, cult classic films and the die-hard followers of several fandoms develop their own cultlike groups that become integral to our identities. Whether serious or not, all of these are interpretations of the word “cult.”
When setting out to create this edition, we wanted to have a balance of both serious and fun topics to bring to readers. Cults are serious and dangerous and potentially life-ruining, but there is a morbid fascination to the world of cults that has, in part, inspired the term “cult classic.”
Cult classics are things that otherwise might not be considered very popular and are somewhat quirky and offbeat. In this edition, we explore things like “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” the epitome of cult classics, and try to delve into the emotional and personal bonds that make cult classic groups almost like a found family.
As we explore the worlds of cults, fandoms, psychology and both the lasting damage and blinding joy associated with the world of cults and tight-knit, psychologically invested groups, we invite you to approach this subject with kindness, openness and dignity as readers.
For the last time this school year,
The Collegian
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Reach the editorial board at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
