Recently I've been watching different documentaries and docuseries on cults, some of which I didn't know exist as they're in other countries or they're historical. Each one slowly chipping away my confidence in human intelligence. Most of them are the typical religious ones that center around a self-proclaimed savior or a particular religious ideology but I just watched one called Escaping Twin Flames and for some reason this raised my brow higher than most, as this doesn't center around religion but finding your "soulmate".
It was started in 2017 and completely online, with a very young couple who claimed they could help you find your "twin flame". Just had to pay for classes and coaching sessions which were 100% online. I believe they've only ever had 3 or so in-person meetings. They were able to convince others without any proof or any actual outside success that they were legit. Again all done online through video conferences and online marketing scams. They also used a mix of religion (the Divine purpose) and New Age (some Hindu influence which was offensive) to seal their message. They somehow convinced followers on social media that they were the ONLY ones who could tell others who their "twin flames" were even if they didn't feel anything towards that person. They convinced followers to pursue their twin flames even if it meant landing themselves in jail for stalking. Also cutting off contact with their family convincing them that they were being abused even though they never were and many of which had wholesome family upbringings.
What's even more disturbing is that, once they realized some were leaving the group, they started convincing current members that their partners only existed within their organization, and because they didn't believe in homosexuality, convinced certain members that they needed a sex change so they could represent the divine masculine and feminine, even if they didn't identify or feel like their assigned gender.
So most cults are led by talented, charismatic, and convincing orators, who know how to speak well. But this couple is anything but.. it's very shocking how many people they've convinced especially without any real proof (just sitting in front of a camera and talking). They talk like teenagers, very willy-nilly, not very concise (a lot of "ums" and "yeas" and "likes"), lots of cussing and mocking voices and openly bragging how much money and fame they have (they don't pay their employees) and using their wealth to convince others that they're legit. During their lessons you can tell, very obviously, they are just making things up as they go, sometimes looking at each other for back up (even fighting and insulting each other openly), sometimes even contradicting themselves within seconds. It's baffling how anyone cannot see past this sham especially in at this age of technological advancement and knowledge of online scams.
It made me think about how desperation for something: to belong to a group, to fulfill your emptiness, to find romance, etc, how it somehow trumps all cognitive ability and reason. How emotions of someone who is so unsure of themselves can easily be manipulated by others. And how I wish more could just be secure with themselves and stop looking to others to fill in their gaps. I'm not one to be pigeonholed so maybe I can never understand but I'd rather be alone than lose myself to belong somewhere.
But anyway, he certainly was talented. There is a scene in Steamboat Bill Jr. where he accidentally walks into a rope that goes upwards at an angle and then he manages to slide up the rope, it's a very short scene but it really cracks me up.
