The Vow on HBO, and cults

https://www.hbo.com/the-vow

If you haven't seen the first episode, you might want to stop reading, because there are spoilers. 

I have been fascinated by cults for years. 

How do people caught up in a cult? 

Don't they realize what they're getting into? 

What I'm learning though, is that people are lured into cults because they often have a very positive message. Cults start off as communities that appeal to lonely, vulnerable people, people who want to better themselves and be a part of a group that is doing great work for society. 

Jim Jones' People Temple looked fantastic on the surface - a utopian society where people of all races came together to take care of each other, help the poor, and fight racism and bigotry. 

NXIVM, the organization profiled in the Vow, lured people who were interested in self-empowerment and overcoming fears that held them back from living their best life. Individuals could rise in the ranks and recruitment was a big way to do that. Although it turned out to be a pyramid scheme and sex cult for it's leader, the first episode of the documentary showed how happy people were initially, as they learned how to be their best selves and found a community of like-minded people who encouraged and celebrated their every success and emotional breakthrough. 

I think I could have been very susceptible to a cult at certain times in my life. I have struggled with fears, self-empowerment, and the definition of success, and I have also searched for a community where I feel I truly belong. An organization like NXIVM would have been highly attractive to me. 

The first episode of the Vow was very good, and I am quite interested in the rest of the series. I also watched the Lifetime movie Escaping the NXIVM Cult: A Mother's Fight to Save Her Daughter, about Catherine Oxenberg and her daughter India. 

librarianintx