Wild Wild Country on Netflix

[Bram]

As I type this, next to me is a book by Osho (formerly Bagwhan Rajneesh) that a friend lent me.

This incredible 6-part series covers in-depth a bizarre chapter of American history involving Osho and his followers. Their crimes, deceptions, political manipulations, free love, a massive amount of money, and a remarkable re-working of some undeveloped farmland in rural Oregon.

There looks to be true joy and happiness on the face of many, many followers, and then there are other followers who commit heinous crimes.

And the US government, and how they dealt with the situation, is also at fault at times and acts admirably at other junctures..

It's a fascinating and nuanced look at how frail humans are when power or a chance at meaning comes their way.

10/10

[Bram]

I don't recommend reading this until finishing the show, but this article fleshes out more areas of the whole Ranjneesh/Osho religious movement:

https://newrepublic.com/article/147657/ ... magination

In particular I found this interesting:

he believed Rajneesh to be “one of the best hypnotists I have ever encountered. The way he uses language, his tone of voice, the way he sequences ideas ... all are essentially hypnotic.” He went on to say that “the art of hypnosis is the art of being vague, while pretending you are being profound,” an art that he thought Rajneesh practiced masterfully in his lectures to his disciples in Pune.

[DrDonkeyLove]

Fascinating article. The commonality of cultic techniques and whom they target, and why the victims are open to it is really interesting.

Our own seeahill has some first hand experience with cults, especially the Children of God cult. He might even know the author of this article.

I hope he comments.

[Bram]

There's a part in the documentary where he calls a woman "a complete bitch." And there's such hatred in his voice. Creepy motherfucker for sure.

That article shook me up a bit, recognizing people in my own life who utilize certain speaking cadences or the way they use body language and eye contact. In the documentary, even years after the fact, some followers still see him as a wonderful person - discounting all the manipulations, horrible things said by him and so on.

[Fat Cat]

The documentary is AMAZING. My wife and I binged hard on it. I was calling her Ma Anand for days here at Fatneeshpuram.

[Bram]

Fuck yeah, Bhagwan Fatneeshi

[Fat Cat]

Good recommendation Bram, the whole story is bananas. We were thinking about dressing in all red turtlenecks for Halloween this year. It has it all: crime, attempted murder, cults, biological terrorism, etc.

[Bram]

Love the idea of dressing like a Sannyasan for Halloween lol

[johnst_nhb]

The book, Cults in Our Midst by Margaret Singer (referenced in the article) is fascinating reading for anyone who wants to understand more about this fuckery.

[Bram]

Thanks for sharing the book, this documentary was so damn good. I feel like I'm in withdrawal without having more crazy shit to pursue about it.

[Shapecharge]

The wife and I caught the first two episodes last night. Excellent find Bram.

I vaguely remember some of this...I was still in the crotch then, stationed in southern Cal. All the comments here are valid. This is fascinating stuff and my wife doesn't recall any of it and she's totally absorbed as well.

[Bram]

Right on Shape, glad you're enjoying it!