Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
by Amanda Montell
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
As a sociology minor, I’ve always had a fascination with cults and cultish type societal groups. Cultish explores the language behind what draws people into cults, whether it is the Moonies or #bossbabe culture. I found this book packed full of interesting insight into how language is manipulated to both attract and keep the devoted faithfuls. I consume a rather high number of cult documentaries (which is a subculture of cultish behavior in itself). In one of those documentaries, Montell appeared on screen and gave details regarding that particular topic so I grabbed a copy of her book.
The book is divided into parts and the first section delves into how “normal” people get drawn in and that it isn’t so much what the cult leaders say as how they deliver it. It’s all about the catering to the individual…a targeted marketing of sorts. Think about how cult leaders talk about death, for example. They use words like transitioning, graduating, and transcending. And when they want to control an individual even more, they step into what the author calls thought-terminating language. These are things that just stop a conversation from continuing.
“…with a glimmer of willingness, language can do so much to squash independent thinking, obscure truths, encourage confirmation bias, and emotionally charge experiences such that no other way of life seems possible.”
Honestly, I could have had a heyday with a highlighter and this book. It had a takeaway on every page. The footnotes aren’t your typical academic, dry footnote. They are where you will find interesting asides that often fit into a pop culture knowledge.
If you are looking to better understand the influence of cultish behavior in our society, this is the book for you. I especially enjoyed the part Follow for Follow. If you are a woman of a certain age, you have likely been overrun by the entire bossbabe tribe. Yeah. You know what I’m talking about and boy does it make me roll my eyes. Montell pulls back the layers on how your friends and family get pulled into all those multi-level marketing scams and why others don’t. One theory is that those who are less trusting in childhood aren’t as susceptible. I tend to buy into this one a lot because I had a mother who taught me to be kind, but VERY cautious. To expect the best from people, but be prepared for the worst. Thanks, mom. You’ve kept me cult-free so far!
If you enjoy a good discussion of language and throwing around terms like cognitive dissonance and sunk cost fallacy, grab yourself a copy of Cultish. If you end up really enjoying the portion about MLMs, I’d highly recommend listening to the podcast The Dream.
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