“Anne Hamilton” -Cults-

This episode tells the story of one of the only cults led by a woman. This cult first started as a typical yoga class led by a spiritually motivated woman named Anne Hamilton. This class, as a usual yoga class would, attracted upper middle class women who were fairly well educated. These women learned to trust Anne and her spiritual wisdom regarding life. Anne also had an intense obsession with children, although, not in a sexual way as some may infer. She wanted children all her life but never had the chance due to disappearing men in her life, including her father. This obsession with having children formed the basis of her cult. Kidnapping children and using the women in her classes to act as “aunties” to these children stand as the main aspects of her cult. The idea of kidnapping children to form a family is a bit creepy. Anne raised the children with many similarities to the Von Trapp family demonstrated in the Sound of Music. She was extremely strict and insisted on perfect mannerisms by the children. If these expectations weren’t met, the children were starved and beaten. These children, especially the girls, were harshly body shamed and encouraged into eating less to stay thin. This whole concept is extremely bizarre considering the fact that Anne spoke so highly of children. Why would she treat them so badly? 

This question leads me into the precursors up to the point of abusing children. This podcast does a great job of explaining the psychological beginnings of these cult leaders and continuously points out similarities between them leading to a series of trends throughout the episodes. The most prevalent of these similarities is childhood emotional and physical abuse and spirituality. Most of these cult leaders have a family history involving drug addiction, physical abuse, and absent family members. Many of these leaders have also been diagnosed with some sort of mental illness. It is also extremely important to recognize the spiritual motivations in each different episode.It is interesting to notice these similarities in upbringing and spirituality and compare them to the differences in cult dynamic based upon it. These similarities create a sense of uniformity between the episodes. The episodes all have the same structure starting with the main aspects of the cult as a hook. They then continue into the childhood experiences of the leader, the recruiting process, and finally, the downfall. 

In order to draw the reader in and convince the listener of the true reality of the cult, the speakers use dreary piano background music. This music sets the mood of the story and puts you in an intense yet relaxed mood. This adds to the professional nature of the podcast on top of their edited “movie theater” voices. Another feature of this podcast is the references to historical events and beliefs during the time period of the cult. This is commonly labeled as the reality effect as discussed in class. These cults tend to be extremely far fetched and almost unimaginable. By discussing the history occuring during the time, the listeners are pulled back into reality and are forced to accept the gruesome nature of these groups. One thing that takes away from my interest in the podcast is its scriptedness. The speakers do not seem passionate about the topic and their reactions to each other seem emotionless much like reading off a script. This podcast is less of a conversation and more of a story. Overall this podcast is interesting and continues to spark my interest every time I listen. There are many different features within each podcast including the structure, music, and historical context that lead to a final engaging project as a whole.

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