Netflix’s latest foray into the cult craze, How to Become a Cult Leader, is a cheeky and comedic step-by-step guide to becoming the next Jim Jones. Narrated by Peter Dinklage, each episode focuses on one tenet of cultism, including “promise eternity,” “reform their minds,” and “become immortal.”
The Manson Family, Peoples Temple, Buddhafield, Heaven’s Gate, Aum Shinrikyo, and the Unification Church are used as case studies while Dinklage walks you through how to make people do your bidding. Who wouldn’t laugh at an animated sequence of young Charlie Manson in elementary school? Or at cartoon members of Heaven’s Gate unzipping their human skins to reveal the aliens underneath?
The comedy is well-executed, but it obscures the darkness in these stories. The Netflix series does show how cults prey on vulnerable people and try to scrape away their individuality. But it doesn’t pause to acknowledge the very unfunny truth that plenty of people are willing to believe the most outlandish ideas without much in the way of imposed control.
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