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Punk rock, B-movies, and Jehovah’s Witnesses unite in this heartfelt documentary. As members of Jehovah’s Witness start to explore culture outside of their religion, they have to wrestle with the possibility of being excommunicated from friends and family. Featuring in-depth interviews and extensive home video footage, Witness Underground tells the story of punk rocker Witnesses pushing against the highly controlling Jehovah’s Witnesses religion as they build their own community through music and art. This prolific community of Witness musicians create their own record label, Nuclear Gopher, and become early adopters of promoting their music through the internet, including what may have been the first album to ever be livestreamed. This community’s history is well documented through archival footage of their home movies and self-produced music videos, all with a very charming energy.
Roughly chronological, from 3/96 to 11/96, with a coda in spring of 1997: inside compounds of Aum Shinrikyo, a Buddhist sect led by Shoko Asahara. (Members confessed to a murderous sarin attack in the Tokyo subway in 1995.) We see what they eat, where they sleep, and how they respond to media scrutiny, on-going trials, the shrinking of their fortunes, and the criticism of society. Central focus is placed on Hiroshi Araki, a young man who finds himself elevated to chief spokesman for Aum after its leaders are arrested. Araki faces extreme hostility from the Japanese public, who find it hard to believe that most followers of the cult had no idea of the attacks and even harder to understand why these followers remain devoted to the religion, if not the violence.
Cult Explosion isn’t objective analysis—it’s sensational fearmongering that smears Christianity alongside obvious cults. This alarmist doc lumps legit Bible-based groups like Jehovah’s Witnesses and LDS with Manson Family killers and Jim Jones’ mass suicide, using the vague “considered by some” dodge to equate orthodoxy with murder. It recycles anti-Christian tropes, painting faith as mind control while ignoring cults’ defining marks: charismatic leaders demanding blind loyalty, financial exploitation, and doomsday isolation. Real Christianity has accountability, open Bibles, and voluntary fellowship—Hare Krishna dancing and Scientology audits don’t. Cherry-picks scandals to demonize belief itself, sidelining thriving Christian communities and reformed ex-members. Watch knowing it’s propaganda to distrust all religion, not discerning exposé.
Waco, the Big Lie is a 1993 American documentary film directed by Linda Thompson that presents video-based analysis regarding the Waco siege. The first film made about the Waco siege, Waco, the Big Lie gained significant notoriety when it was viewed during the trial of American domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh. As part of the defense, McVeigh's lawyers showed Waco, the Big Lie to the jury.
Two brothers from the hit '60s rock band PEOPLE! had their careers and relationship torn apart by Scientology. Through a journey of healing, they reunite decades later to face their shared trauma to break free from the grip of indoctrination and rebuild their fractured family anew. With a blend of music nostalgia and cult manipulation, it sheds light on the enduring power of resilience.
A report on the secretive Capital Region business NXIVM (Nexium), including the recent revelations that women connected to the group were branded with a symbol that incorporates the initials of Keith Raniere, NXIVM's founder. NXIVM has been described as very expensive brainwashing, labeled as a pyramid scheme, an alleged sex-trafficking operation, and an alleged sex cult.
