This is a descriptive research project that investigates how popular entertainment media portrays cults. My intention is to see how the selected films and television shows portray issues of hierarchy and culpability within the cult and to explore how the genre and theme of the content was utilized in order to evoke certain reactions and sentiments in the audience. The selected films were The Sacrament, Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Midsommar. The selected television shows were Waco and American Horror Story: Cult. Each film and series is given its own analysis. Findings indicate that a common theme of the rigid hierarchy common in media portrayals of cults, with groups consisting of one cult leader on the top with everyone else below, is a distinct concentration of culpability in leaders, not followers. Unlike leaders, members’ culpability is often shown to be significantly more complicated, as members are often portrayed primarily as victims. The project also raises critical questions about the fine lines dividing cult and culture, dark tourism and the role of spectatorship, and tensions between socially sanctioned religion and cults.
","abstract_html":"<p>This is a descriptive research project that investigates how popular entertainment media portrays cults. My intention is to see how the selected films and television shows portray issues of hierarchy and culpability within the cult and to explore how the genre and theme of the content was utilized in order to evoke certain reactions and sentiments in the audience. The selected films were The Sacrament, Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Midsommar. The selected television shows were Waco and American Horror Story: Cult. Each film and series is given its own analysis. Findings indicate that a common theme of the rigid hierarchy common in media portrayals of cults, with groups consisting of one cult leader on the top with everyone else below, is a distinct concentration of culpability in leaders, not followers. Unlike leaders, members’ culpability is often shown to be significantly more complicated, as members are often portrayed primarily as victims. The project also raises critical questions about the fine lines dividing cult and culture, dark tourism and the role of spectatorship, and tensions between socially sanctioned religion and cults.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hargett, Max"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Justice Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:53Z","subjects":["Criminology","culpability","Cults","Media","American Popular Culture","Film and Media Studies","Other Religion"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2022 Max Hargett"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/725","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hargett, Max"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Justice Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Criminology","culpability","Cults","Media","American Popular Culture","Film and Media Studies","Other Religion"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2022 Max Hargett"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/725"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This is a descriptive research project that investigates how popular entertainment media portrays cults. My intention is to see how the selected films and television shows portray issues of hierarchy and culpability within the cult and to explore how the genre and theme of the content was utilized in order to evoke certain reactions and sentiments in the audience. The selected films were The Sacrament, Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Midsommar. The selected television shows were Waco and American Horror Story: Cult. Each film and series is given its own analysis. Findings indicate that a common theme of the rigid hierarchy common in media portrayals of cults, with groups consisting of one cult leader on the top with everyone else below, is a distinct concentration of culpability in leaders, not followers. Unlike leaders, members’ culpability is often shown to be significantly more complicated, as members are often portrayed primarily as victims. The project also raises critical questions about the fine lines dividing cult and culture, dark tourism and the role of spectatorship, and tensions between socially sanctioned religion and cults.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/PDF"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Hierarchy and Responsibility in Media: Cults, Culpability, and Culture"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Hargett, Max"],"dc:description.abstract":["This is a descriptive research project that investigates how popular entertainment media portrays cults. My intention is to see how the selected films and television shows portray issues of hierarchy and culpability within the cult and to explore how the genre and theme of the content was utilized in order to evoke certain reactions and sentiments in the audience. The selected films were The Sacrament, Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Midsommar. The selected television shows were Waco and American Horror Story: Cult. Each film and series is given its own analysis. Findings indicate that a common theme of the rigid hierarchy common in media portrayals of cults, with groups consisting of one cult leader on the top with everyone else below, is a distinct concentration of culpability in leaders, not followers. Unlike leaders, members’ culpability is often shown to be significantly more complicated, as members are often portrayed primarily as victims. The project also raises critical questions about the fine lines dividing cult and culture, dark tourism and the role of spectatorship, and tensions between socially sanctioned religion and cults.
"],"dc:format":["application/PDF"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/725"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2022 Max Hargett"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Criminology","culpability","Cults","Media","American Popular Culture","Film and Media Studies","Other Religion"],"dc:title":["Hierarchy and Responsibility in Media: Cults, Culpability, and Culture"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Justice Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:53Z"}