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New Religions and Cults (4)
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Captive Minds: Hypnosis and BeyondPierre Lasry 1983 55 minFrom stage hypnosis to group and individual therapies and long-term conditioning, Captive Minds: Hypnosis and Beyond explores the power of suggestion and its ability to influence behaviour--sometimes for life. By focusing on such disparate institutions as an Indian ashram, a United States Marines training camp, a monastery, and the Moonie cult, the film reveals the striking similarities in the indoctrination methods each uses to achieve long-term effects. It is a film that serves as a reminder that we are all vulnerable to persuasion, and one that provokes serious consideration of the far-reaching implications of any form of psychological manipulation. -
The FollowersGilles Blais 1981 1 h 18 minFilmed mainly at the Montréal community of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, this feature documentary follows 3 young from their first days in the temple to their initiation 6 months later. The film examines the family life of Krishna members, the active proselytizing in the streets, the temple rituals, and the role of women and their reliance on men for spiritual guidance. A close look at one of the controversial new religious organizations to have emerged from the 1960s in the United States.
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The India TripBill Davies 1971 49 minThis documentary is a portrait of modern-day Pondicherry, an ancient city near the southern tip of India. For several centuries an outpost of France, the city is now home to Auroville, a spiritual community growing on its periphery. There, European and North American devotees of Sri Aurobindo, a Bengali poet and mystic, come to live the contemplative life. Their guru is a 94-year-old woman from France. This mecca of sorts is seen through the eyes of Albert Jordan, a professor from Concordia University, in Montreal, who spent a year there with his family in 1971.
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My Father, the KingMarie-France Guerrette Dempsey 2010 26 minHow does a man suddenly abandon his family in favour of an isolated life in a monastery? What is the legacy of Léonard's father's sudden departure? Mon père, le roi captures the painful memories of the son and ex-wife of a man turned “king” of a religious cult. Together with the filmmaker, they take to the road to visit the man who abandoned them 45 years ago. For Léonard, it is also a return to the prison where he spent part of his childhood, after having been abducted by his father.
