Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
TLDR: “Interesting, but not for the title”
This is supposed to be an examination of how language can contribute to “cultiness.” It does touch on that, but it really just becomes a dicussion of “cult-ish” things in general.
For this, it’s very interesting. It spends some time on the Jonestown Massacre, in which is goes fairly deep into how Jim Jones did use language to bind people to the movement.
But then it disperses a bit. The author goes into the Heaven’s Gate cult and mass-suicide, and then moves into religion, multi-level marketing, and fitness fads (lots of time on things like Peloton, CrossFit, Soulcycle, etc.)
Again, it’s never boring, but I don’t think the author sticks to the language angle as much as the subtitle promises. She absolutely does cover this, but it’s better considered as a very high-level view of “cults” (in quotes because that’s a broad term) in general.
In fact, it might be better to say that it’s a discussion of belonging, the human need to belong, and how some people exploit this need in general, often using language.
In the end, shared vocabulary binds people. I’ve seen this over and over in by career in enterprise tech: when people speak the same language – not literally, but by using the same jargon – they feel bound to each other, like they share a secret. This is a powerful feeling, and the one of the first lines to cross when trying to forge a group identity.
Book Info
- Author
- Amanda Montell
- Year
- Pages
- 320
- Acquired
- I have not read this book yet.
- A hardcover copy of this book is currently in my home library.