"Holy Hell" is a 2016 documentary directed by Will Allen about The Buddhafeild cult. Allen captured the evolution of The Buddhafeild cult and the perspectives of many former members that devoted their lives to The Buddhafeild and their experiences.
- Was there a specific scene that got to you?
In this documentary, a lot of the scenes got to me. If I had to pick one, it would be the Shakti retreat. Seeing the followers just drop and convulse at Michel's touch was very unsettling to me and did not sit right with me. Seeing how fast those people were hypnotized into behaving the way they did and thinking they were truly enlightened was disturbing. I often questioned what drove them to rationalize their behaviors and how they couldn't really see the bigger picture and how crazy they already looked so early on.- What surprised you? Why do you think it caught you off guard?
It surprised me how the men that faced sexual abuse would thank Andreas (Michel) for the awful acts he did. It upset me even more that he used hypnotic therapy and behavioral therapies in the midst of the act to convince his victims that the abuse was okay. No was never an option for those men, Andreas would push the blame onto a "past trauma" even if the person didn't have a bad past. The brainwashing tactics he used on his victims are awful and hearing the detailed accounts of the victims reflecting on it really got to me. Those men will have to live with those memories for the rest of their lives and try their hardest to cope with their trauma. Why did nobody ever take legal action against Michel/Andreas? He has done so many awful things, destroyed families and peoples' lives. How can a man like that walk free and continue to lead any group of people?
Do the ex-Buddhafeild members still communicate regularly? These people seemed to be almost like family and grieved as people left. If there are members still in contact, do they work to reunite for normal activities?
How do ex-members cope with the trauma they carry from their experiences? What are the remaining psychological effects they have to face now since they've moved on and rebuilt their lives?
- Why avoid including research in the film summary?
Including research in the film summary will take away from the main point, the film. Added research is nice, but it will affect the way the chain of events is written out and may stress details the film did not stress about. Research also allows for the author's comments and analysis, which does not belong in a summary. The point of the summary is to concisely illustrate the main points of the documentary.
Hi Raquel! I really like your reflection, as it really made you think outside the lines and not within the boundaries of the guided reflection questions. I did not watch this documentary, but it really does make me wonder how people can just follow around person like that. How does one person have so much power over people? What do people see in him that they are able to follow his rules and see nothing wrong with his manipulation and wrong-doing?
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for the people who were apart of this, as they will always have to carry that trauma on their backs until the day they die. Very good reflection, and I like your writing style!