History has thought us that the human mind is easily manipulated. You can see it in how a dictator slowly rises by influencing the ones close around him and eventually a whole nation. It also happens on a smaller scale, for example as the documentary Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006) has shown. Martha Marcy May Marlene looks at how one person might slowly get into a cult and what it’s like to make the step to leave it and deal with the aftermath. Continue reading →