Cult Witness: the Hidden World of Cults (Documentary, Biography, Drama, History, Thriller)

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  • Опубликовано: 24 ноя 2023
  • At the age of 19 Samuel Stefan, consumed by crisis, was drawn into a cult. It would be 10 years before he was able to escape. Using a technique called ‘love-bombing’ cults prey on the vulnerable, recruiting new members with love and warmth. After a period of brain-washing, members are forbidden to leave, enslaved through psychological control or even violence. With full access to six escaped cult members, as well as experts, Cult Witness unravels the hidden world of cults; the hold they have on their victims, the reasons people form and fall prey to them and what takes place within.
    Director : Samuel Stefan & Nick Oakley
    Genres: Documentary, Biography, Drama, History, Thriller
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Комментарии • 96

  • @TibiSum
    @TibiSum 6 месяцев назад +28

    I don't know if you will see this, Stefan, but I have watched this twice now and very much appreciate the humble and human way you share your story. Also, the moment of a PTSD flashback with the lemon, that means so much to me as a survivor of the things I went through and the lifelong PTSD experience that is a major, but not defining part of my life.
    That lemon at a party, biting into acid; that moment of complete alienation that comes on harsh and real and all encompassing and then we need to locate a way back to the relational after being taken to a moment of such terrible aloneness. We have to shake off violence and then be able to make small talk. And not just violence, but a moment of true disempowerment and loss.
    Most of us won't experience a cult. I didn't. But we can have families that operate like one. Relationships that involve these dynamics. Our families can be located in groups with shared values and abuse can be in the space with us and no outsiders can come through to help. I feel the dynamics can be continentally large and two person small.
    I grew up in an unsafe home and my sense of self was consistently under attack, from preverbal times. My mother is sick and she enacted Munchausen's with me as her proxy. She pulled the school, her friends and the rest of my family into her falsehoods. I know what it means to lose your innate right to have a self or selves. I also know what it means to then be a teenager out with wolves instead of safely growing with my friends. I know what it is like to be beaten, deprived of air., though not with more than one attacker. That must have been so completely overwhelming and I'm beyond sorry to know you experienced that many times.
    I just want to express gratitude because while most people aren't involved in cults, most people don't experience self-death under the grip of a caregiver, either. These cult stories are places where I feel my own story is explained, out loud, to larger communities that are open to hear it. People like me, who are taught not to protect their inner world or even their bodies often end up surviving intimate partner violence or do drift into cults. We require representation, not just to heal, but so we can have help preventing it from happening to others.
    You and the people you talked to in this film understand why we don't leave. For me it wasn't even some kind of sunk cost fallacy, like it so often is for people. It was clicking into the dynamic that I was born and raised in, where one person's needs outweigh the other's and they are entitled to dominate and oppress.
    Big loves. This film looks to me like you've had some good time since to process. I hope you are well. I hope you are you.

    • @bajoobiecuzican
      @bajoobiecuzican 6 месяцев назад +8

      I feel each of these words you’ve written are as if they were my own… the telling of my story and the struggle to just be. Beautifully written. Deep. And touching. I feel you. So many of us do.
      I’m glad you are here. ♥️

    • @ConsciousKissCollective
      @ConsciousKissCollective 5 месяцев назад +2

      Excellent post. Wise and meaningful words.

  • @beatrixatthecchwclub5620
    @beatrixatthecchwclub5620 6 месяцев назад +9

    I am so sorry young man, that you where coerced into such a horrible situation, you are a beautiful individual and NO ONE has the right to break your will. God bless you

  • @LloydCJ-eu3yg
    @LloydCJ-eu3yg 6 месяцев назад +9

    That recording of "The real Jim" is sooo vague that it even describes me too. 😂😂😂

  • @alisong2328
    @alisong2328 5 месяцев назад +2

    This movie is from 2010. Samuel Stefan has gone on to make "The Mindful Revolution" in 2015 and "Energy Pioneers" in 2019.

  • @sapecina1
    @sapecina1 6 месяцев назад +3

    Support and thank you for sharing , all the best to you ☺

  • @martintaylor1758
    @martintaylor1758 6 месяцев назад +10

    Messiah addicts give me the creeps.

  • @ekkolima
    @ekkolima 6 месяцев назад +23

    I left the Pentecostal Christian Church 12 years ago, and I could tell you that it's a very long journey of self-discovery and healing.
    Find people that are positive and understanding of your situation, don't get too close too early and if you feel something off, just leave it alone altogether.
    But now I'm at the point where every relationship doesn't have to be a roller coaster.

    • @LarzGustafsson
      @LarzGustafsson 6 месяцев назад +8

      For me it's the other way around. Healing is in Jesus only.

    • @robertjarman4261
      @robertjarman4261 6 месяцев назад +4

      Large seek psychiatric help quickly especially if you are American.

    • @beatrixatthecchwclub5620
      @beatrixatthecchwclub5620 6 месяцев назад +1

      christianity encourages kindness compassion caring forgiviness , any manipulation, intimidation or domination is the opposite of that

    • @sandraatkinson3409
      @sandraatkinson3409 6 месяцев назад +1

      AMEN !!@@LarzGustafsson

    • @sandraatkinson3409
      @sandraatkinson3409 6 месяцев назад

      AMEN !!@@beatrixatthecchwclub5620

  • @user-yf8lb4hf2c
    @user-yf8lb4hf2c 5 месяцев назад +3

    If someone asked for MY child’s hair….THAT would be enough for me to run the other way!!

  • @stevendale7658
    @stevendale7658 5 месяцев назад +6

    Wheres catholicism christian mormon etc all cults by definition of actions

  • @ChantePierce-kp3uf
    @ChantePierce-kp3uf 6 месяцев назад +7

    This video is well suited for people who have no idea how cults work. In America we have had a lot of media regarding Cults and their leaders & followers.

  • @markrichardson3566
    @markrichardson3566 6 месяцев назад +8

    Cults are evil, becarefull they are everywhere 🙂

  • @coenterhaar9183
    @coenterhaar9183 Месяц назад +1

    Has anyone else noticed that this empathetic young man was the victim of covert narcissists?
    Symptoms of covert narcissists are love bombing, gas lighting, silent treatment, and above all, no empathy!
    To me cults are run by covert narcissists.. This documentary is an extremely example! What an awful and scary experience for the presenter of this documentary!
    As he said, it's so subtle at the beginning, and before you know it, you've been caught!
    Wish him all the happiness for the rest of his life!

    • @gmy33
      @gmy33 Месяц назад +1

      Dont forget a guru needs a follower .. and truth searchers are everywhere ... its a mechanisme . And yes lets brake those cirkels and help eachother !!!

  • @mtbiker4life918
    @mtbiker4life918 6 месяцев назад +4

    I took a 12 step program with 2 Christians. I'm glad I did the program but the leader was insisted in throwing bible versus at me daily, and wanted me to check in with him weekly.
    The whole phone calls he took up hours talking about his problems. The more I backed away the more harassing he got with his texts after I talked to him about boundaries..I finally had to block him.
    As soon as they don't have control they become unglued. I will say this as I've been involved with 2 churches. Once you leave all contact stops. The one church who I was faithful with I had to move due to a better carrier. Not even the pastor reaches out.

    • @glorialovesChrist
      @glorialovesChrist 5 месяцев назад

      Unfortunately,many churches are businesses:not loving caring communities with healthy boundaries . Also, some churches exploit their volunteers for free labor. I have a few close godly loving Christian friends with healthy boundaries.

  • @mabelperdomo8062
    @mabelperdomo8062 6 месяцев назад +4

    Aquí en 🇩🇴 dice que fue publicado hace 3 horas, no quise esperar para verlo.

  • @alexandrawhitelock6195
    @alexandrawhitelock6195 5 месяцев назад

    Fascinating…

  • @jurigagarin7829
    @jurigagarin7829 6 месяцев назад +7

    I find it confusing that the interviews about different cults are mushed together.

  • @cidercik
    @cidercik 5 месяцев назад +1

    There is a local athletic club that acts like a cult. The leader and the long term members shower new members with lots of attention. You can see how their facebook likes and friend count increases. There is a type there, 40 to 60 yr olds, not many friends but now have loads. And then they are told about a local couple that needs to learn a lesson. They are told that this couple's activities need to be tracked, followed, approached and hassled. The police do absolutely nothing, but many in the area know what's going on and the cult's reputation is growing.

    • @gmy33
      @gmy33 Месяц назад

      Pretty vage .. but if you can monitor it or help people ... do it !!!

  • @Joanna-li6ub
    @Joanna-li6ub 6 месяцев назад +2

    What is flattering.

  • @kalimanbuda2389
    @kalimanbuda2389 6 месяцев назад +2

    Atheism and despise for anyone called leader are the two keys to make fun of cults as well as religions and political parties..they all work the same..!!

  • @missbettyboop2509
    @missbettyboop2509 5 месяцев назад

    Did anyone notice how Jane..the daughter pushed that estranged uncle off from that hug??? Interesting body language..i wonder if he had hugged his own sister?

  • @michaelklein8105
    @michaelklein8105 4 месяца назад +5

    what's the difference between a cult and the major religions?

    • @coenterhaar9183
      @coenterhaar9183 Месяц назад

      There is a common denominator in cults.
      That is, that the leaders all have no empathy, although they pretend too.
      They also all use love bombing, gas lighting and silent treatment.
      Covert narcissism in a nutshell.
      Scary people. Stay away.

    • @coenterhaar9183
      @coenterhaar9183 Месяц назад

      There is a common denominator in cults.
      That is, that the leaders all have no empathy, although they pretend too.
      They also all use love bombing, gas lighting and silent treatment.
      Covert narcissism in a nutshell.
      Scary people. Stay away.

    • @coenterhaar9183
      @coenterhaar9183 Месяц назад

      There is a common denominator in cults.
      That is, that the leaders all have no empathy, although they pretend too.
      They also all use love bombing, gas lighting and silent treatment.
      Covert narcissism in a nutshell.
      Scary people. Stay away.

    • @coenterhaar9183
      @coenterhaar9183 Месяц назад

      No difference.

    • @coenterhaar9183
      @coenterhaar9183 Месяц назад

      No difference.

  • @rowanbowyer6560
    @rowanbowyer6560 6 месяцев назад +6

    The brethren sound very much like the Jehovahs witnesses, really disturbing

  • @user-rc7xx8ds5r
    @user-rc7xx8ds5r 6 месяцев назад +3

    What cult was he even in??

  • @ijohnny.
    @ijohnny. 5 месяцев назад

    Extraordinarily annoying for the therapist to keep chanting, "Mm, mm, mm,, mm, " while her charge is in the middle of sentences.

    • @gmy33
      @gmy33 Месяц назад

      This gren woman is troubled .. I would not take advice from her

  • @upgrade1015
    @upgrade1015 6 месяцев назад +19

    So this guy is paying for everybody to move around different countries? How are they making money for this? Is this guy independently wealthy? What does he do for work? This race is more questions than answers.

    • @antiquesandlearningtolive4369
      @antiquesandlearningtolive4369 6 месяцев назад

      Cults tend to have you sign over everything you own to "prove you're in". This money and property is handed up to the leader.
      Study Jim Jones for a phenomenal demonstration of masterful control. Up to the point he was abusing drugs so badly he was losing control. He knew he could lose control one day, so the final outcome is, "if I can't control you, you are dead to me". When about to be exposed he forced most people to drink poison, and the rest to take revenge on "those who destroyed the group".

    • @DeathWard187
      @DeathWard187 6 месяцев назад +7

      He is taking a cut from members pay checks

    • @tristarperfecta1061
      @tristarperfecta1061 6 месяцев назад

      That's what I wonder. I've considered joining a cult if it could be profitable.

    • @DeathWard187
      @DeathWard187 6 месяцев назад

      Not for you. Only the leaders make money. And sadly its to the detriment of other people. If that's how you want to live your life i feel bad for ya bud.@@tristarperfecta1061

    • @The-Perfect1
      @The-Perfect1 6 месяцев назад

      Well they sold their homes and gave him the money, similar to most cults that attract abstract people, they’re never poor just vacuous.

  • @jovanapleskonjic5726
    @jovanapleskonjic5726 6 месяцев назад +1

    Weeel in favore to Hare Krishna ....Vedic knowlege is far from cult ...this is some strange shit i just watched

  • @blue8710
    @blue8710 6 месяцев назад +7

    'Power corrups'- no, power doesn't corrupt. The individual was already twisted even before they got that power. The worst thing about all these cults is that they misuse the word of God to their advantage.

    • @JoseAraujo-su6wc
      @JoseAraujo-su6wc 6 месяцев назад

      It's all about strength,if you're weak one, power will dominate yourself as identity....
      Hallows of vanity, narrows and materialized existences, frustrations, self centered egos..
      As we loose from our self's, as we could be as identity as self trade coin to be part within others...
      It's hard to be our self's, but the gain it's marvelous...
      Opinion of non religion person, I don't need it, I believe in human bounds by plural existence as colective and equal, but always being thruly to our self's

    • @alexandrawhitelock6195
      @alexandrawhitelock6195 5 месяцев назад

      Look at Amish, uber orthodox jews, Latter Day Saints, etc. all male dominated.

    • @gmy33
      @gmy33 Месяц назад

      A guru is nothing without followers.. so also warn them !!!

  • @yosra3551
    @yosra3551 6 месяцев назад +3

    8:02 that's witchcraft. And the teacher is a literal djinn that observes you. We all have a personal devil assigned. They know you from birth. They can see us, we can't see them, they are in a parallel dimension. And... well... it's still a fair fight.

  • @johnnykeener3727
    @johnnykeener3727 6 месяцев назад +4

    do JWs count?

  • @LarzGustafsson
    @LarzGustafsson 6 месяцев назад +5

    All these psychologists are the true manipulators.

  • @WallyTony
    @WallyTony 5 месяцев назад +1

    This was so boring

  • @LarzGustafsson
    @LarzGustafsson 6 месяцев назад +3

    I am a Oneness Apostolic Pentecostal and I love Jesus.

  • @israel_started_it_ALL_in_1948
    @israel_started_it_ALL_in_1948 6 месяцев назад +7

    yikes

    • @user-rt5yh4wy5b
      @user-rt5yh4wy5b 6 месяцев назад +2

      Love the name! Yes yes they did..

    • @israel_started_it_ALL_in_1948
      @israel_started_it_ALL_in_1948 6 месяцев назад

      @@user-rt5yh4wy5b But are you SURE?! Sheeple think world history started in 2022. Lol

    • @user-rt5yh4wy5b
      @user-rt5yh4wy5b 6 месяцев назад

      @@israel_started_it_ALL_in_1948 It restarted in 1948... But the ukrop started killing more and more of its own people 2012

  • @gabrielta1
    @gabrielta1 Месяц назад

    Uff sects, ma manipulators…..