Academic literature on the topic 'Cults – Jonestown massacre'

Purpose The Jonestown massacre of 1978 was the largest such event in modern history; it assumes the status of a prototype in many discussions of cult dynamics and mass suicide. This paper aims to make the case that Jonestown should be memorialised and made into a dark tourism attraction. Design/methodology/approach This paper is principally the outcome of secondary research conducted over a number of years on the theme of dark tourism. The paper also benefited from direct interviews and conversations with political and ex-military personnel in Guyana who were in some way involved with Jonestown. Findings The research establishes that Jonestown remains a matter of great sensitivity and even national embarrassment, with many in the tourism sector reluctant to highlight what they regard as a very negative association, in the market, of Guyana with Jonestown and Jonestown only. Practical implications Expressed in context, the paper discusses the place of Jonestown in dark tourism and proposes an operational formula by which the semiotic of Jonestown, as contained in the tourist narrative, transforms tourism into catharsis. Originality/value For the author, Jonestown is tourism-imperative because not much longer after that apocalyptic event, the “Jonestown massacre” became a reference in the discourse on dark tourism. Jonestown is too large and archetypal an event to escape research and discussion of its place in the realm of dark tourism. This paper therefore explores, from both theoretical and policy perspectives, the ways in which the narratives of dark tourism can serve to expiate guilt by confronting it and therefore still deserve a place in the tourism imaginary of 2025. As such, the paper should be of value to not only scholars and researchers but also those engaged in tourism planning and destination management.

<p>In addition to being remembered in what became known as the “Jonestown Massacre,” where more than 900 members of an American cult died in a mass suicide-murder under the direction of their leader in 1978, Guyana continues to receive global and local attention for the prevalence in suicide. The 2014 WHO report named Guyana as the country with the highest suicide rate per capita globally with recent suicide statistics showing 272 reports over a thirty-month period. <br />Recently, the incidence of murder suicide has gained a lot of media attention, and seems to be linked to “crimes of passion” or intimate partner conflict, with men very often being the perpetrators. Particularly, East Indian men and young men are more prone to commit suicide, Through the analysis of both police and media reports and other literature, this study uses mixed methodologies in analyzing the number of murder -suicide over the last five years, characteristics of the perpetrators inclusive of ethnicity, relationships between killers and victims and the method used in the deaths in Guyana. The study paves the way for more in-depth analysis of the phenomenon. Finally, the paper concludes with a presentation of its findings and possible recommendations.</p>

The chapter begins with an analysis of The Invitation (2015). The film evokes the 1969 Manson Family murders and the 1978 Jonestown Massacre in a manner which underlines its subtly metafictional resonance. It is as much a film about the long-standing association between California and dangerous cult organisations as it is about a fictionalised version of one of these groups. Here, the qualities which make California an attractive locale for those seeking spiritual fulfilment again make it the perfect breeding ground for a cult which promises ‘utopia’ but instead delivers madness, destruction, and death. This is also the case in 1BR (2019) in which a vulnerable young woman is taken captive by a cult which promises to re-invent the concept of ‘community’. Finally, it is argued that The Circle by Dave Eggers builds upon earlier iterations of the ‘California as Poisoned Eden’ trope. Here, Northern California is the headquarters of a powerful tech company which ultimately comes to resemble the cults previously discussed in this section. Here, the supposedly progressive ‘technological utopia’ which is one of the newer manifestations of the ‘Californian dream’ is a dehumanizing and unstoppable nightmare.

This chapter begins by observing that California has long attracted those in search of a ‘fresh start’, opportunity, physical renewal and spiritual fulfilment. It explores texts in which these long-standing associations become actively dystopian. The chapter begins with a detailed discussion of the relationship between California and ‘cult’ organisations and an analysis of the ways in which the dystopian flipside of the ‘hippie dream’ emerged from the late 1960s onwards. Then it discusses discuss Our Lady of Darkness, in which San Francisco is depicted as a primal locale which particularly welcoming to charismatic charlatans. Fritz Leiber’s debt to Clark Ashton Smith, is discussed, as is the importance of San Francisco’s unique topography. Philip Kaufman’s 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is described as a classic urban nightmare lent further resonance because of the ways in which the film anticipates the real-life horrors which would soon beset the city: the Jonestown Massacre, and the murders of Mayor George Moscone and LGBT rights activist Harvey Milk in City Hall (an important setting in the film).