Just finished "Under the Banner of Heaven" on Hulu, really well done.
Religious and cult stuff fascinates me. I had read Jon Krakauer's book on which it was based and thought the series was, aside from being a show about a mysterious murder investigation, a pretty good primer on just how creepy and odd the Mormons take on life and religion can be, not that they have cornered the market on strange, obsessive (to me) behavior in the name of "Heavenly Father" AKA God.
Watching that came on the heels of a semi-related documentary recently released on Netflix called "Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey" which was a very well done inside look at the incredibly
bizarre and heinous Warren Jeffs' fundamentalist/polygamist cult. One particularly haunting thing about the series was that these folks shot a ton of film of their own kids doing
musical shows and singing in Church and so forth and it vividly shows a fully brainwashed culture who do not have the capability to reason for themselves. It shed light on a totalitarian
state, existing right here in these United States whose primary currency was, to put it bluntly, underaged pussy. It was a human cattle auction.
Creepy is an adjective which is somewhat subjective, but it's hard for me to imagine a guy who embodies creepiness more than Warren Jeffs. He discovered early in his life that
people were complete fools and all you had to do to get exactly what you wanted is to tell them that you talked directly to your good buddy God. And God wanted Fathers (Mothers don't get to have opinions in that cult) to give up their innocent, young Daughters to Jeffs' control so he could hand them out like party favors. And, astonishingly, they would do exactly that and
probably still do behind gated fences and closed doors.
Sickening? Sure, but it was memorable and expertly crafted. An engrossing train wreck.