Cult References in Popular Culture

           The screenplay for The Skulls has many cult references included in the dialogue. The story is about Luke a college student who was pursuing his Law Degree and recently was accepted to Yale on a rowing scholarship because he came from a poor family. Upon acceptance at Yale he was recruited by an elite underground fraternity called The Skulls. He was hesitant about joining but was tempted by the promise of immediate selection in the next semester at Harvard Law School. Seduced by the wealth and power that surrounded the group he became a member and enjoyed the benefits. After his close friend in the group supposedly commits suicide he begins to investigate the group. He soon finds out that as easy as it is to join the group it is fatal to try to leave the group.

          The psychological process behind this story as that the founding group members saw Luke as someone that could potentially manipulate into a position of power in the community and manipulate for their usage at any point in time. Basically they are creating their own judges, lawyers, and government officials to be able to do what they want which is how they have so many perks as being a part of their group. They can get you out of trouble legally and could get you into any college. That is a very tempting offer to someone with very little financially and the inability to attain these things of value on their own accord. Luke was looking at it for his benefits without looking at how the elitist fraternity really needed his assets that he could bring to their members. Luke seems to be a very easy target as a new member because of his willingness to fit into a new school with new people. He must have felt honored to be asked to join and didn't feel the need to question intentions and motives.

       
          Rosemary's Baby was a very pivotal movie when it came out because it crossed lines that a lot of movies wouldn't cross during that time period. Touching on satanism, devil worshiping, and child sacrifice.The story begins with a pregnant woman that is scared that her husband and neighbors have something horrific that they are hiding from her. She comes to find out after doing her own investigation that her husband promised their unborn child to the neighbors to be apart of their sacrificial ritual to Satan. He chose to give their child as a sacrifice because he wanted success in his acting career. Rosemary is held by the neighbors in a secret room in her home and she gives birth. After she gives birth she thinks everything was just a dream because she still has her baby. The only problem is that her baby has demon eyes.
          In this story the psychological process is almost the same as "The Skulls" the father of the child is tempted with wealth and power by the cult group which would be considered the neighbors. The neighbors were formed and had probably gained his trust in the community and convinced him to join by promising to make all of his dreams come true the same as the fraternity did to Luke. When recruiting for a cult it is beneficial to seek out individuals who are in the lower socioeconomic class because they are more cooperative when it comes to being coerced into joining the cult. You must always tell your recruits what they want to hear when attempting to speak with them about joining. It is beneficial to gain their trust because they will believe that you only want what is best for them.