Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Cultos by Amanda Montell

65 reviews

dealingwithdragons's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Ableism, Body shaming, Classism, and Cursing

Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Cancer, Confinement, Stalking, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Vomit, Alcohol, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Racism, and Trafficking

Cults and "cultish" organizations do a lot of terrible things.

yeojinqueen's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Drug use, Misogyny, Rape, Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

mmccombs's review against another edition

funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

What a fun and informative and thought provoking read! I loved how focused it was, Montell doesn’t necessarily cover all of the factors that create cults and make us join them, but creates a convincing argument about the role of language in all of the groups, movements, Instagram pages, and cults we may join. I loved the lightness and compassion she wrote with while also balancing the very real layers of oppression, harm, inequality, and trauma that come with the subject. I kind of wish this kept going, there’s just so much to mine here! This was so accessible and just a fun thing to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Death

Minor: Suicide

aklovekorn's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Racism, and Toxic friendship

rachbake's review against another edition

informative reflective fast-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, and Suicide

rachelunabridged's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Racism, and Emotional abuse

lindseyrenee's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

I found this to be very interesting. I’ve known cultish language is used for cults and MLMs but this made me think about the language used in seemingly everyday conversations or when being “sold” on something. So many things I never thought about that I am more aware of now.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, and Racism

eldritch_flower's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

 I've always had an interest in cults. Not joining one, so don't freak out. But I am an active listener of the Cults podcast and I spend a lot of my free time watching documentaries on cults in general.

This book does talk about some of the more well known cults to give foundation to the points Montell makes later in the book, but what I found most interesting was the parallels between those cults and the groups she brings up as "cultish" like MLMs and certain gym groups, and even some influencers.

The book has a heavy focus on language, which I'm sure you can gather from the title. The language of conversion is incredibly compelling and interesting.

But beyond that, the book is topical as it was written and released after June of 2020, so the anti-masker idiocy and QAnon bullshittery is also included in this with poignant commentary.

If you have ever had even a passing interest in learning about cults, it's worth the read. I definitely had fun with it and I feel like I came out of it with new knowledge(as someone who's been reading about cults for more than a decade, I think that's a pretty big feat). 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Drug use, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

atomicbritt's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Fatphobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Self harm

imstephtacular's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Racism

Minor: Suicide