Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 74
The Simpsons: Homer joins a cult in 1998
On February 8, 1998, Fox TV aired an episode of "The Simpsons," a witty cartoon parody of
a contemporary American family, in which the father, Homer, joins a cult called the
‗Movementarians.‘ Homer recruits his entire family, but his wife, Marge, soon has doubts
and escapes from the cult compound. She hires a Scottish deprogrammer, Willie Kilt, who
kidnaps Homer and the children by enticing them into a limousine that looks like the cult
leader's. In funny deprogramming scenes, Homer and the children sit entranced and tied to
chairs as Marge and Willie work on them. Homer inadvertently converts the deprogrammer
into a devotee of The Leader during the intervention.
Homer snaps out of his cultic spell after he tastes a drop of beer. The children reject the cult
for trick "hover bikes" offered them by Marge. They hang from nearly invisible fishing lines
and come crashing to the floor as the kids attempt to mount them. The episode touches
nearly every stereotype associated with cults, cult leaders, and deprogramming. It even
includes a floating sphere device, from "The Prisoner," a decades-old British TV series, that
tries to keep Marge from escaping. Anyone familiar with cults and cult films should find
humor at every turn.
Holy Smoke: A dark, twisted parody of deprogramming in 2000
The provocative moviemaker Jane Campion gained worldwide recognition for her award
winning film, The Piano. Rich imagery, surreal plots and feminist themes characterize
Campion‘s films. This production, co-written with her sister, Anna Campion, distributed by
Miramax Films, has attracted mixed reviews. Holy Smoke is a quirky, rite-of-passage story
about Ruth (Kate Winslet) who goes to India, converts to a Hindu sect after meeting the
guru, changes her name and chooses not to return to her dysfunctional family in Australia.
The family consults a cult expert who advises them to hire P. J. Waters (Harvey Keitel, who
also starred in The Piano), the best ―exit counselor‖ America has to offer. Waters appears in
Sydney at the airport in dark sunglasses, black sport coat, blue jeans and black cowboy
boots. His assistant is unavailable, so he goes it alone to deprogram Ruth after the family
tricks her to come to a remote desert cabin located on site at the arid Flinders Ranges. The
male family members and hired guards surround Ruth in a scene reminiscent of rustlers
corralling a wild horse.
Unlike a real exit counselor who requires the presence of at least one family member,
Waters is essentially alone with Ruth for several days. He proves to be smart, pompous, and
sleazy. He engages Ruth‘s sister-in-law in oral sex after she comes on to him like a groupie
with a crush. His mind-games with Ruth take a surprising twist after Ruth seduces him
during a particularly bizarre scene outside of the cabin. Waters resists her sexual invitation,
though she is stark naked in the desert night, until she urinates down her legs in a
transitional scene. Thereafter, Ruth cruelly manipulates her smitten exit counselor and
orders him to put on a tight red dress. Then she directs him to pleasure her orally. They
sleep together, but she finesses an escape in the morning. She could not get away on the
sharp desert terrain (bull dust) because Waters took her shoes. She makes shoes out of
Waters books tied to her feet with plastic bags. Waters awakes and tries to stop her. They
fight and he knocks her out, but he believes he may have killed her.
He stuffs her inside the boot of an old sedan with large antlers mounted on front. As he
drives down a rural road, Ruth‘s family members and guards in a truck stop him—he says
he‘s looking for Ruth. The sister-in-law hears knocking from the boot and lets Ruth out. The
men beat Waters senseless and leave him in the desert. In his delirium Waters has a vision
of Ruth as a Hindu goddess.
Later, Ruth and company have a change of heart and pick him up. Waters still wears the red
dress and one boot. The encounter transforms both deprogrammer and deprogrammee, and
The Simpsons: Homer joins a cult in 1998
On February 8, 1998, Fox TV aired an episode of "The Simpsons," a witty cartoon parody of
a contemporary American family, in which the father, Homer, joins a cult called the
‗Movementarians.‘ Homer recruits his entire family, but his wife, Marge, soon has doubts
and escapes from the cult compound. She hires a Scottish deprogrammer, Willie Kilt, who
kidnaps Homer and the children by enticing them into a limousine that looks like the cult
leader's. In funny deprogramming scenes, Homer and the children sit entranced and tied to
chairs as Marge and Willie work on them. Homer inadvertently converts the deprogrammer
into a devotee of The Leader during the intervention.
Homer snaps out of his cultic spell after he tastes a drop of beer. The children reject the cult
for trick "hover bikes" offered them by Marge. They hang from nearly invisible fishing lines
and come crashing to the floor as the kids attempt to mount them. The episode touches
nearly every stereotype associated with cults, cult leaders, and deprogramming. It even
includes a floating sphere device, from "The Prisoner," a decades-old British TV series, that
tries to keep Marge from escaping. Anyone familiar with cults and cult films should find
humor at every turn.
Holy Smoke: A dark, twisted parody of deprogramming in 2000
The provocative moviemaker Jane Campion gained worldwide recognition for her award
winning film, The Piano. Rich imagery, surreal plots and feminist themes characterize
Campion‘s films. This production, co-written with her sister, Anna Campion, distributed by
Miramax Films, has attracted mixed reviews. Holy Smoke is a quirky, rite-of-passage story
about Ruth (Kate Winslet) who goes to India, converts to a Hindu sect after meeting the
guru, changes her name and chooses not to return to her dysfunctional family in Australia.
The family consults a cult expert who advises them to hire P. J. Waters (Harvey Keitel, who
also starred in The Piano), the best ―exit counselor‖ America has to offer. Waters appears in
Sydney at the airport in dark sunglasses, black sport coat, blue jeans and black cowboy
boots. His assistant is unavailable, so he goes it alone to deprogram Ruth after the family
tricks her to come to a remote desert cabin located on site at the arid Flinders Ranges. The
male family members and hired guards surround Ruth in a scene reminiscent of rustlers
corralling a wild horse.
Unlike a real exit counselor who requires the presence of at least one family member,
Waters is essentially alone with Ruth for several days. He proves to be smart, pompous, and
sleazy. He engages Ruth‘s sister-in-law in oral sex after she comes on to him like a groupie
with a crush. His mind-games with Ruth take a surprising twist after Ruth seduces him
during a particularly bizarre scene outside of the cabin. Waters resists her sexual invitation,
though she is stark naked in the desert night, until she urinates down her legs in a
transitional scene. Thereafter, Ruth cruelly manipulates her smitten exit counselor and
orders him to put on a tight red dress. Then she directs him to pleasure her orally. They
sleep together, but she finesses an escape in the morning. She could not get away on the
sharp desert terrain (bull dust) because Waters took her shoes. She makes shoes out of
Waters books tied to her feet with plastic bags. Waters awakes and tries to stop her. They
fight and he knocks her out, but he believes he may have killed her.
He stuffs her inside the boot of an old sedan with large antlers mounted on front. As he
drives down a rural road, Ruth‘s family members and guards in a truck stop him—he says
he‘s looking for Ruth. The sister-in-law hears knocking from the boot and lets Ruth out. The
men beat Waters senseless and leave him in the desert. In his delirium Waters has a vision
of Ruth as a Hindu goddess.
Later, Ruth and company have a change of heart and pick him up. Waters still wears the red
dress and one boot. The encounter transforms both deprogrammer and deprogrammee, and
