everyone says that Eden was a cult, and i’m not disagreeing with that, but i just wanna know all the evidence that led people to that conclusion (i’ve watched the movie twice and still didn’t entirely pick up on it, so i might just be slow lol)
(also tysm for the google drive master reference!! super helpful!)
Why Eden is a Cult w/ Evidence
Note: This is speculation, as nothing is directly stated. Nobody says the word "cult", but it is heavily implied.
So, the first step to figuring out if Eden is a cult is by comparing it to real-life cults.
The tell-tale traits of a real-life cult:
The leader is treated as uniquely enlightened or infallible. Their authority is absolute and usually comes from an unverifiable source or "special revelation".
Questioning the leader's actions is treated as a betrayal.
The leader may dictate massive personal life decisions for members.
Newcomers are showered with attention.
The outside world is portrayed as dangerous/evil/doomed, making the cult appear to be the only safe haven.
Now, let's directly compare this to Eden, using transcript lines to back it up:
The leader is treated as enlightened and infallible.
The leader, in this case, is The Father. We watch his words haunt Simon at his worst. These beliefs have been so far ingrained in Simon's head that he is forever traumatized over them, thinking of them even in situations that do not directly trigger the memory:
His words were treated as law; they are framed as law, which makes total sense, because, according to the wiki:
On top of that, The Father is preaching about mystical "restoration from the dead" doctrine that Simon didn't buy into, but how many other people did? The Father is framed as "enlightened", because... how could he be so sure about this clearly "magical" phrase? These people believe him to be all-knowing enough that the Father is very comfortable with stating illogical things with his full chest:
Questioning the leader is considered betrayal
Simon questions their fanatical actions, led by the Father, who is then immediately met with "oh my god, how could you!?"
The leader dictates massive life decisions
Uh, that's a pretty big command to bestow upon your people. I also think that dictating what happens to their corpses is also pretty massive. Oh, and sending them to bomb a station. Yeah, that's pretty bad.
Newcomers are showered with affection
Simon's mom was convincing Simon into going to Eden, even when Simon was not feeling up for it / was uneasy about it. This is a subtle implication that Eden was most likely in contact with his mother, and telling her all the ways they'd love to have her family join them.
They were lovebombing his mother.
They'd love it there, because they were told that they would.
The outside world is portrayed as doomed
The Father is demonizing all outsiders (the COI) and creating a reliance on himself for information about the outside world.
"They won't tell you but I will!" <- Classic cult manipulation tactic.
I also have one more point of comparison, and it's a big one:
According to International Cultic Studies (ISCA Today), cults may place the cult leader in the role of a parent (the FATHER).
They will also abuse the "family dynamic" in a way that benefits them (in this case, keeping control by emotionally manipulating the populace):
This isn't just Simon saying "sorry brother" in terms of a loose term of endearment, because we get this line later on, which sounds more like a dis-ownership of family:
These are not related people. They are not blood relatives. There is a family dynamic between people on the station, seeded by the Father. Simon isn't just Simon. He has a title, and it isn't the Butcher.
He is Brother Simon. They are religious fanatics worshiping a man who believes he can bring a tree back from the dead, who will go as far as to commit mass atrocities in his name.
Simon was heavily implied to be a cult member.
Thanks for the ask, and I hope this helps clear things up!
