Brainwashed

This series is creepy and disturbing, precisely because it tries to do exactly what it claims to be warning about, namely to indoctrinate and "brainwash" the viewer into a strange and idiosyncratic world view. In fact, the ways the series promotes its own viewpoint so strikingly parallel the techniques cited as mind control techniques, that I'm tempted to wonder whether this was deliberate. In other words, could the filmmakers be demonstrating how easy it is to use mind control, by actually using it in their documentary? The reason I doubt this, is that, first, they don't seem clever enough to do something that sophisticated, and second, they are so clumsy that they make pretty ineffective cult leaders.

Over the course of 5 episodes, the series follows a group of people as they recount a variety of experiences that are claimed to be examples of "brainwashing". While the narrative frequently refers to "cults", one of the examples is simply a woman in a marriage with a bad sex life. It's fairly ordinary, as far as bad relationships go, and it's never clearly explained in what way she was "brainwashed". No ... I'm not kidding.

Another example is a man who entered seminary to become a Catholic priest. If I'm following, the series is trying to present the Catholicism, which is the largest religion on earth by number, and the church, which is the oldest institution on earth, as a cult. No ... I'm not kidding.

Another example of ... I'm not sure what ... is the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who owned a diverse range of media companies, including news outlets, production companies, and communications services, all fairly mainstream. But ... the series suggests that Murdoch foisted a conspiracy on the public to manufacture controversies and exercised some kind of control over people's minds. No ... I'm not kidding.

Gee, the filmmakers are so insightful ... not. They bring us such a powerful warning ... not.

I could go on, but, you get the idea. This series is really, really creepy and weird, by filmmakers who I can only assume are the clumsiest of want-to-be cult leaders.

At the start the series does have some useful information about cults and cult techniques. As the episodes continue it gets more general and broad as to be useless.

We are supposed to believe the military is a cult. Any veteran or family member of a vet will be amused by this claim. There's also far too much time spent on one woman in an abusive relationship that has zero to with the topic. There's some criticism of the Catholic Church hierarchy that, again, has zero to do with the topic.

I didn't agree with the sillier points in other reviews. Anyone can see that Fox News brainwashes, and so does the Trump cult. You'd have to be, well, brainwashed not to recognize what's obvious to literally everyone else.

See the first half of the first episode and don't waste time on the rest.

This is an excellent presentation of the many forms of brainwashing, catfishing, cult mind control, abusive relationships, etc.

Basically, the myriad of situations anyone could find themselves in and not even realize how a person or organization became the controlling force in their life.

Asch Conformity Experiment demonstrates how our mind tends to believe those around us, regardless of intelligence or education. Trust is necessary for civilization, and people take advantage.

Learning how the mind works is essential to protecting oneself from undue influence BEFORE the damage is done.

Wealthy groups suppress this education for obvious reasons. Experts in cult recovery have books & podcasts that compliment this series.

Highly recommend. Decide for yourself.

Series started off ok but seriously jumped the shark when they explained that this woman on the series is a member of Mensa and involved in two abusive relationships with narcissists (she doesn't even identify the behaviors of her exes despite being a so-called Mensa member). And then there is guy who talks about his years being held against his will in a psychiatric hospital in the state of New York including months in a seclusion room. As a former psych nurse, I can honestly say that there is no current psych hospital operating today that locks away any patient for months at a time in a seclusion room. Psych hospitals are accountable and regulated by the states. This guy who talks about being abused by supposedly being wrapped in cold wet sheets is a terrible actor and unfortunately what could be true from this series is covered by the myriad of lies.

The show narrator tries to convince viewers that we don't need material things (eg car, clothes, food, and a home) because we can save people by paying 50 cents per day per life. What a bunch of BS and religious propaganda.