Reproducing coercion is the title of my master’s thesis, submitted for consideration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. The work consists of two parts: a written thesis and artistic work.
You can find the thesis on the research catalogue, here.
As my artistic work, I created a series of shorts that explore authoritarian group (commonly referred to as cults) coercive techniques, particularly from the perspectives of members/followers.
The films journey into tools of control (often gone unnoticed by the recipient), manipulation and precaritization used by high-pressure groups.
The emphasis is on the internalization of doctrine and how individuals view the world and themselves through the prism they’ve been coerced into.
Each film explores a unique technique utilized by totalistic groups – have a gander below.
The story of the love bombing
with Tamalynne Grant, Stefan Künz, Angela Kaindl
The story of love bombing explores the initial display of positivity during the indoctrination process, creating a feeling of euphoria, being understood and being unique. As the recruit delves deeper into the social group, love-bombing is often replaced with guilt and control mechanisms. Another technique explored in this short is the isolation created in such groups: by renaming the main character and creating a disconnect with previous experiences, the group creates social isolation, often complemented with financial and ideological isolation and the dispensing of existing (viewing people outside the group as not being worthy of..) when in contact with “others”