The Netflix documentary Wild, Wild, Country tells the story of Rajneeshpuram, a commune founded by the Indian guru Shri Bhagwan Rajneesh in Oregon in 1981. The followers turned a 60,000 acre ranch in central Oregon into their own spiritual commune. Led by Bhagwan's personal secretary, Ma Anand Sheela, the Rajneeshees eventually took over the government of nearby town of Antelope, Oregon and its population of 40 residents. As more and more Rajneeshees moved to Oregon, tensions between the spiritual seeker newcomers and the conservative locals turned dangerous. In part 1 of 2, we discuss the first three episodes of the documentary series. It's an example of when a religious minority lays claim to and tries to participate in behaviors and norms of "traditional American values," we see the mundane ways that stuff inevitably plays out: petitions, injunctions, city orders, land use, and lawsuits. There is a lot of bureaucracy to religion.

Links:

Mike's book on Hinduism in America: ⁠https://www.routledge.com/Hinduism-in-America-An-Introduction/Altman/p/book/9781138389649⁠

Merinda's Cult Favorite:

Extending Play: The Feminization of Collaborative Music Merchandise in the Early Twenty-First Century ⁠https://global.oup.com/academic/product/extending-play-9780190085643?q=extending%20play&lang=en&cc=us⁠

Mike's Cult Favorite:

The League: ⁠https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-league⁠

Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and X at @cultfavoritepod.

Production assistance from the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama.

Theme music produced with Udio.