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Running Your Own Cult: Do's and Don'ts

The Church of the SubGenius -- The First 30 Years

Course Overview

 

This course is really Volume Two of "The SubGenius Psychlopaedia of Slack -- The Bobliographon," a new SubGenius book from Thunder's Mouth Press which will be in stores by November. This material -- basically a behind-the scenes history of The Church of the SubGenius and an investigation into the nature of belief -- requires way too much multimedia to work as just a book. But it's perfect for an 8-week online course.

At the end of the course, students will have designed and developed their own religious cult to the point of marketability.

Rev. Ivan Stang is compiling the most telling true-life anecdotes, photos, video and audio clips that illustrate the Church of the SubGenius story since 1980. These "most telling" moments are also usually the funniest, although some are tragic indeed. They also prompt all manner of questions and observations about the nature of religion and philosophy.

At the same time, we will be examining the nuts-and-bolts aspects (accent on the nuts) of physically running a cult religion mail order business, fringe philosophical movement and social club. The history of SubGenius is itself a how-to in low-budget multimedia exploitation using bare-bones equipment and skills.

The overt nonsense of J. R. "Bob" Dobbs and his "believers" helps people to recognize similar nonsense even when it is uttered with a straight face and disguised with pseudo-science by serious-sounding charlatans. Besides being, as RAW called it, "the best of the One True Religions," it's also satire -- but for some, such satire can carry more subtle truths than the various belief systems it parodies. This is the aspect of the Church that has drawn contributions from such notables as Saint Ken Kesey, Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Anton Wilson, Paul Mavrides, Hal Robins and many others. Like kook flypaper, however, it can also attract some of the most fabulously loony basket cases imaginable. Because of them, some of the actual events that have occurred in the SubGenius world make its most outrageous and caustic mock-dogma look mundane and stodgy by comparison. The truth has often been much stranger than the fiction.

We will inspect the various elements that go into a working homemade religion, from the foundational promises and spiritual assumptions to the best ways of getting the word out. Remember, huge modern faiths such as Scientology and the Mormons started out just this way! Who knows -- the fictional secret society that you will create from study of the SubGenius model during this course may someday become the next Freemasons!

Stang, students, and guest SubGenius artists will work together in an online forum or "newsgroup" for Q&A and discussion, as well as biweekly evening "chat room" sessions for live interaction.

Each week will bring a new series of readings with graphics (readable by browser or downloadable as PDF), many audio clips in MP3 form, and video AVIs. The audio and video clips are not lectures per se, but pertinent excerpts from radio shows, video documentaries, music videos, animation and even home movies. The only weekly requirement of the student will be that he or she moves on to the next activity stage of his or her own original cult design.

The student's cult does not have to be satirical like the Church of the SubGenius! The same principles work for both sarcastic and sincere religions. The only difference is that the latter requires the keeping of a straight face. (Much harder than one might think!) The Church of the SubGenius, in fact, borrowed much from existing successful mail order Mystic Schools such as The Rosicrucians and Scientology.

Some of the photos, tapes, videos, interviews, and writings have appeared before, scattered around the busy SubGenius newsgroups. Most of it is being assembled and organized for the first time. Be ready to let your computer download while you sleep, because there will be quite a bit in terms of MP3 audio, photo and art JPEGs, and video AVIs. A book's worth of text will also be involved, above and beyond any extra (non-required) reading of the existing SubGenius books in print.


Course Weekly Syllabus

1 Current State of SubGenius Church - overview

This catches the student up on the basic catechism and the full breadth of the SubGenius media reach. We quickly trace the path of the Dobbshead graphic from Yellow Pages clip art, to huge posters, tattoos and colossal sculptures, and back to "clip art".

Student will have to decide on the focus and key tenets of a brand new original religion/philosophical system.

2 Inspirations and Beginnings

Religion-like precursors: wrestling, monster movies, cooler traditions with more monsters and sex - Lovecraft - RAW/Shea - zines, home movies, Firesign Theater, underground comics - Masons, Rosicrucians, Scientology, Zappa, Looney Tunes, surrealism, etc.)

Student will gather elements needed to physically create outreach materials for new religion -- first tract writing

3 The Perfect Cult Growing Fertilizer Formula - Pamphlet #1 to Book of the SubGenius and The Stark Fist of Removal magazines (1980-85)

Basic groundwork, self-publishing, celebrity recruitment, professional publishing, conventions, early albums and radio appearances

Student will decide on physical details of new cult outreach: new identity, level of secrecy if any, type of outreach (printed, spoken, podcast?)

4 Adventures in Activism - Pranks and Scandals, Radio and Devival Outreach (1985-94)

Dealing with Actual Believers. Highlights of the more spectacular/horrible moments of live preaching (stage, tent show and nightclub). The Hour of Slack, Puzzling Evidence, Rev. Susie the Floozy and other SubGenius radio series; ARISE! feature video production; working with MTV and news shows; High Weirdness by Mail, Three Fisted Tales of "Bob" and Revelation X; Starwood & big pagan fests.

Student will plan attention-getting ruses for own cult (implementation not necessary)

 

5 SubGenius Online - The Internet (1995-

The Tumultuous World of SubGenius Usenet. Website development. RPG game development with Steve Jackson games. The artists and musicians of alt.binaries.slack. Dealing with information overload; paying for bandwidth.

Students will discuss/debate/brag-up their respective cults together online. New cult website development optional. Students will unfortunately have to read alt.slack newsgroup to witness actual Slacklessness level of cult believers as compared to that of cult creators.

6 X-Day Before and After

Intensive look at the "X-Day Drills" and other live SubGenius and related festival, travel, and social activity: RAW, GWAR, Amsterdam and Burning Man tours, DEVOtionals, Starwood, Winterstar etc. A close look at the cult as fringe culture -- cliques and societies within the "secret society." Keeping the peace and the impossibility thereof when dealing with "creative types." Sex, drugs, rock and roll in cult promotion.

We are not yet sure what the Student will be assigned for this week. Possibly the recruitment of an actual "believer" or other minion.

7 The Kooks & The Drawbacks

The Ongoing Child Custody Case. People Who Think They're Jesus or "Bob." SubGenius kooks. Hilarious history of those who have taken The Church of the SubGenius completely seriously: potential publishers, the Secret Service, hundreds of Bobbies, Messiah Complex sufferers, the Cleveland Police Dept., two millionaires, the FBI, many UFO contactees, NPR, the Mayor of Cambridge, etc.)

For student: more online interaction with fellow students in chat-room and/or forum. Student should have some sort of original manifesto, pamphlet, brochure, ballad or other come-on for custom-made religion by now.

8 Deprogramming from SubGenius Mind Control and Final Do It Yourself Cult Launching

We will reveal the final awful ultimate truths of the Church of the SubGenius, and finish testing the weaknesses and strengths of each other's newly born cult religions.

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