{"id":83070,"date":"2018-10-17T10:31:08","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T17:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=83070"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:27:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T00:27:31","slug":"art-notes-2018","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=83070","title":{"rendered":"Art Notes 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

In addition to the stories by artists, composers and filmmakers in this section of the\u00a0jonestown report<\/em>, we learned of these other developments within the past year:
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Jonestown in Television<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Wild Wild Country<\/strong>
\nReleased on March 16, 2018, the six-part Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country<\/em> about the community established by the Rajneesheesin Antelope, Oregon, during the early 1980s included a few references within the program to Peoples Temple, and many commentaries drew similar comparisons. Among them:<\/p>\n

A Story of Love and Hate: Netflix\u2019s Wild Wild Country<\/em><\/a>
\nby Ross Simonini, Frieze, April 4, 2018<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Wild Wild Country<\/em> Directors Explain How They Made Their Shocking Cult Documentary<\/a>
\nby Lincoln Michel, GQ<\/em>, March 29, 2018,<\/p>\n

\u2018Wild Wild Country\u2019 Directors Bust Open \u2018The Cult Box\u2019 In New Netflix Documentary Series<\/a>
\nby\u00a0Andrew Whalen,\u00a0March 16, 2018, Newsweek<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>A&E Documentary: Jonestown: The Women Behind the Massacre<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A&E aired the first of several network and cable documentaries commemorating the 40th anniversary of the deaths in 1978 in February. It announced<\/a> its set of two \u201cdocumentary specials that explore two of America\u2019s most notorious and dangerous religious sects\u201d \u2013 including its February 26 presentation of Jonestown: The Women Behind the Massacre<\/em> on February 5, 2018. The coverage included Was Jonestown a Mass Suicide or a Mass Murder?<\/a>, an article by A&E writer Sarah Watts on February 21, 2018<\/p>\n

Other previews and reviews include:<\/p>\n

The Jonestown Massacre: 5 Fast Facts You Need to\u00a0Know<\/a>
\nby Beth Heyn, heavy.com, February 26, 2018<\/p>\n

Where Was Jonestown? The Peoples Temple Compound Was The Remote Site Of A Horrible Historical Event<\/a>
\nby Lindsay Denninger, Bustle, February 26, 2018<\/p>\n

Reviews of this documentary also appear in the jonestown report\u00a0<\/em>by Jason Dikes<\/a> and Bonnie Yates<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>ABC Documentary: Truth and Lies: Jonestown – Paradise Lost<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On September 28, 2018, ABC broadcast its two-hour documentary, Truth and Lies: Jonestown – Paradise Lost<\/em>. Its producers Lauren Effron and Monica DeLaRosa described the program in several articles for the network, including:<\/p>\n

40 years after Jonestown massacre, ex-members describe Jim Jones as a ‘real monster’<\/a>, September 26, 2018.<\/p>\n

Former Peoples Temple members describe horrors of Jonestown massacre, the day 918 Americans died<\/a>, September 27, 2018<\/p>\n

40 years after the Jonestown massacre: Jim Jones’ surviving sons on what they think of their father, the Peoples Temple today<\/a>, September 27, 2018.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Other previews and reviews include:<\/p>\n

See Jim Jones\u2019 Surviving Sons Speak About Jonestown Murder-Suicide in New Doc<\/a>
\nby Jerry Portwood, Rolling Stone<\/em>, September 28, 2018<\/p>\n

Jonestown Massacre: ‘He was a monster and had lost his mind’<\/a>
\nby Kate Kachor, 9news.com (Australia), September 27, 2018<\/p>\n

Inside The Horrors Of The Jonestown Massacre, The Day 918 Americans Died<\/a>
\nWTVQ, Lexington, KY, September 27, 2018<\/p>\n

First Look: Jim Jones’s Surviving Sons Speak Out in New Documentary About the Jonestown Massacre<\/a>
\nby Rose Minutaglio, Esquire.com, September 18, 2018.<\/p>\n

Scoop: ABC News’ ‘Truth and Lies: Jonestown, Paradise Lost,’ Airs September 28<\/a>
\nBroadway World<\/em>, September 18, 2018<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>NBC: Jonestown, An American Tragedy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

NBC Dateline aired Jonestown, An American Tragedy<\/em> on July 13, 2018. The program appears on the NBC website<\/a>. A short promotional piece<\/a> on NBC aired July 12, 2018.<\/p>\n

Other descriptions, previews and reviews include:<\/p>\n

Dateline looks at the Jonestown massacre, the largest mass murder-suicide in modern history<\/a>
\nWTHR.com, July 13, 2018.<\/p>\n

‘Dateline NBC’ takes an in-depth look at Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre<\/a>
\nby Dawn Mitchell, Indianapolis Star<\/em>, July 12, 2018<\/p>\n

What Happened At Jonestown? Guyana Massacre Explored On New ‘Dateline’ Special<\/a>
\nby Kelly Wynne, Newsweek<\/em>, July 12, 2018<\/p>\n

EXCLUSIVE: Jonestown survivors shot in airstrip massacre recount how they were left to die by cult members who then aided Jim Jones in the murder of 300 children during mass suicide<\/a>
\nby Chris Spargo, The Daily Mail<\/em> (United Kingdom), July 13, 2018<\/p>\n

\u2018THEY\u2019RE KILLING ALL THE BABIES\u2019:\u00a0Jonestown massacre survivors recount hell of mass suicide that killed 918 death cult members<\/a>
\nby Patrick Knox, The Sun<\/em> (United Kingdom), July 13, 2018<\/p>\n

DATELINE NBC To Air Special On Jonestown Massacre This Friday<\/a>
\nBroadway World<\/em>, July 10, 2018<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Jonestown in Theater<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Solstice Party!<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0\u2018A Jonestown Parable for the Trump Era,\u2019 to Have World Premiere Off-Broadway
\nby Olivia Clement, Playbill<\/em>, October 10, 2017<\/p>\n

Solstice Party! <\/em>is a drama that explores themes of groupthink and betrayal. The new play sees a group of friends gather in upstate New York for the summer solstice and is eerily billed as \u201ca Jonestown parable for the Trump era.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat begins as a casual, fun weekend quickly devolves into something more sinister; a power-struggle and then a game of survival that is by turns bizarre and shocking,\u201c read production notes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Jonestown in Books<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u2022 Jeff Guinn\u2019s book, The Road to Jonestown<\/em> \u2013 which is the basis of a miniseries on Sundance<\/a> \u2013 continues to be reviewed as a book, including on May 15, 2018 at Reading Religion<\/em>, the publication of the American Academy of Religion. Kristian Klippenstein, the author of the review article<\/a>, is also a regular contributor<\/a> to the jonestown report<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u2022 Cult City: Jim Jones, Harvey Milk, and 10 Days That Shook San Francisco<\/em>, by Daniel Flynn, was published on October 8, 2018.<\/p>\n

Describing Jim Jones as \u201cthe darling of the San Francisco political establishment\u201d and Harvey Milk as \u201cone of Jim Jones\u2019s most vocal supporters,\u201d the book\u2019s listing on Amazon<\/a> says that immediately after the deaths of the two men in Jonestown and San Francisco, “the lives and deaths of Jim Jones and Harvey Milk became shrouded in myth. The distortions and omissions have piled up since. Now, forty years later, this book corrects the record.\u2026 Author Daniel\u00a0J. Flynn vividly portrays the strange intersection of mainstream politics and murderous extremism in 1970s San Francisco\u2014the hangover after the high of the Summer of Love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flynn describes the men in writing about his book in the Washington Examiner<\/a> on October 15: \u201cDo you remember that time the entire Democratic Party in California behaved like cultists, enraptured by Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones?\u2026 Before Jim Jones\u2019s victims drank the lethal Flavor Aid in South America, the powerful in San Francisco had already drunk the Kool Aid themselves. In fact, the latter facilitated the former.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book was reviewed \u2013 and Flynn was interviewed \u2013 in Frontpage Magazine<\/a> on October 16, 2018.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u2022 Jackie Speier, the legislative aide to Leo Ryan who herself was severely wounded at the Port Kaituma airstrip during the attack on the congressional party, has published her memoir, Undaunted: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back,<\/em> through Little A, the literary fiction and nonfiction imprint of Amazon Publishing. The Amazon listing for the book<\/a> describes the ordeal at the airstrip for Speier \u2013 who won election to Leo Ryan\u2019s seat in Congress in 2008 — as \u201cthe formative nightmare that radically molded her perspective and instincts to the devastating personal and professional challenges that would follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Novelist James Reston Jr., who wrote Our Father Who Art in Hell<\/i><\/a> in 1981, reflects upon his experiences in the writing process in The Novelist\u2019s Event: Fact, Fiction, and a Writer\u2019s Search for a Universal\u00a0Subject<\/a>, published in the Summer 2018 edition of The Georgia Review<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 7 Books About Cults That Demonstrate How Dangerous Groupthink Really Is<\/a>
\nby C.E. Miller, Bustle.com, 5\/30\/18<\/p>\n

Obsession with cults in Summer 2108 extended to listings of books includes Fred D\u2019Aguiar\u2019s book, Children of Paradise<\/em>: \u201cA fictional exploration into one of the most infamous cults in modern history \u2014 the Peoples Temple, led by Jim Jones \u2014 Fred D\u2019Aguiar\u2019s\u00a0Children of Paradise<\/em>\u00a0is a blend of historical fiction and magical realism that looks at the journey of one mother and daughter to escape their utopian community; with the help, of all unlikely things, the commune\u2019s resident gorilla.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Jonestown in Music<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u2022 Jonestown release new video for The People’s Temple<\/a>
\nby Luke Morton, Metal Hammer, May 31, 2018<\/p>\n

Jonestown are premiering their new video for\u00a0The People’s Temple<\/em>\u00a0\u2026 taken from the band’s upcoming album\u00a0DYATLOV<\/em>, the follow-up to 2016’s\u00a0Aokigahara<\/em>.\u00a0\u201c\u2019The People\u2019s Temple<\/em>\u00a0is about how religion and politics seem to only separate people from one another, destroying all common ground and humanity,\u2019 vocalist Harley Anderson tells Metal Hammer. \u2018We\u2019re all guilty of it in some way, believing we are somehow superior because of our opinions.\u2019\u201d
\nA second article<\/a> about the band was also published by loudersound.com in September 2018.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u2022 A Chicago pop-punk trio of musicians, Welcome to Jonestown<\/a>, released its EP Go Punk Yourself<\/em> on March 1, 2018. News of the release also appeared here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Musical Hype created a playlist of \u201c10 Songs about Cult Leader Jim Jones<\/a>\u201d in The songs include \u201cBallad of Jim Jones,\u201d by the Brian Jonestown Massacre (1996), \u201cLast Call in Jonestown,\u201d by Polkadot Cadaver (2013) and \u201cJonestown,\u201d by the Acacia Strain (2010).
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Jonestown in Video Games<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u2022 DDB Paris introduces us to Joseph Seed<\/a>
\nby\u00a0Angela Natividad, Adweek<\/em>, March 6, 2018<\/p>\n

Far Cry 5<\/em>, a new video game revolves around its \u201cdark prophet\u201d who \u201cheads up Eden\u2019s Gate church in Montana. It\u2019s a wink to\u00a0Heaven\u2019s Gate,\u00a0one of the many cults in our illustrious history of religious suicide groups whose roots were sowed by\u00a0the Jonestown Massacre.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2022 Two articles were published about the video game The Church in the Darkness<\/em>:<\/p>\n

The Darkness confronts the light: alternate realities and american religiosity<\/a>
\nby Emily Newbery, The Bowdoin Orient<\/em>, Brunswick, ME, September 7, 2018<\/p>\n

This opinion piece about the video game The Church in the Darkness describes the game\u2019s replication of violent cults and considers how \u201cAmericans seem to be returning to the cult experiences of the 1970s and 1990s with a kind of morbid fascination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breaking Into South American Cults with The Church in the Darkness<\/a>
\nby Gavin Sheehan, Bleeding Cool<\/em>, April 13, 2018<\/p>\n

This article previews this video game, set for release in late 2018 or early 2019. \u201cThe game is part exploration, part stealth, part information gathering, with results that often don\u2019t end well. The bonus the game has going for it is that no two missions are the same.\u201d
\nThe game was also reviewed by Mark Delaney, writing for True Achievements<\/a>, in September 2017.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Jonestown in Podcasts<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

7 TRUE CRIME PODCASTS YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO RIGHT AWAY<\/a>
\nby Lauren Emily Whalen, Oxygen, March 23, 2018<\/p>\n

Includes review of \u201cCults<\/a>\u201d podcasts, which includes a two-part program on Peoples Temple (Parts 19 and 20).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See also, The 2018 Peoples Temple podcast review<\/a>, by Jason Dikes<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In addition to the stories by artists, composers and filmmakers in this section of the\u00a0jonestown report, we learned of these other developments within the past year: Jonestown in Television Wild Wild Country Released on March 16, 2018, the six-part Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country about the community established by the Rajneesheesin Antelope, Oregon, during the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":81154,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-83070","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/83070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83070"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/83070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134415,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/83070\/revisions\/134415"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}