Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Are we a cult?

I used screen capture for this post

Two of the most interesting new shows are The Following and Cult.   The first is about a group of people who use the works of Edgar Allen Poe as their religion base, and the second is about the way fans respond to a particular tv show. 

This all got me thinking,  are we a cult?

Wrestling fans have been called everything, from marks/rubes, nerds/geeks, fanatics to followers.  We buy the product, the characters, the gimmicks, with or without question (I question everything admit to nothing or is it the other way around?) the dvds/videos/tee shirts and wave them like banners.
We have our heroes and our villains who we would do anything (or almost anything) for, and some cross the line to groupie.

I think we can say that whether you call us part of the "universe" or if we "even matter"  we the fans have built the wrestling industry up to cult status.

If you look up the word cult, you will find part of the definition to be a group who's beliefs are considered abnormal in larger society and using ritual practices.  Usually, lead by someone of an extreme charismatic influence.  Some of the followers eventually are elevated to leaders themselves.

Some would say television itself is a cult.  It's definitely the medium in this case.  WWE has shamelessly tried to have a "cult leader" storyline few years ago with CM Punk's character, spreading a message about living a clean and honorable life; which tanked but still managed to show he could balance on the fine line of Heel or Face.  The message was a good one, the way the company handled it was a bad idea.(his Jesus Christ Pose as I called it.  And another song title actually by the group  Soundgarden) And even now (at the time of this post anyways) Punk's theme song is Cult of Personality by the group Living Colour from 1988

Wrestling fans have been accused, and rightly so, of being some of the most rabid fans out there. (second only to soap opera fans. Twilighters come in a short third. I learned never to get physically between a Team Edward fan and a Team Jacob fan the hard way)  Maybe that's because wrestling has no end season, and is available 24/7-365.

Personally, I prefer to think of myself as a junkie when it comes to wrestling, but I just can't help but wonder, as wrestling fans are we in fact a cult?

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