Even by cult standards, Love Has Won was exceptionally nutty, its gospel almost as laughable as its followers were devoted. Founded by Amy Carlson, a Kansas native who convinced herself and others that she was a divine being known as Mother God who was destined to save humanity by taking away its sins, it was a ragtag group of misfits and outcasts to whom every waking second was dedicated. to ensure that their leader is happy. In this case, that involved keeping her full of alcohol, weed, and mental illness, all of which were considered her “medicine” and facilitated her conversations with “The Galactics,” a group of high-flying gurus who advised Amy on the matter. the best ways to “awaken” humanity and “ascend” to the heavens through their star.
Leader of the Galactics? None other than Hollywood legend Robin Williams, Amy and her students used to chat with him regularly.
Executive produced by Josh and Benny Safdie, three episodes Love Conquers: The Religion of the Mother of God (Nov. 13, HBO) is like an animated version of a cult classic, not because of its setting—director Hannah Olson conveys her story in a sharp and compelling way—but because its details are so over the top. This is true right from the start, as the trial continues with body camera footage of the police arriving on April 29, 2021, at the “machine house” of Amy and her Love Has Won acolytes in Colorado. The house was a shack decorated with Christmas lights, New Age paintings, and paintings, rainbow colors, and stuffed animals. Inside, what they found was Amy’s wrapped body, which had been wrapped in a sleeping bag as she had been transported across many interstate roads, posthumously, from Oregon, where she had died in a hotel room. following a previous stint in Hawaii.
Amy’s body was in the house because she had convinced her flock that it was her destiny to leave Earth in honor of the Galactics, and these faithful men and women were waiting for this amazing miracle to happen. And they were convinced that, due to his three hearts (?!) and the fact that he was still emitting electrical currents (?!), he was only dead by the standards of the “3D world,” their superficial moniker. a fact they had identified as The Matrix-style facade. These ideas were shared by all and strongly encouraged by Amy’s partner Jason, who had joined their circle after years of petty crime and homelessness. Jason was known as Father God—a supporting position held by several former lovers, first with the elderly Amerith White Eagle (who guides Amy to move to Colorado in the first place) and then with the young Andrew (who got bailed out before things. got really long hair) and John ( who stuck and assumed the role of “Multiverse Father”).
Amy used the internet to spread her message, which consisted of hippie-dippie nonsense about being one with the rest of the world; various 9/11, QAnon, and pro-Trump and Hitler conspiracy theories; and the amorphous doctrine of the Bible-through-sci-fi. He did this while always stoned, drunk, and tripping balls, as non-stop partying was the basis of his behavior. All this attracted different men and women who came up with new names and pledged loyalty to their holy Mother, taking care of all needs from her and pushing her philosophy on various internet channels. They also sold her spiritual classes and cheap goods, and asked for donations, to keep this ragamuffin project going—a task that fell primarily to Amy’s longtime friend “the archangel Michael,” who would eventually take a keen interest in their activities. bank account.
Amy’s decline was caused by a combination of chronic drug abuse and an addiction to eating solid silver, which eventually turned her blue. As Jason and fans Hope, Aurora, El Moyra, Little Buddha, Erin, and John explain Love Conquers: The Religion of the Mother of God, this appalling condition—along with her sore skin and crusted frame—were not signs of a medical problem, but rather the work of Mother’s sin-bearing. Olson’s writings benefit from the candid participation of these true believers, whose comments reveal the depth and breadth of their shared delusions. They all seem like deeply wounded people who want an escape, a good time, solutions to their grievances and problems, and a little kindness—often, the speakers recount how Amy’s simple act of “You’re okay. wise” and convinced them to trust in his divinity.
Inspired by these interviews, as well as the many videos shot by Amy and her children before and after her death, Love Conquers: The Religion of the Mother of God It offers an unflinching look inside this unusual society, showing the incredible capacity of humans to embrace irrational ideas as a way of coping with unhappiness and trauma. Joined by Amy’s mother, Linda, and sister Tara, Olson details the cult leader’s upbringing with an abusive stepmother, weight and body image issues, abusive and abusive boyfriends, and the subsequent resentment—as a wife and mother to many children—that led. to find solace in a wacko dream involving frequent meetings with Robin Williams and the rest of the Galactics (Michael Jackson, Gene Wilder, Christopher Reeve, Tupac, Kenny Rogers, John Lennon, etc.).
Love Conquers: The Religion of the Mother of God he’s full of crazy proclamations about the “power of self,” the “etheric meetings” of Amy and Robin Williams, his status as the “literal resurrection of Jesus,” and Amy and Jason’s status as “twin flames”—because, apparently, all the time. on the internet Amy was borrowing ideas from other loony cultists. Director Olson doesn’t have to work hard to be suspenseful or funny because the material is working for him. The View of Love Conquers the people who sit and watch Mrs. Doubtfirefor example, it combines both the comic absurdity and the tragic sadness of the whole story, pointing to loneliness and suffering as the main motivations for the establishment and success of cults.
At the same time, it serves as a strong “Say No to Drugs” warning against the overuse of hallucinogens and alcohol, whose brain-enhancing effects helped descend into insanity that no sane, stable mind would admit.
