Before I start this post off, I would like to issue a trigger warning. What I am about to talk about is based on the true crime of Jonestown, Guyana, where over 900 people were killed by either drinking cyanide infused flavor-aid, or killed by (supposed) injections, gunfire, or by other means. I do not wish to cause anyone discomfort in any means, so if this topic is unsettling in any way, please click out of the tab.
When I was in high school, I became fascinated with the Westboro Baptist Church, a small church in Westboro, Kansas that is notorious for picketing funerals and other major events. These events include but are not limited to soldiers' funerals, funerals and memorials of those who lost their lives in disasters (e.g. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting in 2012), gay prides, and concerts. These people bring signs that depict vulgar positions, spread hate speech, and seem to have no empathy to the families who have lost family and friends while they tell them that they're all going to Hell.
At dinner, my parents and I were talking about them, and my dad said "one of these days they're going to drink the Kool-Aid." I had heard this phrase before, but I had never known where it came from. All I knew was that it was kind of another way of saying, "If your friends all jumped off a bridge, would you?" My dad then looked at me and said, "Boo, do you know where that came from?" I told him I didn't. "When you get the time, look up Jonestown."
He then explained to me what it was, to some extent. Both of my parents were alive during it, my mom in her early twenties, and my dad was in high school, so they were old enough to remember when it came on the news.
In November 1978, 909 people in a cult known as "The Peoples' Temple," either committed suicide, or were murdered in a mass suicide; one that the world would never forget.
When I got my hands on this information, I researched as much as I could. I have watched documentaries, notably Jonestown: Paradise Lost and Jonestown: Life and Death of the Peoples' Temple. Even recently, I listened to the final recording.
As fascinating as this topic is, not just for me, but for millions of people, what I find more fascinating is the amount that Jim Jones and the Peoples' Temple are represented in pop culture.
In 2013, Ti West wrote and directed The Sacrament. The movie takes place in a community called Eden Parish, a community based on the real life Jonestown, which has cabins that were even specifically built for the movie. Father, who is played by Gene Jones, represents Jim Jones in his performance, and even goes so far as to talk his followers into "drinking the Kool-Aid," and commits suicide via gunshot, much like Jim Jones. The fact that Gene Jones plays a man that the followers refer to as "Father," is an allusion to the followers of Jim Jones calling Jones, "dad," which is also alluded to in a broadway play called, Thank You, Dad, a play by Aladrian C. Wetzel about Jones' life that debuted in January 2019.
Ke$ha, a song artist popular for her party-based songs, made a reference to Jonestown, in her song, "Blow," with the line "drink that Kool-aid/follow my lead/now you're one of us/you're coming with me." I am unable to find the direct quote, but the rumor is that the song itself is a self-empowerment message for anyone who has been mistreated by others, and that they are better than the ones that mistreat them. It's an attack on the elites, and the reference to Jonestown is how people blindly take it.
However, the most powerful reference to Jonestown that I have seen to date is a song from a new underground metal band called SKYND. SKYND, a band based out of Australia with the work of SKYND herself and producer/multi-instrumentalist, "Father," or simply, "F," writes and sings songs primarily are about true crime. Notable songs they have made are Elisa Lam, a song featuring Jonathan Davis, and most recently Jim Jones.
I watched this music video at night. I watch a lot of horror movies and while I do scare easily I still don't necessarily have an issue going to bed afterwards.
This music video basically told me I wasn't allowed to sleep.
The music and imagery that accompanied it were so eerie, so beautifully accurate, and there was no sugar-coating the disaster. The most notable part that I applaud SKYND for is the part during the bridge where the followers are drinking the "flavored cyanide." Many people forget that cyanide, while it kills within 5-10 minutes, is painful. In the final recording you can hear men, women, and children screaming and crying from the pain. Followers assured the parents and the rest of the followers that they were crying because it was "bitter," but the truth is that they were in excruciating pain.
SKYND and Father spoke with Shawn Wiseman from Rock All Photography, and SKYND said that (source linked above):
I am thoroughly impressed to see such songs about true crime that are on par with crime documentaries and horror movies. The man who portrays Jones gives me chills with the accuracy of his looks and his straight face throughout the video.
SKYND's goal, in her own words:
SKYND also brings up Jones' "no boundaries," assumingly about his tendency to have sex with his female followers, and his drug use with "selling monkies/godless junkies." Jones' son, Stephen Gandhi Jones, said that his father had a drug problem, and would use drugs to control others; "religious holy roller/a mind controller." Jones also used amphetamines and tranquilizers for himself, despite forbidding recreational drug use.
It is obvious that Jonestown is popular for people who are interested in the darker side of humanity, but it doesn't have many references that are seen seriously. Even the first ever episode of Family Guy back in 1999 had a Jonestown and Heaven's Gate reference when Meg joined a cult on accident. SKYND also said that she does not wish to turn a blind eye to the story.
SKYND may only have four songs about, but I feel like what they have in store for us will be bloody brilliant.
However, the most powerful reference to Jonestown that I have seen to date is a song from a new underground metal band called SKYND. SKYND, a band based out of Australia with the work of SKYND herself and producer/multi-instrumentalist, "Father," or simply, "F," writes and sings songs primarily are about true crime. Notable songs they have made are Elisa Lam, a song featuring Jonathan Davis, and most recently Jim Jones.
I watched this music video at night. I watch a lot of horror movies and while I do scare easily I still don't necessarily have an issue going to bed afterwards.
This music video basically told me I wasn't allowed to sleep.
The music and imagery that accompanied it were so eerie, so beautifully accurate, and there was no sugar-coating the disaster. The most notable part that I applaud SKYND for is the part during the bridge where the followers are drinking the "flavored cyanide." Many people forget that cyanide, while it kills within 5-10 minutes, is painful. In the final recording you can hear men, women, and children screaming and crying from the pain. Followers assured the parents and the rest of the followers that they were crying because it was "bitter," but the truth is that they were in excruciating pain.
SKYND and Father spoke with Shawn Wiseman from Rock All Photography, and SKYND said that (source linked above):
"I always wanted to write about Jim Jones because I’ve long been fascinated by how easily people are manipulated when it comes to religion. It was interesting how people followed him while ignoring all of the facts to the contrary about who he truly was.”Father weighed in, telling Rock All Photography the following:
“Although this horrible mass suicide happened 30 years ago, this case, at its core, is more relevant than ever. Where it has always been easy for religious leaders and governments to brainwash people, it became very easy for the silver-tongued Joe Blow to do so in recent years through the help of social media and the Internet. Through the invention of the World Wide Web, we’ve been promised the age of information, which ironically became the age of misinformation. It is now harder than ever to tell the difference between the facts and what’s fake. Could this development lead to a fatal event like in 1979, but on a global scale? It’s harder to imagine that it couldn’t.”
I am thoroughly impressed to see such songs about true crime that are on par with crime documentaries and horror movies. The man who portrays Jones gives me chills with the accuracy of his looks and his straight face throughout the video.
SKYND's goal, in her own words:
"I want to get as close as possible to the evil that humans are capable of. I am obsessed with it. For weeks, months even, I’ve been trying to get into the heads of the most vicious, cruel killers. There is nothing more fascinating to me than people who have reached the boundary of their humanity."
SKYND also brings up Jones' "no boundaries," assumingly about his tendency to have sex with his female followers, and his drug use with "selling monkies/godless junkies." Jones' son, Stephen Gandhi Jones, said that his father had a drug problem, and would use drugs to control others; "religious holy roller/a mind controller." Jones also used amphetamines and tranquilizers for himself, despite forbidding recreational drug use.
It is obvious that Jonestown is popular for people who are interested in the darker side of humanity, but it doesn't have many references that are seen seriously. Even the first ever episode of Family Guy back in 1999 had a Jonestown and Heaven's Gate reference when Meg joined a cult on accident. SKYND also said that she does not wish to turn a blind eye to the story.
"That's what makes me creative, and we are all capable of doing inhumane cruelties."
SKYND may only have four songs about, but I feel like what they have in store for us will be bloody brilliant.
