Love Has Won: The Cult Of Mother God

[DanaK]

HBO 3-part doc series that premieres on Monday, November 13 at 9pm ET and streams on Max. The series is about an obscure religious group "Love Has Won" that had been run by Amy Carlson before her death was discovered in 2021

Deadline article on when HBO greenlighted the series https://deadline.com/2021/06/hbo-love-has-won-docuseries-hannah-olson-amy-carlson-mother-god-1234773934/

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by DanaK

[DanaK]

Title is now "Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God". More detailed info:

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The HBO Original three-part documentary series LOVE HAS WON: THE CULT OF MOTHER GOD, directed by Hannah Olson (HBO's "Baby God" and "The Last Cruise"), debuts MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max, followed by episodes two and three airing subsequent Mondays at the same time.

Synopsis: LOVE HAS WON: THE CULT OF MOTHER GOD chronicles the life and death of Amy Carlson, also known as "Mother God," a self-proclaimed spiritual savior who promised an escape from the "3D" world via her online manifestos and live-streaming sessions. As her most fervent acolytes came to live with Amy, they cared for "Mother God," whose health gradually declined. Amy's followers joined her in believing that her physical demise was the result of her taking on the pain of the world, and that her deterioration would ultimately lead to her evacuation by UFO and salvation for humanity. Told through the eyes of Amy's devotees, both former and still practicing, and constructed almost entirely from the cult's archival footage, the series captures the early boom of internet proselytizing and the perils of a conspiracy-driven faith.

Full press release http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2023/11/08/hbo-original-documentary-series-love-has-won-the-cult-of-mother-god-debuts-november-13-441212/20231108hbo01/

 

[geekgirl921]

Yikes!! The level of crazy is off the charts!

[tljgator]

I wonder if one of these yahoos will explain how the memory of poor Robin Williams got co-opted into their "religious" dogma? *shakes head* 

I will say, compared to other similar docs, the interviews with folks who are clearly still in the cult, coupled with all the actual footage, makes for an interesting POV for this one. 

[Andyourlittledog2]

I wish we could have Robin Williams reaction to having his life and memory co-opted by these idiots. I bet it would be hilarious.

[Madding crowd]

I remember seeing this nutcase on Dr. Phil and feeling angry that people were subjecting their children to her. It’s one thing for adults to want to live such a chaotic, drug fueled life but subjecting children to that was evil. I still find it fascinating that people were so entranced with her considering she rarely seemed sober or had much to say beyond Love Wins.

[Madding crowd]

Just watched the second episode and I feel bad for the grandparents who had to take responsibility for their grandchildren because their parents wanted to party all day. I also can’t believe these people were getting donations for their rambling videos. Having had family members die from alcoholism it was hard seeing her body falling apart and no one did anything.

[sadie]

Where do these people come from? We joke at work we can’t even get employees to show up on time let alone getting them to believe the crazy on display here. Fascinating.

[meep.meep]

I wonder why Williams' estate didn't sue them for making money off of his image without permission.

I haven't seen the second episode, but taking colloidal silver is not a good idea, especially in oral form.  If she was taking it, it could have contributed to her death.  They were certainly selling it.

[For Cereals]

On 11/15/2023 at 2:58 PM, tljgator said:

I will say, compared to other similar docs, the interviews with folks who are clearly still in the cult, coupled with all the actual footage, makes for an interesting POV for this one. 

It’s odd not to see ex-members provide commentary.  Maybe the red headed woman is no longer entranced?  She was so emaciated during that one scene, I didn’t even think it was the same person.  She looked elderly.

On 11/18/2023 at 6:48 AM, Madding crowd said:

I still find it fascinating that people were so entranced with her considering she rarely seemed sober or had much to say beyond Love Wins.

Or calling people bitches.

[pasdetrois]

Having watched this series and some Twin Flame episodes, I am reminded that behind every one of these "spiritual missions" is your basic MLM set-up, supported by clueless losers, loners and deadbeats. The leaders pull their idealogy and processes from Scientology, Christian youth cults, and others of that ilk, stick a charismatic leader in front, and re-brand with a shiny new name and sparkly graphics.

Mother God's key sycophants had superior verbal skills, because they easily regurgitated her simple-minded nonsense all day, every day. Many of them probably figured it was a good gig as long as the money lasted. Beats minimum wage.

In fact I wondered if they understood she was dying but didn't care as long as they could continue the easy life (as some are still doing). Also, they may have been worried that the authorities would intervene if they knew Mother God was helpless and being kept from care that would save her life.

The most genuine emotion the sycophants showed was over the loss of their nest egg, which apparently was always in the accountant's name and legal for him to keep. Will the tax man catch up, or are they a "church?"

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but taking colloidal silver is not a good idea, especially in oral form

Sue from Life Below Zero was taking it in early episodes of that series, but I wonder if she stopped. She lived alone in the Arctic, far from medical care, and believed it would keep her healthy.

Edited November 29, 2023 by pasdetrois

[geekgirl921]

On 11/22/2023 at 11:00 AM, meep.meep said:

I wonder why Williams' estate didn't sue them for making money off of his image without permission.

I haven't seen the second episode, but taking colloidal silver is not a good idea, especially in oral form.  If she was taking it, it could have contributed to her death.  They were certainly selling it.

And yes, it was determined that the colloidal silver contributed to her death!

Dear lord, these people were driving all around the country, dragging a dead body along! So much woo and craziness!

[Guest]

I wonder why none of this was mentioned in the doc series:

"Love Has Won" Cult Make Racist, Pro-Nazi, Holocaust-Denying Statements

 

[Madding crowd]

They also left out the child abuse stuff which they showed on Dr. Phil. Mother God would insist children who were crying be put in a dark closet and left there, and the kids were barely fed . She also screamed at babies and small children because they weren’t understanding her message.

[kathe5133]

I just couldn't get through this.  I know you aren't supposed to blame the victims of a cult, but really?  Really?  I just can't!

[Grumpbump]

The one who burned down the Colorado? home because she was burning sage?  I think she had her kids taken from her.  Dumbass.

 

What was that gadget that was giving readings from the corpse but zero readings for the living?

[MicheleinPhilly]

I'm a sucker for any and all cult exposes but my word, this one may have taken the crazy cake. 

I have nothing against free love stoners, but I'm perplexed as to what their actual "mission" was. I certainly didn't get any sense of it from their "Jukt Micronics" looking website. 

[CherryMalotte]

2 hours ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

I'm a sucker for any and all cult exposes but my word, this one may have taken the crazy cake. 

I have nothing against free love stoners, but I'm perplexed as to what their actual "mission" was. I certainly didn't get any sense of it from their "Jukt Micronics" looking website. 

All I heard from MG's followers is their disdain for us normal type folks that are responsible beings that have normal type lives.  And normal common sense.  

[zenithwit]

The first 2.5 episodes of this series were well-done.  It was so difficult and uncomfortable watching a person die a slow and painful death (literally).  At some point I wondered how much control Amy Carlson truly had over her cult.  There seemed to be a couple moments where she temporarily gain conscientiousness and tried to seek help (from her "earth" family, a hospital, etc) but her cult followers pulled her back down.   Given the amount of video footage available from all of the live streams, it's surprising that the group didn't face more charges that actually stuck.

However, the second half of the third episode was way too rushed.  They left too many open questions.  Clearly there was some splintering in the group that was barely touched on (other than these people live together here and those people live together there, etc).  They probably could have had an extra episode showing the fallout and how everyone views their path forward  - which would be interesting to me at least.

Also, there was almost no explanation about the children discovered in the home where Amy Carlson's body was kept.  I understand that maybe they couldn't disclose much to protect the children's identities but certainly they could have provided higher-level explanations as to why they were in the house and what happened to them afterwards.

Edited December 26, 2023 by zenithwit