Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God explained

Genre:Documentary
Director:Hannah Olson
Country:United States
Num Episodes:3
Cinematography:Christopher Messina
Language:English
Runtime:53-58 minutes
Network:HBO

Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God is a 2023 television documentary series directed and produced by Hannah Olson. It explores the life and death of Amy Carlson, the leader of Love Has Won.

It premiered November 13, 2023, on HBO.

Premise

Explores the life and death of Amy Carlson, the leader of Love Has Won.[1]

Production

Following the 2016 United States presidential election, Hannah Olson had become interested in the rise of conspiratorial thinking, including followers of Donald Trump.[2] Olson was introduced to Love Has Won and Amy Carlson by a New Age scholar at University of Texas at Austin, wondering how Carlson went from a McDonald's manager to a cult leader.[3] [4] Olson approached followers of Carlson with empathy and curiosity, interested primarily in the systematic and social factors that led them to Love Has Won.[5]

Production on the series commenced three weeks after the discovery of Carlson's body, with interviews of followers of Love Has Won, and review of thousands of hours of footage from livestreams.[6] Olson did not want to platform the group's more harmful beliefs, only briefly including some of the group's conspiratorial ideology without commentary.[7] Instead of including experts, Olson chose to let members tell the story, in order to immerse the audience.[8]

In June 2021, it was announced Olson would direct a documentary series revolving around Love Has Won for HBO.[9] The Safdie brothers, Josh and Benny, serve as executive producers.[1]

Reception

[10]

Judy Berman of Time wrote: "In sticking close to Carlson’s family and the inner circle, Olson achieves something that has proven impossible for documentarians telling the stories of cults, NXIVM, the Manson Family, and now Twin Flames Universe—that caused more profound, widespread damage: she makes the appeal of Mother God’s largely unhinged worldview legible."[11] Nick Schager of The Daily Beast wrote: "Offers an unvarnished peek inside this insular community, demonstrating people’s stunning capacity for concocting and embracing ridiculous ideas as a way of coping with unhappiness and trauma."[12]

Notes and References

  1. HBO Original Documentary Series Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God Debuts November 13 . Hayley . Hanson . November 8, 2023 . Warner Bros. Discovery. November 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231108195054/https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/hbo-original-documentary-series-love-has-won-cult-mother-god-debuts-november-13 . 2023-11-08 . live.
  2. Mother God, Robin Williams, and Alcohol as Medicine: Inside Love Has Won . Jane . Borden . November 14, 2023 . . November 19, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231114232114/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/11/love-has-won-mother-god-cult-amy-carlson . 2023-11-14 . live.
  3. Web site: Director Hannah Olson on the Making of Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God. W. Andrea. Whittle. December 1, 2023. December 9, 2023.
  4. Web site: How the Internet Helped Fuel the Mother God Cult. The Mary Sue. D.R.. Medlen. November 27, 2023. December 9, 2023.
  5. Web site: HBO's 'Love Has Won' shows how cult leader Amy Carlson went from McDonald's manager to mummy. Los Angeles Times. Meredith. Blake. November 28, 2023. December 9, 2023.
  6. Web site: God Was a Livestreamer . Zoe . Guy . November 8, 2023 . . November 19, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231108203850/https://www.vulture.com/2023/11/love-has-won-trailer-release-date.html . 2023-11-08 . live.
  7. Web site: 'Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God' Director Answers Burning Questions: Why She Didn't Emphasize QAnon Propaganda — and How She Incorporated Amy Carlson's Corpse. Variety. Addie. Morfoot. December 8, 2023. December 9, 2023.
  8. Web site: 'Love Has Won' Director Hannah Olson On Finding Empathy in Amy Carlson, How The HBO Doc Depicts the Death of the American Dream. Awards Daily. Megan. McLachlan. December 5, 2023. December 9, 2023.
  9. News: HBO Greenlights 'Love Has Won' Docuseries Directed By 'Baby God' Helmer Hannah Olson . Denise . Petski . June 11, 2021 . . November 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210611223311/https://deadline.com/2021/06/hbo-love-has-won-docuseries-hannah-olson-amy-carlson-mother-god-1234773934/ . 2021-06-11 . live.
  10. love_has_won_the_cult_of_mother_god. Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God. tv. 1. March 4, 2024. y.
  11. Love Has Won Is the Rare Cult Doc That Leads With Empathy . Judy . Berman . 2023-11-13 . . November 19, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231113204540/https://time.com/6334386/love-has-won-review-hbo/ . 2023-11-13.
  12. News: Drugs, QAnon, and Mummified Corpses: This Cult Doc Has Everything . Nick . Schager . 2023-11-12 . November 11, 2023 . . November 19, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231119164921/https://www.thedailybeast.com/love-has-won-the-cult-of-mother-god-hbo-doc-review?ref=author . 2023-11-19 . live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.