This is not exactly the message to be conveying when the season itself is in response to the 2016 election.Ĭult includes a subplot that features the fictionalization of real-life historical figures. Cult offers a different narrative that labels the murder of random community members as acts of female rage, which only reinforces the demonization of women and the idea that women are “too emotional” to hold positions of power. This portrayal of her is not accurate in Hotel, but nonetheless, Aileen’s story provokes empathy for her, and we can understand why she killed. What makes Aileen’s story so fit to explore this in-between space of female rage and unjustified violence is that Aileen was labeled a serial killer, but she acted out of self-defense and was subject to a massive amount of violence throughout her lifetime. There is definitely nuance to be found in these ideas, but this is completely absent from Cult, leaving a very cut and dry narrative.Īlison Pill as Ivy and Sarah Paulson as Ally in ‘American Horror Story: Cult’ (2017).įor example, American Horror Story: Hotel featured historical figure Aileen Wuornos, a queer sex worker who killed seven men who had or attempted to rape or harm her and was sentenced to death in the state of Florida. Upon the season’s release, Hollywood Reporter wrote that “ American Horror Story creator and showrunner Ryan Murphy had explained that the intent was to explore ‘female rage then and in the country now.’” But what Murphy does not understand is the difference between female rage and making a statement that reads as if Murphy believes it is feminist for women to be murderers too. While this season does a fantastic job of laying out what qualities would make someone susceptible to joining a cult, the season falls flat in its attempt at a “feminist” message. Along with Kai, the season focuses on the couple of Ally (Sarah Paulson) and Ivy (Alison Pill), feminist activists who are wholly distraught after Hillary Clinton’s loss in the election.

This plot essentially mirrors the process that led to Trump’s election as president, attributing his followers to a cult mentality. The season follows Kai Anderson (Evan Peters) as he gains a following and ultimately forms a cult to carry out murders in a fictional Michigan suburb, where he ends up being elected to local office.

The Cult chapter of the American Horror Story anthology series, released in 2017 as a response to the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, is a look into how anyone could come to the point of joining a cult.

The scum manifesto