I am working on worldbuilding, cultures, religions, etc for five kingdoms for a fantasy series. Today my allergies have been winning so I decided it would be a good idea to sit back and watch some documentaries on religion as research. I’ve been meaning to do this for months anyway, so I figured I might as well do it on a day like this.
In my search I came across Going Clear on HBO. I don’t know why I watched it since it’s about a more modern thing and I’m writing epic fantasy but something drew my attention to it. I’m not going to say a lot because I’m still processing, but I will say that I’m freaked out. Enough that I think I’ll pass on any other documentaries for now and stick to reading about ancient and medieval religions instead!
I think I’ll go visit Cracked to clear my head.
Sidenote: I do have a character that is blindly worshiped by the people in her land and they would do anything and everything she asks, so maybe today’s adventure isn’t a complete loss.
Writerish Ramblings 
Your side-note intrigued me. The concept reminds me a little of Kumari (in Nepal, select pre-pubescent girls revered by some Hindus and Buddhists as living incarnations of the goddess Durga). There’s a documentary that follows Kumari, I believe it’s called Living Goddess, that you may want to check out–though I haven’t yet seen it myself so I cannot vouch for it. The concept of Kumari is different from the concept you present, of course, but may be interesting and inspirational regardless. Cheers!
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Thanks! I’ll check it out.
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Sorry to hear about the allergies. Spring is so beautiful, why does the pollen have to be so nasty?
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Indeed! I started taking something but it has to build up before it really works well.
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TV is a good option for you today. Research is enlightening!
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How weird. You know a little about my fantasy series with the brothers… Do you think that would be relevant for me? I’m looking at the summaries, and it looks pretty interesting…
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To an extent yes Misty, but only some of the basics. In your series there is actually a very solid reason for people to be trained the way they are.
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There’s always a reason. 🙂 But it’s the psychology I’m kind of interested in.
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Cracked is a fine diversion – although if you are done with Religion and Brainwashing for a while, you might avoid yesterday’s : http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-reasons-you-get-tricked-into-believing-stupid-things/
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I think I need to read that while I’m horrified at brainwashing.
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Cracked articles are humorously written & frequently simplistic, but I find they also make well argued points about some very deep issues.
There’s a lot to be taken from this one on how cults, if not all religions, foster blind faith.
I’ve filed it for later reference for my own fiction usage. 🙂
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Worldbuilding is something I love to do! My problem is getting carried away. 😛
As for Cracked… I’m personally not a fan (I prefer The Onion) but to each their own, eh?
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