The Source Family

Courtesy of Drag Films

There's something insanely engrossing about seeing real footage of cults. Stemming from the suburban paranoia of the fifties, cults have always been seen as the black hole from which engaged, bright teenagers disappear forever. Legions of drug addicted, listless, pothead young people, flocked to the arms of the omnipotent Father Yod, leader of the Source Family; who are the subjects of this documentary.

The Source Family were the most psychedelic, hippie, drug addled cult in Los Angeles history. Headed by a white bearded prophet, originally named Jim Baker, the Source Family was full of renamed teenagers and twentysomethings who were free from social norms, enclosed in a Hollywood Hills manor. They made psychedelic music, believed in free love, multiple wives, communal living, vegetarian diets, and radical, Eastern philosophies.

The documentary includes testimonials from many of the original family members, many of whom renounce the actions of their former father, but still believe in the ideologies of Eastern religions, healthy living, and spirituality. Many of these former members live away from society, undoubtedly changed from their five years of being completely dependent on a singular father figure. The documentary is full of footage and photographs taken by the cult’s historian, so it’s easy to see the reach of Father Yod and the lack of responsibility many of them had in their lives.

The film is obviously romantic throughout, but also quite frightening. There’s a reason why people fear cults. The people that come out of them are changed, pretty much forever, and through all the glamour and nostalgia of that time you can still see cracks in their ideology pretty early in the film. Father Yod proves a significant figure, and while he had many followers, he was just as strange and exotic as you would expect, adding another layer to this intense documentary.