My friend AJ Powers suggested I take a look at the Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country, so I did. All 6+ hours of it.
Wild Wild Country tells the story of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s attempt to build a new city outside the tiny town of of Antelope, Oregon in the early 1980’s…and how everything came apart. Production-wise, it’s very slick, with plenty of B-roll and excerpts from Phil Donahue and all the nostalgia-soaked scenes of big 80’s hair you’d want to see. Interviews of the principal figures (the ones who are still alive) make for a riveting watch: their recollections of events, how they look now versus back then, and their overall description of just what happened out there are amazing.
And yet there’s a frustrating lack of detail, owing mostly to the producers’ obvious (and disturbing) sympathy for the Bhagwan and his cultists. To get the full picture of what they were, what they did, and why they failed, you have to watch between the lines, so to speak, and do your own research. Many aspects of the Bhagwan’s life and his cult’s practices are often glossed over, or presented only through the lens of unreliable narrators like the people of Antelope, who are portrayed as xenophobic, unsophisticated hicks.
To help potential viewers navigate through this minefield, here’s a quick summary:
The Bhagwan created a sex cult in India that focused on acquiring wealth from rich, foolish Westerners. To avoid prosecution for financial crimes in his native country, he bought a huge parcel of land in Oregon and lied to all his new neighbors that he was setting up a ranch; his real intention was to build a new city devoted to his bizarre belief system, aided and abetted by worshipers whose daily highlight was to watch him tool down the main road in one of his 90+ Rolls Royce automobiles. When the local townsfolk, concerned about this new state of affairs, attempted to oust these newcomers, the Bhagwan bused in hundreds of homeless people from around the country to fill the voter rolls. When the homeless people acted out, the Bhagwan surreptitiously drugged them with Haldol. Then the Bhagwan engaged in a massive bio-terror attack, infecting over 700 Oregonians with salmonella. The Bhagwan also plotted to murder US Federal Prosecutor Charles Turner. The Bhagwan’s closest advisor, Ma Anand Sheela, was the mastermind behind these attacks, so when law enforcement finally caught up with the Bhagwan, he was merely deported, where he spent his remaining days living a life of luxury overseas. Minus at least a few of his Rolls Royces.
There’s a great deal of ugly stuff in this documentary, all justified by Ma Anand Sheela, as cool a psychopath as you’re ever likely to see on screen. These were bad people who did bad things, and an attempt to be even-handed about their crimes is a shocking display of moral relativism.
And yet, it’s a fun show. Give it a look and tell me what you think.
Documentaries should go after one thing: the truth. It’s such a disservice to the genre when they don’t. And the true story, as you indicate, is bizarre and obscene–and undoubtedly more interesting.
Thanks for the review!
You’ll also find that they didn’t seem to have a lot of respect for TM, which is probably the worst of their sins.
There was subtle sympathy for the religion in the film and not so subtle antipathy for the townies and the government.
I came to the same conclusion re: Sheela. A psychopath. No empathy. No remorse. No conscience.
The followers eat from an empty plate with a very large spoon.
Both Sheela & Bhagwan himself were spiritual crooks. Sheela was/is clearly a psychopath. Bhagwan was at least a narcissist, I am not sure whether he was also a psychopath. Neither took any responsibility for the crimes & abuse that had taken place, they just blamed others. Much more horror was going on in Rajneeshpuram than the Netflix documentary mentions. For example low-ranking sanyassins were used as slaves to work for up to 18 hours per day. Sexual abuse did occur. Children were victimized. Despite all this I admit that Bhagwan/Osho was a brilliant philosopher. He has said many outrageous, false & even stupid things. But he was also capable of presenting, at least some of the time, age-old wisdom from East & West in a revolutionary new, modern way, which has not failed to impress me & many others.