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to those that don't like the film....
This is my second review of The 13th Step and it is more response to those attacking the film than actual review. My purpose is to give context to why some of these reviews say the film is dangerously inaccurate and others say it is one of the most truthful and relevant films of today. Thus, what I'm going to do is to ask readers of the reviews to think about the larger claims of those who are critical of AA in comparison to those that insist that criticizing AA is something close to blasphemy.
No religious group is without problems of exploitation of some of its members. AA for tax as well as legal purposes is a religious group, even though members will insist it is "spiritual and not religious. This is because a Higher Power is necessary and this Higher Power is supposed to receive prayers from AA members, even if atheists can substitute the group of AA for God (or any other seemingly bizarre object). I would argue that this substitution is, itself, a hallmark of cults since it puts the group of AA above absolutely everything else when AA itself becomes a Higher Power. However, the key point here is that because AA has a standard and recommended practice of prayer and subordination of personal will to either a deity or to the group of AA that it is functionally religious, regardless of whether members insist that it is merely "spiritual." Thus, the allegations of sexual and other exploitation that are growing in number against AA and other 12 Step groups need to be seen in the context of similar allegations against religions and religious cults.
For example, the religion of the Catholic Church has had problems with Priests sexually abusing young boys. Many argue that the reason the Catholic Church has had sexual abuse problems is because of its attitude towards adult sexuality. Catholic doctrine says that most forms of sex are immoral so there isn't that much of a difference between raping children and consensual sex between adults who aren't married. What made this even more of a problem was that Catholics wanted to believe that their religious beliefs didn't contribute to the abuse of boys and that the benefits of the religion outweighed the problem of sexually abusing children. Thus, there was the desire to keep the problem quiet. Of course, eventually the supposed benefits of keeping the abuse quiet were eventually outweighed by the need to protect young boys who were being abused by their own Priests. I think the abuse in AA, especially the sexual abuse, follows a similar pattern to the earlier reaction to Priests abusing young boys.
The appropriate reaction to abuse within a culture or a religion (and I would argue that AA is both) is to try and correct the abuse and help the victims. The response of the typical active AA member to allegations of abuse within AA (especially allegations of victimization) is to blame the victim and say that the victim provoked any abuse that might have occurred.
Thus, the reaction of active AA is more of a cause for concern than even the allegations. If a group/religion/ denies abuse and attacks those that point to problems, it would seem to ensure their status as a cult. This is where the Catholic Church is healthier than a cult and also healthier than AA. Eventually, the Catholic Church did address is problems of exploitation and took responsibility for trying to solve the problem, rather than saying it was an isolated incident that had nothing to do with the Catholic Church as a whole.
Now, turning the abuse found in religious cults, the initial reaction is the same as the initial reaction of the Catholic Church, but the difference is that the cult will continue its abusive practices after at least some allegations have been proved and continue to insist that those that claim abuse have no right to claim it. Thus, if one is looking for an example of sexual and emotional exploitation and abuse associated with religious cults, FLDS comes most to mind to here. Both FLDS and the Catholic Church have had allegations of sexual abuse and both have been proved to be well-founded. The Catholic Church, however, is working on addressing the problem of abuse, but FLDS sees their abusive beliefs (such as forced child marriage) as something that doesn't need to be changed.
While, of course, AA is not identical to either the Catholic Church or FLDS, it does share many traits, particularly that of allegations of abuse.
What we, as citizens of the world, have learned is that allegations of abuse against a religious or a quasi-religious group need to be taken seriously because there is a foundation for these claims and they are not born out of the air.
Thus, AA becomes a cult not just in the fact that it seems to foster abuse of a various types, including the more well-known sexual abuse that the title of the film references, but because active AA members will viciously make personal attacks against those that try to bring this abuse to the attention of the public.
Yes, all groups can have problems with abuse, but it is only a very dangerous group that blames the victim who has been abused by the group. This is why I argue that AA isn't just a religion or quasi- religion, but should be understood as one of the more dangerous cults of our time. This is also why I argue that the 13th Step is one of the most important films of today.
No religious group is without problems of exploitation of some of its members. AA for tax as well as legal purposes is a religious group, even though members will insist it is "spiritual and not religious. This is because a Higher Power is necessary and this Higher Power is supposed to receive prayers from AA members, even if atheists can substitute the group of AA for God (or any other seemingly bizarre object). I would argue that this substitution is, itself, a hallmark of cults since it puts the group of AA above absolutely everything else when AA itself becomes a Higher Power. However, the key point here is that because AA has a standard and recommended practice of prayer and subordination of personal will to either a deity or to the group of AA that it is functionally religious, regardless of whether members insist that it is merely "spiritual." Thus, the allegations of sexual and other exploitation that are growing in number against AA and other 12 Step groups need to be seen in the context of similar allegations against religions and religious cults.
For example, the religion of the Catholic Church has had problems with Priests sexually abusing young boys. Many argue that the reason the Catholic Church has had sexual abuse problems is because of its attitude towards adult sexuality. Catholic doctrine says that most forms of sex are immoral so there isn't that much of a difference between raping children and consensual sex between adults who aren't married. What made this even more of a problem was that Catholics wanted to believe that their religious beliefs didn't contribute to the abuse of boys and that the benefits of the religion outweighed the problem of sexually abusing children. Thus, there was the desire to keep the problem quiet. Of course, eventually the supposed benefits of keeping the abuse quiet were eventually outweighed by the need to protect young boys who were being abused by their own Priests. I think the abuse in AA, especially the sexual abuse, follows a similar pattern to the earlier reaction to Priests abusing young boys.
The appropriate reaction to abuse within a culture or a religion (and I would argue that AA is both) is to try and correct the abuse and help the victims. The response of the typical active AA member to allegations of abuse within AA (especially allegations of victimization) is to blame the victim and say that the victim provoked any abuse that might have occurred.
Thus, the reaction of active AA is more of a cause for concern than even the allegations. If a group/religion/ denies abuse and attacks those that point to problems, it would seem to ensure their status as a cult. This is where the Catholic Church is healthier than a cult and also healthier than AA. Eventually, the Catholic Church did address is problems of exploitation and took responsibility for trying to solve the problem, rather than saying it was an isolated incident that had nothing to do with the Catholic Church as a whole.
Now, turning the abuse found in religious cults, the initial reaction is the same as the initial reaction of the Catholic Church, but the difference is that the cult will continue its abusive practices after at least some allegations have been proved and continue to insist that those that claim abuse have no right to claim it. Thus, if one is looking for an example of sexual and emotional exploitation and abuse associated with religious cults, FLDS comes most to mind to here. Both FLDS and the Catholic Church have had allegations of sexual abuse and both have been proved to be well-founded. The Catholic Church, however, is working on addressing the problem of abuse, but FLDS sees their abusive beliefs (such as forced child marriage) as something that doesn't need to be changed.
While, of course, AA is not identical to either the Catholic Church or FLDS, it does share many traits, particularly that of allegations of abuse.
What we, as citizens of the world, have learned is that allegations of abuse against a religious or a quasi-religious group need to be taken seriously because there is a foundation for these claims and they are not born out of the air.
Thus, AA becomes a cult not just in the fact that it seems to foster abuse of a various types, including the more well-known sexual abuse that the title of the film references, but because active AA members will viciously make personal attacks against those that try to bring this abuse to the attention of the public.
Yes, all groups can have problems with abuse, but it is only a very dangerous group that blames the victim who has been abused by the group. This is why I argue that AA isn't just a religion or quasi- religion, but should be understood as one of the more dangerous cults of our time. This is also why I argue that the 13th Step is one of the most important films of today.
helpful•159
- silveraaadamsen
- Aug 3, 2016
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- Runtime52 minutes
- Color
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