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The legacy of cult leader Jim Jones will be explored in Hulu's Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown. Jones was an influential religious cult leader who set out to establish a utopic version of equality and community living. However, what started off as a peaceful movement ended up in a mass casualty event where nearly a thousand lives were lost.
Hulu's Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown, which is a part of the One Day in America series, will explore the life and philosophy of the infamous Jones and the circumstances leading up to the mass massacre event in Jonestown in 1978.
Who is Jim Jones? About the mass suicide in the Jonestown commune
Jim Jones was a white minister with unconventional socialist and progressive ideas that he preached to his predominantly African-American congregation. He called his congregation the Peoples Temple, which, at the height of its popularity in the 1970s, had an estimated membership of thousands.
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However, in 1977, Jones had grown paranoid under media scrutiny over the Temple’s dubious activities. So, he decided to move with his followers to an agricultural settlement in Guyana, which was called Jonestown.
But this did not deviate media attention. Concerned over the welfare of those in the jungle encampment, U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan visited Jonestown in November 1978 after rumors of abuse at the camp began circulating. After he had made his rounds, Ryan was shot to death along with four others by Temple gunmen at an airstrip.
After the series of murders were done, cult leader Jones commanded his followers to drink cyanide-laced punch. At his command, over 900 followers, including children, drank the poison. When the bodies were recovered, it was found that Jones had died of a gunshot wound to the head.
There was speculation that he may have taken his own life or that his nurse, Annie Moore, may have assisted him before she died in the same way. This tragedy in Jonestown on November 18th, 1978, held the record for the largest number of American civilian casualties in a single non-natural event till the 9/11 attack.
What happened after the Jonestown massacre?
The carnage left less than a hundred of the Temple members in Guyana surviving. The majority of survivors had managed to elude death because they had either defected that day or were in Georgetown.
When investigations were carried out, it was discovered that there was a cache of firearms, hundreds of passports stacked together, and $500,000 in U.S. currency on the commune premises. There were reportedly millions more deposited in bank accounts overseas.
Temple member Larry Layton was the only member who was tried in the United States for his involvement in the Jonestown events. The jury declared him guilty of conspiracy and aiding and abetting in the murder of Ryan and the attempted murder of U.S. embassy official Richard Dwyer.
He was sentenced to life in prison but was later released in 2002. Another member, Charles Beikman, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of a young girl. He was made to serve a five-year prison term in Guyana.
The Peoples Temple was disbanded after the November 1978 tragedy and declared bankruptcy the same year. Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown details the story of how Jones made his way as a cult leader and his dubious practices which ultimately led to the carnage.
About Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown
The sheer enormity of the event, the bodies of hundreds of people, including children and infants, that were found lying face down on the grass, have been documented in photographs and covered by media channels.
Even now, nearly 40 years later, the carnage continues to fascinate us and has made its way to remain documented forever in history through documentaries, books, and recordings.
Hulu's Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown is the latest take on the 1978 event. The series is the third installment of the Emmy-winning One Day in America franchise. Divided into three episodes, Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown follows the story of the cult of Jim Jones as told by eyewitnesses, surviving members, and rare footage.
Watch Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown on Hulu this Monday, June 17, 2024.
