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‘The Dream of What It Was’: ‘Born in Synanon’ Probes a Cult’s Legacy Through a Child’s Eye

'Born in Synanon' brings rich detail and context to examining the legacy of the 1960s and '70s sober-living movement that descended into a cult.

It didn’t hurt that the earnest soldiers of Synanon seemingly filmed everything, from group marches around outdoor fields at compounds in the Tomales Bay and Badger, in Northern and Central California, respectively, to indoor screaming matches held regularly part of the Dederich’s confessional therapy system dubbed “the Game,” in which members were encouraged to confront one another. And she noted with sensitivity how much some still believe in the promise of a community rooted in Synanon’s stated ideals of elimating bias hated and hypocrisy through the sharing of radical truths and massive doses of self-discipline – from forced vasectomies and head-shaving parties to cruel corporal punishment for children and teenagers. After devoting herself for nearly two years to producing a docu-series about a cult of personality, Gandbhir takes away a lot of lessons about how hundreds of people could fall under the sway of a charismatic narcissist with a gift for self-help double speak.

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