Because mainstream western culture trains people not to think. And especially not to listen to that nagging little voice in the back of the head that tells us that something is wrong. The cult of Positive Thinking has infested western culture, teaches people that all that is required to be successful is to be positive…

Damaged people, desparate people, mentally ill people, all of whom have grown up in a culture that derides reason and critical thinking, and preaches emotionalism and blind acceptance. Catch someone like that in a vulnerable time, and it’s disturbing how easy it can be to control them. All it takes is the right words,…

You just described the entire Prosperity Gospel movement.

Yup. Also the foundation of most conspiracy theories.

Brilliant film, particularly where he starts to get sucked into the image himself, and has a hard time reconciling his original intent with what he had become in the minds of other people, and how to get out of it without hurting them.