Word: cult
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Trapped by the constraints of a poorly fleshed out character, Harris, as Cline's husband Charlie Dick, could possibly fare even worse than does Lange in the execution of his role. Beer-guzzling, knee-slapping chauvinist Charlie would not appear to have much cult potential among today's hypersensitive post-Rambo moviegoing audiences. He certainly doesn't score too highly with wife Cline, who gave up a safe of boring first husband to plunge into the depths of eroticism with Charlie only to discover that she's not the only one keeping his bed warm at night...
Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode was the picture of control last May after a police confrontation with the radical black group Move left eleven cult members and children dead and ignited a fire that swept through 61 houses. Under his leadership, Philadelphians rallied to assist the 250 homeless residents of the Osage Avenue neighborhood; the city pledged to rebuild their destroyed houses and repair all damage caused by the fire, at a cost of some $12 million. The mayor also accepted full responsibility for what had happened. As he explained then: "People like a decisive leader (who) does...
...Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) was, in the expression of the day, right on. The novel was based on the author's experience as an American POW in Dresden when Allied bombers killed 135,000 civilians. This reminder of total war coincided with the mayhem of Viet Nam, and Vonnegut the cult writer became a popular voice of generalized disenchantment. His refrain "So it goes" and Olympian reprimands like "Goddamn it, you've got to be kind" became convenient responses to a world that seemed out of control...
...McInerney's first novel, Bright Lights, Big City, assumed cult status within months of publication. Its second-person narrative, cast of cocaine- fueled yuppies and New York City nightclub scenes had an odd, ironic charm that made some 138,000 buyers eager for his next tale. This time the protagonist has upward immobility but no interest in drugs. In fact, Christopher Ransom, an American drifter in Kyoto, has only one enthusiasm: karate. He hangs out at Hormone Derange, a cowboy store, and tries to regain his spiritual bearings with martial arts. Ransom also wants to avoid memories of a girlfriend...
...lack of ambition. But her book erects several serious hurdles. Readers are likely to respond to its argument along partisan lines. Those who believe that man began stumbling toward destruction when he stopped being a noble savage will find their fondest dreams fulfilled. Watch for a Kesh cult to spring up on college campuses. Others, who think primitive societies formed a nasty, brutish and short phase in the evolution toward civility, will be unmoved by the serene monotony of Kesh life...