Why Dakota Johnson thinks she’s susceptible to joining a cult: “I’m a real sucker”
Dakota Johnson is one of those actors who seemed to take the world very suddenly by storm.
After being born into the Hollywood elite, attending red carpet events as a child and becoming accustomed to the glitz and glamour of the film industry, it made sense that she would stay in this world and continue climbing the ranks.
Despite insisting that her parents’ wealth and fame had nothing to do with her success, telling stories about venturing out into the business on her own two feet with their help, it feels hard to imagine that their reputation wouldn’t offer her a huge leg up on the ladder to success. After her breakout role in Fifty Shades of Grey, she quickly began to move her career in a new direction, working with artsy auteurs like Luca Guadagnino to redirect her newfound fame to a different kind of filmmaking.
Ever since, she has only continued in this direction, perhaps intentionally accepting such a lucrative role but only to funnel the financial success towards independent projects and the eventual creation of her production company. Since then, she’s worked with director darlings like Celine Song, David Fincher and Cooper Raiff, becoming a multi-dimensional performer who is far more than just a controversial rage-bait star.
But now that she has captured the hearts of a more eclectic range of audience members, from cinephiles to occasional cinema goers, Johnson has a unique kind of fan base that seems to appeal to everyone under the sun, with a hoard of people who fawn over her ever move after the combined power of her Architectural Digest video and work in the world of motion pictures.
Many of the die-hard fans we see today are somewhat obsessive in their love for Hollywood superstars, with a current culture that worships everyone as people form groups that are vaguely cultish in their love for a celebrity they have never met. It’s a phenomenon that Johnson can personally understand, describing a recent show that changed her perception on cult followings and the mindset it can spark in people.
When discussing this, Johnson said, “Have you seen Mother God? I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s this documentary on Max about a woman who claims that she’s been every incarnation of God. She was Cleopatra, she was Joan of Arc, she was Jesus. And she’s managed to convince 12 people. So there’s a cult called Love Has Won, and they call her mother or mom. Today I was in the shower and I was like, But what if she was? Because I’m thinking about [Beautyland protagonist] Adina and I’m like, Maybe? Who knows. But I’m a real sucker. I would be the first one to join a cult”.
Much of Hollywood appears to be rather cultish from the outside, with seemingly ordinary people who lose their minds in the presence of someone they’ve seen on a screen and doing everything in their power to come close to the mystical presence of someone with fame. It often feels like the world has truly gone mad, and when looking at Hollywood from this perspective, it is obvious that we most certainly have.
