Debate: Is the NXIVM documentary too soft on the lower level members?

I just finished watching The Vow on HBO and I can't decide how I feel about the way they handled people like Mark Vicente and Sarah Edmondson. On one hand, they were victims too and they helped expose Keith Raniere. But on the other hand, they were recruiting people for years and taking their money before they had their wake up call. I was sitting on my couch in Denver last week thinking about how Mark literally made a documentary praising NXIVM back in 2012 called Escaping Utopia or whatever it was. He was all in, promoting this guy, bringing in new marks. Then only after he got personally screwed, he flipped. Is that redemption or just self preservation? Where do you draw the line between someone who was fooled and someone who was actively helping the abuse happen?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliot_roberts9d ago

Mark Vicente's 2012 film was called "Escaping Utopia" and it made him money off the same victims he now claims to feel sorry for.

the_eric9d ago

Wait @elliot_roberts, isn't that the same film he used to get into the cult in the first place though?

colethomas8d ago

Elliott, I get the frustration, but calling it "making money off victims" feels like a stretch. The guy made a documentary about a cult before he knew what it really was. That's different from profiting off people's suffering intentionally. Most people in that situation would have done the same thing back then. Hindsight is 20/20. I'm not defending the film, but let's not act like he was running some kind of scam from day one. He was just a filmmaker doing his job. Seems like we're looking for a villain where there's really just a guy who got played same as everyone else.