Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: YKTTW clash, possiblly repair?
, started by rjung on Mar 1st 2011 at 3:26:32 AM
I'd argue that an isolated cargo cult should be any example of a tribe building some society or religion from contact with more advanced outsiders or memories of a culture they were once part of before a shipwreck or something. The intentional deception part always seemed a little unnecessary to me, and perhaps inaccurate to some of the real-life examples.
Edited by Melinda
Seems like the definition of this trope is a little off. As the previous comment indicates, "worship of an object as a god" is just plain old idol worship, and originated in prehistory, not in the twentieth-century setting that the article describes. Also, cargo cults don't even necessarily involve object worship — the John Frum cult, for instance, involves worship of a deity that they believe will *bring* them cargo (i.e. modern technology).
I think a better one-sentence definition would be, "when people believe that mundane objects from another culture have supernatural origins, and build a religion around it." Anyone have better suggestions?
Edited by Camassia
Can someone please explain to me how the biblical Golden Calf is an example of this?
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Well, they worshipped an object. I don't know if it doesn't count because they made it themselves.
That was the amazing part. Things just keep going.
Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Split or Expand
, started by StarshipTroper on Sep 27th 2010 at 5:28:11 AM
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman Hide / Show Replies