In 1974, Reverend Jim Jones led nearly 1,000 members of the Peoples Temple Church from California to Guyana, South America. He promised his followers that they’d build a perfect society there, one based on the ideals of equality and respect that his church seemingly championed. But as the realities of abuse and manipulation within the settlement were exposed and U.S. government officials began to intervene, Jones led his followers in a mass murder-suicide, resulting in the loss of 918 lives. In a new three-part docuseries Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown by National Geographic, archival footage and eyewitness testimonies bring viewers through the horrifying realities of the tragedy as it unfolded.
The first episode sets the scene for the time during which Jones’ movement took root – an early 70s America when people were dreaming of possibilities for a better world. With counterculture movements prevalent in the late 60s, it was not uncommon for new political or philosophical groups to gain traction at this time.
It’s within this context that Jones founded the Peoples Temple as a church committed to service and focused on the ideal of equality for all. We hear from survivor Yulanda Williams about how exciting it was to join a multi-racial, multi-generational church led by a proponent of the Civil Rights movement. This sentiment is strengthened by testimony from Jones’ son Stephan Jones, who speaks to the nature of his father’s calculated charisma and intentional alignment with prominent activists. Though this portion of the documentary moves fairly quickly, it helps viewers gain insight on the appeal of Jim Jones’ gospel at that time.
We then move to the establishment of Jonestown, the colony in Guyana, South America where Jones led nearly 1,000 of his followers with the promise of building a utopia in 1974. But when whispers of dissatisfaction in the community reached the United States, concerned relatives of those in Jonestown pushed Congressman Leo Ryan of California to investigate. Heeding their concerns, Ryan, his team, and a group of journalists flew to Jonestown to meet with its members in 1978 – a visit that would ultimately trigger the massacre.
Ripe with archival footage, we follow along through the four days of Ryan’s visit before the mass murder occurred. Most impactful are the audio tapes from Jonestown that are incorporated in all three parts, including a recording from the last hour of Jonestown before the massacre concluded. Viewers hear Jones, in his own words, belittle, manipulate, and coerce his followers into their death. Though difficult to listen to, the recordings play an important role in portraying the full extent of Jones’ cruelty.
The firsthand accounts of the tragedy’s survivors further bolster the documentary’s emotional impact. Journalist Charles Krouse, who joined Ryan’s trip on assignment for the Washington Post and Jackie Speier, then a legal aide to Ryan, share how they barely survived a shooting coordinated by Jones in the moments before the mass-murder. We also hear from former members of the Peoples Temple who were able to escape the compound before the massacre ensued.
The most poignant account of the massacre comes from former member Tim Carter, who details the heartbreaking losses he experienced as a result of the murder-suicide. It is difficult to be unmoved by Carter’s emotional retelling, emphasizing to viewers how impactful the trauma of the massacre continues to be to the present day.
In the series’ final episode, we see images of the massacre’s aftermath as Guyanese and American service members touchdown in Jonestown. This section features Air Force Sergeant David Netterville, one of the first American service members to enter Jonestown, who has never shared his experiences in a documentary before.
The last episode also features a discussion of the stigma that survivors faced upon return to the U.S. Former member Leslie Wagner-Wilson’s testimony is particularly insightful, as she details changing her name upon returning to avoid the negative association with the tragedy. Stephan Jones also urges viewers to avoid using disrespectful or dehumanizing language that minimizes the massacre, underscoring that the group members could not be blamed for the actions of his father.
One Day in Jonestown does a fantastic job of building a timeline of events, taking viewers through an hour-by-hour account of the massacre’s unfolding through a multitude of perspectives and unseen footage. Most importantly, it does so with care, working to center the voices of survivors while careful not to sensationalize the violence and horror they experienced.
Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown will premiere on Hulu on June 17.
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