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Is the fire-fighting side of V.F.D. a cult? An anthropologist's perspective

Ok, kind of a trick question; "cult" is not a term used in anthropology, as it's generally considered too biased and has historically been weaponized against minority religions.

Yay, cool, VFD isn't a--

"We are entering people's homes, taking young children who show exceptional observational and/or notetaking skills, and isolating them, for long periods at least, from people they know. We assign them to strangers and scatter them across the globe, performing errands that are perplexing to them, until their ankles have healed, until we know they can be trusted, and until we know that no one is searching for them any longer. Then, finally, we bring them to headquarters so they can learn the skills they need before they are introduced back into society, in order to make sure the world remains, as we say, quiet."

*kill bill sirens go off*

So, uh, what the fuck is it, then?

So, when people use the term "cult" colloquially, they usually refer to some combination of concepts sourced from anthropology, sociology, and experiences of individuals:

-New religious movement

-A usually-living charismatic leader, as defined by Max Weber

-High demand groups

-A core group of members living in a total institution, as defined by Erving Goffman

-Authoritarian control, as defined by Steven Hassan's BITE model

So, let's go through each of those points and see if they apply to V.F.D. under the cut. Quick disclaimer that I know this is a popular stance in the fandom, so I'm not vaguing anyone, just throwing my opinion into the ring. I've joked about V.F.D. being a cult plenty of times, and actually started studying a lot of these topics to research asoue and written it as pretty "cultlike" in my fics. This is all just infodumping for the sake of infodumping.

TW for brief mentions of various types of abuse, including sexual.

New Religious Movement

The term is pretty self-explanatory. Real-life examples range from innocuous ones like modern Paganism to more dangerous ones like the People's Temple (Jonestown). It's worth noting that every religion was an NRM at some point.

There is at no point any mention of a religious or mystical tradition associated with V.F.D., and they seem to be open to members practicing any religion they choose. The Snickets and Baudelaires are canonically Jewish, and the Hotel Denoument contains places of worship associated with several different religions, so I think we can safely say that V.F.D. is not an NRM.

Charismatic Leadership

Sociologist Max Weber defined a charismatic leader as a leader whose power derives from a claim of some unique trait such as divine favor, prophecy, or unusually high intelligence. This is in opposition to bureaucratic leaders, who are trusted because they are theoretically beholden to the law, and traditional leaders, who are trusted because they come from a long line of leadership.

In the books, V.F.D. doesn't seem to have any leaders, charismatic or otherwise. In fact, the general lack of organization is arguably one of their weaknesses. Members act individually without much communication between them (i.e. Lemony was presumed dead for years, even by his own family), let alone anyone giving orders.

In the movie, Aunt Josephine briefly mentions that Beatrice and Bertrand were in charge, but I don't consider this canon.

In the Netflix canon, Ishmael claims to be the founder, and he does arguably rule the island in a charismatic style, so it wouldn't be a stretch to assume he ran V.F.D. in the same way. However, he isn't active at the time the main series takes place, which makes things iffy. That being said, Scientology is generally considered a cult, despite L. Ron Hubbard having been replaced by David Miscavage after his death.

So in short: Books - no. Movie - probably not. Netflix - no, but only by technicality.

High Demand Group

If I google "high demand group" every result is pretty much along the lines of "yeah, it's a euphemism for cult," but I was taught a more nuanced definition in school. For one thing, it's a relative term. One could argue that any religion that wages holy wars or has monks/nuns qualifies as high demand.

Since V.F.D. members are expected to put their lives on the line for the organization's cause, spend their entire childhoods in rigorous training separated from their parents, and possibly even kill, I'm going to put this down as a very strong yes.

Total Institution

Erving Goffman defined a total institution as an isolated institutional setting intended to bring about a psychological change in the residents. Examples include mental hospitals, boarding schools, and monasteries. This alone isn't nearly enough for an organization to meet the colloquial definition of a cult; in that case, we'd have to include Catholicism and Buddhism under that umbrella.

It's likely that V.F.D. neophytes are raised in an institutional setting. They're taken from their parents to live with other neophytes at a young age, and it's implied in the books that Prufrock Prep was at one point V.F.D. training institution.

Once they become adults, however, they don't seem to live institutionalized lives at all. They have their own homes, non-V.F.D. jobs, and non-V.F.D. friends.

Authoritarian Control

It's worth noting that Hassan's BITE model doesn't come from academia, but a former member of the notoriously controlling Unification Church writing from his own experience. He's also marked red by the shinigami eyes extension, so it's best to take this part with a grain of salt. I'm still going to give it a critical but good-faith look though, since listening to personal experiences is a big part of anthropological research. Also the BITE model is a huge fuckin chonker of a checklist, so this is gonna take a hot minute.

Under "Behavioral Control" we have:

-Regulate individual's physical reality

I'm not sure what this means tbh

-Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates

Probably not. Beatrice and Bertrand are friends with non-members such as Mr. Poe and Jerome.

-When, how and with whom the member has sex

Maybe. It does seem particularly common for members to get married and make V.F.D. babies, and this could be something that the organization strongly encourages. The fact that they all seem to have exactly three children is also pretty suspect.

-Control types of clothing and hairstyles

There's no mention of this anywhere in canon.

-Regulate diet - food and drink, hunger and/or fasting

A little bit. It's pretty heavily implied that any volunteer who drinks tea with sugar would at least get some serious side-eye, but there's no mention of diet regulation beyond that.

-Manipulation and deprivation of sleep

No. In fact, even Captain Widdershins, one of the shadiest members, encourages the Baudelaires to get proper sleep.

-Financial exploitation, manipulation or dependence

Most likely. I doubt it's a coincidence that they tend to seek out rich members.

-Restrict leisure, entertainment, vacation time

For the most part, no. Volunteers are encouraged to pursue whatever hobbies they choose. However, volunteers are pressured into reading certain certain books for the sake of learning codes, and there seems to be a bit of a stigma around the poetry of Edgar Guest.

-Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet

Most likely. The training regimen undertaken by the sugar bowl gen most likely involved considerable indoctrination.

-Permission required for major decisions

Unknown, so I'm going to put this down as a no.

Rewards and punishments used to modify behaviors, both positive and negative

This doesn't appear to be the case, at least no more than it is for non-V.F.D. children.

-Discourage individualism, encourage group-think

Not that I'm aware of.

-Impose rigid rules and regulations

V.F.D. isn't even organized enough to have rigid rules and regulations, tbh, and we never see any written codes of conduct in canon.

-Punish disobedience by beating, torture, burning, cutting, rape, or tattooing/branding

Not as punishment, but tattoos were required for the sugar bowl gen. It's worth noting that this practice was discontinued not out of respect for the bodily autonomy of members, but because it compromised the organization's secrecy.

-Threaten harm to family and friends

Not that I'm aware of. It is a widespread fan theory that the fire-fighting side of the schism is actually responsible for the deaths of neophytes' parents, but I'm not counting that as officially canon.

-Force individual to rape or be raped

I sure fucking hope not.

-Encourage and engage in corporal punishment

In ATWQ, Lemony specifies that he never faced and corporal punishment, so we can probably rule that out unless we pull the unreliable narrator card.

-Instill dependency and obedience

For the kids, yes. They are separated from their families and possibly even intentionally orphaned. The more I go through this, the more I'm realizing that this is all part of the snicketverse's ongoing commentary about the authoritarian nature of childhood.

-Kidnapping

You betcha! I don't think I even need to say any more on this.

-Beating

You're repeating yourself, Steve.

-Torture

Probably not.

-Rape

You're repeating yourself again, Steve.

-Separation of Families

At least for the sugar bowl gen, yes.

-Imprisonment

I was about to say no, but then I looked back at that quote from the beginning, and, uh... Are the kids at headquarters allowed to leave? I really have no idea.

In the Netflix canon, Jaques imprisons Count Olaf, but that was in response to concrete threats of violence against children.

-Murder

This doesn't make clear if Hassan means members are murdered or expected to murder. If it's the latter, yes. In the books, Beatrice and Bertrand assassinated Olaf's parents, in the Netflix series, Beatrice was fully prepared to kill Esme over a sugar bowl, and Lemony straight up murks Hangfire in ATWQ.

Under "Information Control":

Deception:

Yes, frequently and overtly, especially for the unfortunate gen. The Baudelaires were never told anything about V.F.D. at all as children, and information about its more questionable actions like biological weaponry and the assassination of Olaf's parents was very deliberately withheld from them.

2. Minimize or discourage access to non-cult sources of information:

For the most part, no. Members are encouraged to read and research independently, although, as mentioned above, information about the group itself is withheld from newer members.

3. Compartmentalize information into Outsider vs. Insider doctrines:

As described above, yes. V.F.D. is completely lacking in transparency, even with its own members.

4. Encourage spying on other members Not that I can think of off the top of my head, although I'd be surprised if this wasn't happening during the early years of the schism.

5. Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda.

I'm actually not sure about this. Years ago I had a blast making V.F.D. propaganda posters, but I can't think of any instances of propaganda in canon. Most communication between members is for the purpose of setting up meetings or warning about enemies.

6. Unethical use of confession:

Not that I'm aware of. The closest we get is Jacques writing a hit piece on Fernald in the Daily Punctillio.

Under "thought control":

-Require members to internalize the group's doctrine as truth:

Most likely. Lemony and other members, especially the sugar bowl gen, seem to have a black-and-white view of morality, designating critics of the organization as "villains" while downplaying crimes committed by volunteers.

-Change person's name and identity

Nope.

-Use of loaded language and cliches which constrict knowledge, stop critical thoughts and reduce complexities into platitudinous buzz words:

Lemony uses loaded language almost constantly, like "wicked" and "noble," although this seems to be more of him being a dramatic than V.F.D. policy. His "get scared later" mantra could be considered a thought-stopping cliche, but I can't remember if that's something he made up himself or if V.F.D. taught it to him, and my copies of the books got lost when my parents moved recently so this is all going off memory and the wiki and that one quote.

-Encourage only 'good and proper' thoughts:

Not that I'm aware of.

-Hypnotic techniques are used to alter mental states, undermine critical thinking and even to age regress the member:

Again, not that I'm aware of.

-Memories are manipulated and false memories are created:

I was about to say no, but then I remembered "The Little Snicket Lad" bit in TUA. Lemony insists he was old enough to know what he was getting into when he joined V.F.D., but other sources suggest otherwise. Did V.F.D. create a false memory of him being recruited at an older age, or is he straight-up lying? Either way, it's shady.

-Teaching thought-stopping techniques which shut down reality testing by stopping negative thoughts and allowing only positive thoughts:

Again, there's Lemony's "Get scared later" mantra.

-Rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism:

I don't think so. In fact, rational analysis seems to be pretty strongly encouraged.

-Forbid critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy allowed:

I don't think there's even enough of a formalized leader/doctrine/policy for this to apply.

-Labeling alternative belief systems as illegitimate, evil, or not useful:

I'm gonna give this a tentative no. While they do label the fire-starting side as evil, that's understandable given that the fire-starters are literally trying to kill them. They don't seem to harbor any ill feelings towards unaffiliated people.

-Instill new “map of reality”:

Imma keep it real with ya, steeve, i have no idea what this means lol

Emotional Control

-Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings –some emotions and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong or selfish:

Hard to say. Lemony seems to have pretty negatives feelings towards fear as a feeling, but that could be a personal trait.

-Teach emotion-stopping techniques to block feelings of homesickness, anger, doubt:

Again, there's "Get scared later," but that could just be a Lemony thing. However, seeing as kids are separated from their families for years at a young age, I'd be surprised if V.F.D. wasn't teaching them some way to repress homesickness.

-Make the person feel that problems are always their own fault, never the leader's or the group's fault:

The Baudelaires seem to see their action of burning down the Hotel Denouement as a personal failing, when it's entirely possible that Kit fully knew they would end up doing it. I'm going to put this down as a tentative yes.

-Promote feelings of guilt or unworthiness:

I was about to say no to this; Kit is pretty quick to forgive the Baudelaires for burning down the hotel. However, one of the biggest complaints ex-members like Olaf and Esme have is too much emphasis on reading, and Quigley was straight-up taught that reading makes you less evil. So I think it's safe to say that less-bookish members are routinely shamed.

-Instill fear:

I'm going to say no, especially if we interpret "get scared later" as V.F.D. doctrine. Fear of V.F.D.'s enemies, like Count Olaf, is completely understandable.

-Extremes of emotional highs and lows – love bombing and praise one moment and then declaring you are horrible sinner:

I hate to say this because I love Kit, but I don't think it's a stretch to say she was love-bombing the Baudelaires. She gives them a their favorite foods and emphasizes her connection to their parents, and then immediately asks them to put their lives on the line for V.F.D.

-Ritualistic and sometimes public confession of sins:

No examples that I can think of right now.

-Phobia indoctrination: inculcating irrational fears about leaving the group or questioning the leader's authority:

I don't believe so. Again, there's no leader, and inactive members like Aunt Josephine are at no point shamed or shunned.

Here are my notes going through the model

So, in total

Yes = 16, No = 27, Unknown = 8

So, not a majority, but enough to be concerning. As far as I'm aware, Hassan doesn't provide a "threshold" at which a group officially becomes authoritarian.

Conclusion

So all this infodumping basically went nowhere. I can't say for sure if V.F.D. is cult or not because the word "cult" is a loaded term with no clear definition, but there are definitely some red flags. And just because it isn't definitively a cult doesn't mean it's a cool and fun organization to join. Whether you interpret is as a "cult" or not is really up to you. I do think we can safely call it a high-demand group with some authoritarian leanings. The main conclusion I've come to is that Handler uses cult-like imagery to drive home how fucked up the way society treats children is.

So yeah, that was a fun but unproductive way to spend an evening. Let me know if there's anything I've missed here or if you disagree. I'd love to start a conversation!

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