''This article does not discuss cultist groups, personality cults, or "cult" in its original sense of "religious practice". See cult (disambiguation) for more meanings of the term "cult".

A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific thing, usually a film, television or radio program, though some comic books, video games, musicians, writers and others also gain cult followings.

These dedicated followings are usually relatively small and pertain to items that don't have broad mainstream appeal, though there are exceptions. Cult followings are often dedicated enough that many people of similar interest are familiar with one another due to convention gatherings, concerts, internet chat rooms, or shops featuring the item(s) in question.

An exception to the usual cult following rules is Star Trek, whose followers call themselves "Trekkies" or "Trekkers". Star Trek has an extremely large following but can still be considered 'cult'. Science-fiction oriented cult followings include that of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

"Cult following" is also used to describe the more obsessive fans of established mainstream performers. For example, many persons have been interested in Michael Jackson's music or in Disney films, but some fans take their interest to extreme levels, hoarding vast amounts of collectables. Some such "cult fans" occasionally veer into obsessive-compulsive disorders or stalking; however, cult followings do not necessitate that individuals partake in cultish activities.

Cult followings establish their own canons and cherish the notion of cult classics, which are individual items with cult followings. Cult Classics are generally films that capture the imagination, defining a new world, or an imagined set of scenarios that capture a popular chain of events that is often reflected realistically in society. For example, when The Road Warrior hit United States theaters in 1980, it was during the Cold War when Nuclear war was a very real possibility in the minds of the worlds population. Post-Apocolyptic worries were common, and the film reflected a post-apocalyptic world. The film Easy Rider mirrored a time when the dreams of freedom and escape from the standard lifestyle was becoming vastly popular.

A popular joke to summarize cult followings is as follows: "A mainstream film is seen 1 time by 1000 people; a cult film is seen 1000 times by 1 person."

Examples of cult classics

• Star Trek and it's spin-offs.

• The Road Warrior and the other two films in a three-part series.

• Lethal Weapon and it's three sequels.

• Rocky Horror Picture Show

• Easy Rider

• Dirty Harry

• Eddie and the Cruisers and it's sequel.

• Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark, and it's two sequels.

• Star Wars and it's sequals, set as a prequel timeline.

See also

• Cult film
• Cult television
• Cult radio
• Cult computer and video games
• Otaku
• Sleeper hit
• Underground music

Popular culture | Underground

Kult (Status) | Cult (cultuur) | Kultstatus | Kultstatus | Kult (slang)