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Cult of Personality: Difference between revisions
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''I'm the cult of personality''|'''[[Living Colour]]''', "Cult of Personality"}}
A [[Cult of Personality]] arises when mass media, [[Propaganda Machine|propaganda]], or other methods are used by or on the behalf of an individual, usually a leader, to create an idealized, heroic, and at times worshipful image of them, often through [[Lickspittle|unquestioning flattery and praise]]. A Cult of Personality is similar in some ways to [[A God Am I]], except that it is established in the minds of ''others'', usually by a state to empower its leader, especially in Totalitarian (and sometimes Authoritarian)
A Cult of Personality is often a deliberate attempt to [[Invoked Trope|invoke]] the old and discredited concept of the Divine Right of Kings for modern rulers, by painting them as [[Glorious Leader|greater-than-human figures who can make no mistakes and do no wrong]]. They are generally perpetrated to give a nation or people a focus during a period of trouble or transition by turning their subject into [[The Messiah|a benevolent "guide"]] who will bring them into a new, better era by way of a revolutionary transformation that could not happen without his unique oversight and all-embracing love for the common people. The process usually paints them as some variety of [[Large and In Charge|larger-than-life]] [[Memetic Badass]] [[Badass in Charge|in Charge]] along the way as well.
It helps a great deal if the leader in question has some measure of charisma, but if he lets the press do all the speaking for him and limits himself to posing for inspiring photographs and paintings, it won't matter if he doesn't.
Anywhere in fiction and [[Real Life]] where you see people fanatically devoted to a ''leader'' rather than an ideology or a cause, you're probably looking at a Cult of Personality. This is a common tool of the [[Glorious Leader]] and [[The Generalissimo]], and the effort to start up (or expand) a Cult of Personality is almost always one of the first priorities after a [[Tyrant Takes the Helm]]. [[Magnetic Hero|Magnetic Heroes and Villains]] often inspire these, sometimes unintentionally. And if the subject of the Cult is a leader working it for all it's worth, expect to see an [[Egopolis]] or two.
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