Comparison With A Cult/religion
See also: Reality distortion field and The Cult of Mac (book)| "The scenes I witnessed at the opening of the new Apple store in London's Covent Garden were more like an evangelical prayer meeting than a chance to buy a phone or a laptop. " |
| — Alex Riley, writing for the BBC |
The Mac and its fans constitute the equivalent of a religion. This religion is based on an origin myth for Apple Computer, heroic and savior legends surrounding its co-founder and current CEO Steve Jobs, the devout faith of its follower congregation, their belief in the righteousness of the Macintosh, the existence of one or more Satanic opponents, Mac believers proselytizing and converting nonbelievers, and the hope among cult members that salvation can be achieved by transcending corporate capitalism.
Russell Belk, Consumer Behaviorist at the University of UtahRussell Belk argues that, like a religion, the Cult of Mac is a belief system that helps its followers understand technology and the world. The attitude of Apple sympathizers and fans is viewed by many as being "cult-like".
According to neurological research cited by the BBC on their "Secrets of the Superbrands" documentary, the response from the brain of an Apple enthusiast when viewing the brand-related symbols and imagery is similar to the one of a religious devotee when exposed to religious symbols and images.
Apple founder Steve Jobs is compared to a god figure and savior, and his life story is said to resemble Joseph Campbell's heroic adventure myths. Jobs was often viewed as a saintly figure to Mac users.
Loyalty to Macintosh computers and Apple have been compared to religious belief. The term Cult of Mac is often used to describe this group. Psychologist Dave Levine argues that the Mac community has a religious feeling, providing a sense of community and common heritage for those who have rejected religion. Mac users are frequently known to use religious language in describing Macs. Terms such as "evangelism", "persecution" and "martyrdom" are used. Many users view their devotion as a battle between good versus evil, with evil frequently being Microsoft. The term "cult" has been used to describe Mac users (Cult of Mac), however, Dave Arnott, author of Corporate Cults, argues that devotion to Macs is no different than devotion to a car or rollerblading.
There is also a website titled "Cult of Mac", dedicated to Apple-related news. This "cult" attitude has also been mocked/parodied by Samsung, on a video ad for an Android phone, and also by Motorola in their ad for the Motorola Xoom.
Read more about this topic: Criticism Of Apple Inc.
Famous quotes containing the words comparison with, comparison, cult and/or religion:
“Intolerance respecting other people’s religion is toleration itself in comparison with intolerance respecting other people’s art.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“We teach boys to be such men as we are. We do not teach them to aspire to be all they can. We do not give them a training as if we believed in their noble nature. We scarce educate their bodies. We do not train the eye and the hand. We exercise their understandings to the apprehension and comparison of some facts, to a skill in numbers, in words; we aim to make accountants, attorneys, engineers; but not to make able, earnest, great- hearted men.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Look at this poet William Carlos Williams: he is primitive and native, and his roots are in raw forest and violent places; he is word-sick and place-crazy. He admires strength, but for what? Violence! This is the cult of the frontier mind.”
—Edward Dahlberg (1900–1977)
“We think of religion as the symbolic expression of our highest moral ideals; we think of magic as a crude aggregate of superstitions. Religious belief seems to become mere superstitious credulity if we admit any relationship with magic. On the other hand our anthropological and ethnographical material makes it extremely difficult to separate the two fields.”
—Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945)