film “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples’
Temple” write an essay of at least 1000 words in length that analyzes the Jonestown
tragedy according to the historical and cultural influences of the 1970s.
What is going on historically in the 1970s that creates so much social upheaval in
America? Why are people in the 1970s so hungry for new religious answers to their
problems and how does Jim Jones offer them an answer? How does Jones convince
hundreds of people in the end to voluntarily commit suicide? While it is an extreme
example, how is Peoples’ Temple part of the religious cultural trend of the 1970s and
how does it compare to other religious movements of the time?