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Derek Donen’s three-part crime documentary delves into the ills of TikTok as it tells the shocking story of two sisters and a Korean pastor accused of everything from embezzlement to sexual abuse and more. This Netflix documentary follows the Wilking sisters’ journey as they become victims of pastor Robert Shin and pursue their dreams of fame through TikTok.
The Wilking Sisters: Melanie and Miranda
Melanie and Miranda are famous on TikTok by their user handle ‘Wilking Sisters’. The sisters began their journey together with an account where they posted short, peppy dance videos. By 2020, the sisters had 3 million followers on the platform. This was when Miranda’s boyfriend James “Bdash” Derrick introduced them to Robert Shinn. The sisters joined the management company 7M and its affiliated church Shekinah, both run by Shinn. In 2021, the Wilking sisters stopped posting videos together. Miranda’s aloof behavior after joining 7M was not liked by her parents – Dean and Kelly Wilking and sister Melanie.
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Shin: The self-proclaimed ‘man of God’
Robert Shin is the clever brain behind the organization of this TikTok-based cult. As shown in the Netflix documentary, Shin used to ask TikTok dancers to break ties with their loved ones. He used to lure the artists with the promise of success and asked them for money in the name of ‘church purposes’. He also declared himself to be a “man of God” who can guide the artists in life and help them differentiate between heaven and hell.
Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult
This documentary is an attempt by Doneen to tell the story of a cult by keeping the family at the center. It aims to show the kind of pain and hardships that family members have to go through when a person becomes a part of such cults.
“There are so many deeply compelling cult documentaries out there,” Donen said, The Guardian reports. “We didn’t want to make the same show.” [audiences] We’ve already seen it. It’s very important for us to look at it from a different perspective, one that puts the victims and the families at the center of it and allows them to tell their story, in their own words, in a way that’s not just about the cult leader.”
The Netflix documentary will stream on May 29, 2024.
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