The Wilking sisters, who became very popular on both YouTube and TikTok, are the primary focus of Dancing For The Devil. On TikTok, they were well-known for the dance routines that they posted there, which led to their popularity. Following the receipt of a direct message from James Derrick, who is known on Instagram as @bdash_2, they decided to work together with him. Miranda and Derrick began a romantic connection not long after, and she eventually relocated to Los Angeles.
The stronger their love developed, the more Miranda got engaged in the Shekinah Church, managed by Shinn. Shinn made the decision to establish 7M Films in order to provide assistance to a dozen other dancers who were members of the church for the purpose of assisting them all with the production of social media videos and assisting them in sorting out all of the opportunities that came their way as their feeds became popular. All of these dancers had a strong religious devotion.
At this point, Miranda started alienating herself from her family, with whom she had previously shared a tight relationship. Even Melanie stopped receiving messages from her sister when she discovered that she and Derrick had become engaged through a dance video that went viral on her account.
Doneen conducts interviews with Melanie Wilking and her parents, Dean and Kelly, as well as former members of the church who discuss the idea of "Die to yourself." This is a principle that Shinn taught, and it is possible that it was the reason that Miranda Wilking and other individuals made the decision to cut off communication with family members.
The majority of documentaries that are focused on cults talk to and about the individuals who become ensnared in the cult system. These documentaries have a particular emphasis on the one or two families that are the most outspoken about losing contact with loved ones who are members of the cult. However, they also dedicate a considerable amount of time to the manner in which the leaders of these cults are able to attract individuals by making promises of altering their lives and are charming and persuasive enough to convince them to remain, despite the fact that the conditions associated with their membership are becoming increasingly unusual and restrictive. There is a significant amount of the former in Dancing For The Devil, whereas there is nearly little of the latter.
It is the Wilking sisters who are the primary focus of the first episode, and they are the most prominent example of a family who is battling tooth and nail to get back a loved one that they believe they have lost to 7M. For example, there is a scene in which Dean Wikling records an effort to communicate with Miranda by means of the gate intercom at the house where a significant number of 7M's dancers resided and made material. In addition, there is a comprehensive narrative of how Miranda passed up the opportunity to attend the burial of her grandfather. It is all things that will tug at your heartstrings; considering how close the sisters were to one another, you can not help but feel sorry for the Wilkings.
On the other hand, there is not a great deal of information available regarding Shinn and the specific actions that he was able to take in order to keep Miranda and other individuals confined within the organization, much alone convince them to cut themselves off from their families of origin. There are also audio recordings of Shinn delivering sermons and discussing what people from the outside are saying about the church. On the other hand, there is no specific information that is available to us that would explain why people grew so loyal to him.
It was the fact that all of the members of 7M were religious, and they all identified with the message that he was trying to convey. Perhaps it was the fact that he promised to boost the amount of exposure that their social media feeds would receive through their production and marketing, along with the additional financial benefits that would result from this. This is not obvious. There is also no actual evidence that Shinn has the charisma necessary to convince people to join him, nor is there any indication that he was able to establish a network of disciples who could do the convincing for him.
There are short times in which we see proof of exactly what members of 7M thought of their families. One such instance is a post by Derrick in which he refers to the Wilkings as racists since they did not accept him into their family because he was black. But we never get more than a glimpse of it; in fact, the Wilkings do not even discuss the incendiary post or the possible reasons why Derrick spoke the way he did.
It is clear that the former members who are questioned believe that he did, in fact, brainwash them, and the inevitable escalation in abuse will be explored in the second part of the series. However, the first portion of the series did not really provide us with a lot of insight into the whys and hows of 7M, which is something that we usually seek for in shows like this.
Melanie Lee, a former member of the church, describes how she saw the films that she and her parents had produced in which they discussed Shinn. In the recordings, she exclaims, "No fucking way... he is still around."
During the interviews, Kevin "Konkrete" Davis is one of the most compelling former members of 7M. This is especially true when he discusses Shinn's attempt to convince him to "die to" his small kid, which is something that Davis was unable to tolerate.
There is a portion in which the former members of 7M discuss how Shinn convinced them to dance to older tunes rather than the most recent dance successes. We can confirm that it was successful, which may be an indication of why people were devoted to Shinn. The connection, however, is not particularly strong, and this leads us to ask why that information is here in the first place.
The stronger their love developed, the more Miranda got engaged in the Shekinah Church, managed by Shinn. Shinn made the decision to establish 7M Films in order to provide assistance to a dozen other dancers who were members of the church for the purpose of assisting them all with the production of social media videos and assisting them in sorting out all of the opportunities that came their way as their feeds became popular. All of these dancers had a strong religious devotion.
At this point, Miranda started alienating herself from her family, with whom she had previously shared a tight relationship. Even Melanie stopped receiving messages from her sister when she discovered that she and Derrick had become engaged through a dance video that went viral on her account.
Doneen conducts interviews with Melanie Wilking and her parents, Dean and Kelly, as well as former members of the church who discuss the idea of "Die to yourself." This is a principle that Shinn taught, and it is possible that it was the reason that Miranda Wilking and other individuals made the decision to cut off communication with family members.
The majority of documentaries that are focused on cults talk to and about the individuals who become ensnared in the cult system. These documentaries have a particular emphasis on the one or two families that are the most outspoken about losing contact with loved ones who are members of the cult. However, they also dedicate a considerable amount of time to the manner in which the leaders of these cults are able to attract individuals by making promises of altering their lives and are charming and persuasive enough to convince them to remain, despite the fact that the conditions associated with their membership are becoming increasingly unusual and restrictive. There is a significant amount of the former in Dancing For The Devil, whereas there is nearly little of the latter.
It is the Wilking sisters who are the primary focus of the first episode, and they are the most prominent example of a family who is battling tooth and nail to get back a loved one that they believe they have lost to 7M. For example, there is a scene in which Dean Wikling records an effort to communicate with Miranda by means of the gate intercom at the house where a significant number of 7M's dancers resided and made material. In addition, there is a comprehensive narrative of how Miranda passed up the opportunity to attend the burial of her grandfather. It is all things that will tug at your heartstrings; considering how close the sisters were to one another, you can not help but feel sorry for the Wilkings.
On the other hand, there is not a great deal of information available regarding Shinn and the specific actions that he was able to take in order to keep Miranda and other individuals confined within the organization, much alone convince them to cut themselves off from their families of origin. There are also audio recordings of Shinn delivering sermons and discussing what people from the outside are saying about the church. On the other hand, there is no specific information that is available to us that would explain why people grew so loyal to him.
It was the fact that all of the members of 7M were religious, and they all identified with the message that he was trying to convey. Perhaps it was the fact that he promised to boost the amount of exposure that their social media feeds would receive through their production and marketing, along with the additional financial benefits that would result from this. This is not obvious. There is also no actual evidence that Shinn has the charisma necessary to convince people to join him, nor is there any indication that he was able to establish a network of disciples who could do the convincing for him.
There are short times in which we see proof of exactly what members of 7M thought of their families. One such instance is a post by Derrick in which he refers to the Wilkings as racists since they did not accept him into their family because he was black. But we never get more than a glimpse of it; in fact, the Wilkings do not even discuss the incendiary post or the possible reasons why Derrick spoke the way he did.
It is clear that the former members who are questioned believe that he did, in fact, brainwash them, and the inevitable escalation in abuse will be explored in the second part of the series. However, the first portion of the series did not really provide us with a lot of insight into the whys and hows of 7M, which is something that we usually seek for in shows like this.
Melanie Lee, a former member of the church, describes how she saw the films that she and her parents had produced in which they discussed Shinn. In the recordings, she exclaims, "No fucking way... he is still around."
During the interviews, Kevin "Konkrete" Davis is one of the most compelling former members of 7M. This is especially true when he discusses Shinn's attempt to convince him to "die to" his small kid, which is something that Davis was unable to tolerate.
There is a portion in which the former members of 7M discuss how Shinn convinced them to dance to older tunes rather than the most recent dance successes. We can confirm that it was successful, which may be an indication of why people were devoted to Shinn. The connection, however, is not particularly strong, and this leads us to ask why that information is here in the first place.
