http://www.avclub.com/articles/arrested-development,97649/
With Arrested Development in mind, it seems like the "cult following" may not be able to exist anymore. Part of the charm of the cult is that there is a big group that likes something, but the mass audience has no idea what it is. This way of thinking guides audience groups all throughout cinema. Music lovers claim they discovered artists first. Comic readers revel in the obscurity both of their media of choice (relative to mass culture) and in finding things that their friends have not yet come across.
Film and TV have a rich tradition with cult followings-- The Rocky Horror Picture Show invites huge crowds to theaters all over the world dressed in costumes from the show. As we discussed in class, Donnie Darko has built a significant following since its release. But what about when the cult becomes the mass? Arrested Development had low ratings, but the most loyal fans imaginable have been watching it since. Those fans have recruited so many people that Netflix has made a show and a movie years after the original cancellation. So is the cult broken when the studios capitalize?
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